Every year we take each of our academy students on a field trip for a college orientation.  May 23, this year we went to Corvallis for an Oregon State University tour.  Through our classroom discussions, we stress the importance of higher education.  Our goal is to give them an overview of what to expect so that they can start now to prepare for their future.

Our typical OSU experience is to walk the campus and explain the buildings, the campus layout, and the scheduling system.  We stop and interview college students on campus who are actively enrolled and get their perspective of college life.  We introduce our students to classrooms where they will meet instructors and administrators who give them an insight on how to prepare for higher education from this point on.   We tour Reser and Gill Coliseums and introduce them to Coach Tinkle, who shares his philosophy on student athletes and what comes first.  Coach Tinkle emphasizes the importance of education and staying focused.  He shares with them that school is first, athlete second. He emphasizes the importance of making good choices as they go through high school and he emphasizes the importance of communicating with their parents.

Additionally, we treat our kids to lunch where we discuss and define college and the need to be proactive going forward with their education.