LAKEPORT >> A tour consisting of over 30 college and university representatives will travel to California to host a college and transfer fair at several locations. On Tuesday, September 5, the tour will make a stop at Mendocino College Lake Center in Lakeport.
Tammy Serpa, an education specialist for the Lake County Office of Education, is organizing the event for Lake County. In a statement, she said the college and transfer fair is dedicated to anyone regardless of what educational stage he or she may be in.
She adds that college representatives of each school will be available to speak to “high school students exploring their higher education options, current community college students looking for transfer opportunities, and adult students who wish to embark upon or return to their higher education journey.”
Though not the first time a college fair has been held in the county, it has been “quite some time” since an event of this size has been offered for Lake residents.
A similar college fair takes place every year — at Mendocino College in Ukiah — but Serpa says transportation is one challenge those interested to attend face yearly.
“[W]ith transportation cost and limited resources, many of our schools have not been able to transport students to attend,” said Serpa. “We are hoping that some schools will be able to bus students to this event or that they will be able to come on their own.”
The statewide tour, organized by Program Manager for the University of California Michael L. Burton, will provide a platform for the county’s community colleges to let their students explore potential colleges and universities to transfer to.
As the organizer of the fair at the Lakeport campus, Serpa said she has three definite goals. She said:
“One is to expose students of all ages to a variety of colleges so they can make informed decisions about their education. Two is to build a college culture in Lake County where everyone is encouraged to pursue an education past high school, whether it is a training, certificate or degree program. Three is to bring the college representatives to Lake County so that they can see what terrific students we have.”
Community colleges and universities, both public and private will be represented. Among the many institutions scheduled to attend are CSU Chico, Santa Rosa JC, UC Santa Cruz, Humbolt State University and Los Angeles College of Music.
The college fair is expected to rotate each year between Woodland College in Clearlake and Mendocino College in Lakeport.
Starting at 4 p.m. the fair will run until 7 p.m. Attendees can come at any time during the three-hour window, as the fair is set up with the opportunity to freely walk around several booths and speak with representatives.
The event is sponsored by Lake County College of Education and is hosted by Mendocino College Lake Center. The Lake Center is located at 2565 Parallel Drive, Lakeport. For more information contact Tammy Serpa at tserpa@lakecoe.org or at 707-263-8918 x284
