Going to college right after high school is a huge milestone in a student’s life. It’s something that  the Duncanville college advisors believe should be honored and recognized. On May 9th, the college advisors will hold a ‘college decision day’ for the participating seniors who have committed to a university or the armed forces.

“It’s the first time we’ve held anything like this,” Martinez said. “We’ve had senior recognition nights, but never an college academic sign in day.”

There are 198 seniors who signed up to participate in this event. Just like an athletic college signing day, each student will get their own table dedicating it to the college they have committed. The tables will be placed down our main hallway, where every student gets the chance to show where they are going.

“So we’re going to open the doors around 4:30pm for he students get to come in and decorate their tables,” college advisor Ms. Martinez said. “And we’ll have all the tables grouped together based off of the colleges they are going to.”

Students who signed up are allowed to bring family, friends, and loved ones with them to this event. There will be refreshments and activities for them to be able to do, such as a photo booth and a station where they can sign up for raffle tickets. Students who come to this event can sign up to win different prizes through the raffle tickets the college advisors will have on site.  

“We’ll be raffling off a lot of college items.” Martinez said. “From things like printers, backpacks, school supplies, planners, and dorm supplies thanks to the donations we’ve received. I know for a fact we at least have 15 baskets to give away.”

They will also have a station where students can show their appreciation for any educators that may have given them assistance among the way.

“We’ll have a table where it’s going to be like a gratitude table,” Martinez said. “We will ask the seniors to write a thank-you note for any teacher or anybody that helped them get where they are now. We’ll deliver those teachers and counselors within the following week.”

Each student will also be given a certificate of commitment that they will be signing.

“We’ll make an announcement towards the end of the event for all of the seniors to go ahead and grab a pen,” Martinez said. “We’ll say something along the lines of ‘alright seniors, get ready to sign and commit to your college in 3…2…1!’ and they will all sign at the same time.”

Martinez believes that hosting an event like this is very influential for students not only in the graduating class, but for future generations.

“I think this event is really important because we want Duncanville to have a higher college going culture,” Martinez said. “It’s not where it needs to be and I feel like this event will help it get there. If we do this every year, than it can be something that underclassmen can look forward to.”