4 minute read
THE CAROLINA COLLEGE TOUR
Laura Nabors
Associate Director of College Counseling
A group of rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors kicked off the summer of 2022 with a trip to colleges and universities across North and South Carolina. This adventure was a perfect blend of insight into university academics, and student life, mixed in with evening fun, and many naps on the bus. It seemed most students were nervous about the trip upon departure but relaxed when we were treated to a cool dessert at the ’55 Exchange, a student-run business enterprise that designs, manufactures, sells and serves Clemson’s world-famous ice cream. At Furman University, students were impressed with the small class sizes and the beautiful lake. We stopped next at Wofford, Home of the Terriers. Students then enjoyed a night of go-karts and arcade games at Frankie’s Fun Park. The boys might have outscored the girls in a round of laser tag, but who can really say? But, Owen Jones did win a Nintendo Switch!
Day 2 started early at High Point University. The HPU student guides did a fantastic job with a golf-cart tour of campus. Their facilities were spectacular and pristine, complete with a fine dining lab, 1924 Prime Steak House, where students develop life skills including business etiquette and understanding of global cultures and cuisine. Our next stop was Wake Forest University, which also provided a nice lunch in one of their dining halls. We then completed a driving tour of Elon University and capped off the day with peanuts and Cracker Jacks at a Winston-Salem Dash minor league baseball game.
On the morning of Day 3, we were dropped off at Cameron Indoor Stadium where we received early entry to the Duke Basketball Museum. We then toured the iconic Duke University Chapel. Photos do not adequately capture its magnitude and beauty. Our next stop was right up the road at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus with a stop at the Makerspace, a 3D printing lab open to students of all majors, and the Old Well. Next, we headed to Raleigh to tour NC State, where our group met Dereck Whittenburg of their 1983 National Championship basketball team. You may spot a cameo of some GWA Bulldogs in his upcoming documentary. Our day wrapped up with some recreation on the sands of Myrtle Beach.
Our final day of the epic college tour took us to the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina. These schools are pretty different from each other - they each have their own take on school colors (maroon vs. garnet), environment (downtown Charleston vs. Columbia), and undergraduate enrollment size (10,000 vs 27,000). Our feet were exhausted after trekking many miles across 11 campuses but as a college counselor, my heart was energized by the students’ discussions, excitement, and curiosity. Over 1,200 miles on the road and I can’t think of a better way to spend a week with George Walton students. Their future looks bright, full of college options and opportunities.
Junior Sarah Digby’s quote sums up the week pretty well – “We were able to visit schools of all different sizes and opportunities, which was very beneficial in deciding what type of college I want to go to. I learned that I gravitate towards bigger schools and was very intrigued by the study abroad programs that many schools had to offer. Overall, I had a great time on the trip with my friends and I was able to learn a lot about many different colleges that I did not know before.”
