At the first March to College Day on Thursday evening, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars gave local high school students a chance to see Ball State from a different point of view.
Jacque Schrag, the event organizer, said one of the purposes of the event was to answer the growing problem of high school drop outs.
About 20 to 25 booths were set up in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center representing various majors, departments and organizations from campus.
"We tried to take a good mixture of some of the major majors on campus that people tend to go into and a lot of the bigger - and some of the smaller - student organizations, just to kind of show it's more than just what goes on in the classroom, you can do a lot of thing outside of that," Schrag said. "And that's part of what makes college college."
NSCS advertised the event to three local high schools - Southside, Central and Muncie Burris High Schools - as well as to guidance counselors in Delaware County.
The Ball State students participating were there to answer any questions the high school students may have, such as about dorms, transitions, involvement and workload, Schrag said.
Eleventh grader Kristen Bobo attended the event with her mother, Jennifer Bobo. Kristen is homeschooled, and she and her family moved to the Muncie area about six months ago.
Kristen said she would recommend the event to other high schoolers.
"I think there's information here that if you are looking for, you can find," she said. "If you ask the right questions, you can get them answered."
Although her only complaint was not knowing where to park, Jennifer said she was pleased with the event, especially with the smaller setting and the fact that students were the ones answering questions.
"This is a good introduction to the campus and what it has to offer," she said. "Because we've only read things online so far and just driven through the campus, so this is really our first real interaction with the campus."
In the past, the event has been focused on teaching elementary and middle school students about different majors in fun and entertaining ways. This year, the committee wanted to take a more serious approach, NSCS president Jessica Hoffmann said.
Because this was the first year for the event, only about six to seven people showed up, Schrag said.
But this event was not only for the high school students but also for the organizations on campus as well, Hoffmann said. She added that she was happy that the Ball State students were mingling, something that she said does not happen enough.
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