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September 19th, 2006
PALMETTO - Bayshore High School junior Whitney Miller has a passion for fashion and photography and she hopes one day to combine her passions into a career.
Monday evening, Whitney and her mother, Doreen Miller, were among more than 2,500 students and parents who attended the Manatee School District's College Night at the Manatee Civic Center in Palmetto.
Representatives from more than 80 colleges and universities were on hand to talk about their schools during the annual event hosted by Director of High Schools Roy Larson and his staff.
“There's a lot to look at,” said Doreen, who cradled a stack of brochures and financial aid forms in her arms. “The representatives are really good and up front. We tell them what (Whitney) is looking for and if they don't have it, they say so.”
Photo editor for the Bayshore High yearbook last year, Whitney plans to attend a college where she can major in photography, fashion merchandising or both. During College Night, she found at least three schools that have programs that interested her: Notre Dame, Louisiana State University and the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota.
Notre Dame, which is located in South Bend, Indiana, might have a bit of an edge. “I want to go to school outside of Florida,” Whitney said with a smile. “Maybe somewhere up north.”
Jeff Hausinger was also at College Night with his son, Andrew, a junior at Palmetto High. Although Andrew is not sure what major he wants to pursue in college, he seems to have his heart set on attending the University of Florida, which had a booth at the Civic Center.
“He probably has his mind made up but we wanted to come tonight to take a look at everything,” Jeff Hausinger said. “There's a real nice mix of schools here, including large schools and small schools as well as public and private.”
Larson credited his assistant Theresa Stewart, Southeast High Guidance Counselor Mike Fetzek and District Guidance Counselor At Large Shirley Hurley for producing a successful College Night experience.
Larson said he and his staff were “thrilled” with the turnout and the interest shown by students and parents.
“We want to thank all of the high schools and middle schools for helping us get the word out,” Larson said. “It was really good to see a lot of middle school students and their parents attend because it's never too early to start planning for college.”
College Night at the FSU Booth