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Senior Patty Passwaters speaks with Mark Johnson, assistant director of admissions from the New College of Florida. Photo by Margarita Rentis / Cavaleon

Hundreds of students fill the gym for second annual College Fair. Photo by Margarita Rentis / Cavaleon

College Fair volunteer Melissa Perez, junior, gets her questions answered about the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Photo by Margarita Rentis / Cavaleon

Junior Mia Rathjens signs her name on a contact sheet to show her interest in one of 70 schools at the College Fair. Photo by Margarita Rentis / Cavaleon

Junior Catalina Puig expresses her interest in Penn State University. Photo by Margarita Rentis / Cavaleon

Students speak with a representative from the University of North Florida. Photo by Margarita Rentis / Cavaleon

Coral Gables Senior High School hosted its second annual College Fair, featuring over 60 schools, on Thursday, Oct. 11, in the school’s gym.

Organized by the Parent Teacher Student Association, the fair served as an opportunity for students to speak with representatives from schools from around the country, including Harvard University, Pomona College and the University of Miami, and for recruiters from these colleges and universities to meet the students and discover some of the talents that Gables has to offer.

The event unofficially began with a welcome breakfast for the college representatives. The school took this as a chance to give the representatives a taste of the school’s flavor. Gables High’s very own culinary arts academy prepared the food; the band played classic Miami salsa and jazz music; the color guard made an appearance; and the choral group Divisi performed the Star-Spangled Banner.

As the first session of the College Fair began, students handed their tickets to the ushers and began to circulate through the gym, speaking to representatives from a variety of colleges.

“The College Fair was very helpful and really opens your eyes to universities in Florida you didn’t even know about,” said senior Liliam Cruz.

With smiles on their faces, students moved from station to station, learning about different colleges and collecting take-home information.

The College Fair was very well received by the various college representatives. University of Connecticut representative Samantha Simons described the students as being “motivated” and “excited.” Other representatives picked up on the students’ energy, like the Rutgers’ representative Jan Rower, who said the fair was well run and that students were “better prepared than others.”

Kevin Blair Zimmerman, admissions representative from Penn State, said the fair was one of the strongest events he had attended and that Penn State would return.

Over 400 students attended the fair, and Liz Stack, the school’s College Assistance Program counselor, said she hoped the students took advantage of the networking opportunity with representatives from schools from around the country.

Rachel English is a staff writer on the Coral Gables Senior High School student newspaper highlights. 

Margarita Rentis is a staff photographer on the Coral Gables Senior High School yearbook Cavaleon