Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: News

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High school senior Tiara Henry isn't quite sure where she's going to college.

But her visit to Central Michigan University may have solidified her choice.

"This is the college I'm looking into," Henry said. "If any of my friends were thinking about this school, I'd recommend it. I really like it."

The Flint Northwestern Commencement Academy student was one of about 55 high-schoolers to experience campus first-hand on Wednesday and Thursday.

The students checked out residence hall rooms, listened to Nikki Giovanni's speech in Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium and were "locked-in" the Student Activity Center for seven hours.

CMU's Upward Bound and Forward Thinking programs sponsored the event.

The last part of the trip had the group entrapped from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the SAC. Students had an opportunity to bowl, take a swim or play basketball, among other activities.

Upward Bound academic adviser Caleb Boswell, a 2005 CMU alumnus, said the group was mainly from of Detroit and Flint schools. While the SAC was enjoyable, he said students benefited from the entire day.

"We hope that students learned a lot from the Nikki Giovanni speech," Boswell said. "(The SAC) is social relief after a day of learning and work. Everybody's pretty much enjoying themselves right now."

Upward Bound deals mainly with college preparatory programs, and is run by the help of unpaid workers, he said.

Detroit freshman Turquoise Hill is one such volunteer. She said she signed up to help students and represent the university well.

"When I was in high school I thought about (Upward Bound), but it was too late," Hill said.

She said she wanted give insight to students.

"Coming to college isn't going to be as stressful as they think it is," Hill said. "CMU is so nice. It's like everyone is family."

Tashae Joshua of Flint Northern High School played basketball with friends past midnight Wednesday. She said she was looking forward to swimming later.

"I like the library here," said Joshua, who still is considering her collegiate options. "I like the (overall) atmosphere."

James Adams of Detroit Young Builders decided on a leisurely activity and played pool with a friend. He said the university's cuisine was one of the highlights of the trip.

"It's a beautiful campus," Adams said. "From the keynote speaker to now, it's been great."


news@cm-life.com

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