Washburn hosts a variety of activities and events to inspire and attract future attendees to our prestigious university. One such event, Ichabod Senior Days, gives high school seniors an opportunity to explore Washburn’s campus and meet some of the faculty and staff at Washburn. The high school students are given a lot of information concerning what it’s like to live on Washburn’s campus, how to pay for college and what sorts of programs Washburn offers.

Last Friday, a group of 73 high school students arrived on campus to get a taste for what Washburn’s campus and classes were like. They were from high schools from all over Kansas and they all shared a strong interest in attending Washburn the following year.

The schedule for the day began with a meet and greet for the high school students at 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. which was quickly followed by a general welcome ceremony. Afterwards, the students played a Kahoot game featuring Washburn trivia from 9:30 to 9:50 a.m. and were then given the option of either attending a History 100 class under Dr. Silvestri or viewing Student Life presentations that featured details on how to become involved with the campus which lasted from 10:00 to 10:50 a.m. The students were then brought back together at 11:00 a.m. for a presentation about scholarships and financial literacy that lasted till 11:30 a.m.

After the scholarships presentation, students were then given a presentation about admissions and financial aid options before being served lunch in the A and B room in the Union. After 1:00 p.m. the students were allowed to go on a library tour and they were able to explore academic majors that they were interested in. Starting at 2:00 p.m. the students were then given a general campus tour before being dismissed at 3:00 p.m.

Those involved directly with the program, such as Paige Maley from the office of admissions, are very friendly and charismatic towards the future Ichabods and believe that the Ichabod Days program is a wonderful way to get new students interested in our university.

“It’s a completely different experience when you get on campus. When we go out and recruit and tell students how great Washburn is but to see it in person is a whole different experience. They have the opportunity to go sit in on a class, they get to hear about campus life and residential life and what that’s really like, they get to step into the shoes of a student at Washburn for a day and see what it’s like,” said Paige Maley.

Nicole Vavra, one of those responsible for putting the event together, explained why the Ichabod Senior Days are so important to the university.

“Many students in this stage are still deciding where they want to go to college and so during the fall semester this is a really preparative time to get in front of students so that they can see what Washburn has to offer them. While they are at this event we’re able to showcase what it’s like to be in one of our classrooms, what it’s like to talk to different offices on campus and then they get to meet some current students and take a tour of campus. On an event day such as this you’re really able to see a little bit of everything but we also still encourage them to come back for visits on their own, which we call personalized campus visits so they can experience both a large day group event and a personal campus visit as well,” said Mrs. Vavra.

Washburn also hosts junior, sophomore, and transfer student days that are similar to senior day in that they show different levels of high school students what it’s like to attend courses on Washburn’s campus and, in the case of transfer students, show all of the amazing courses that the university can offer to those transferring from another college. Ichabods at Night is also a similar event meant to introduce high school students to the campus by treating them to special events, delicious food, and the wonderful staff at Washburn. All of these events are headed by the office of admissions, located in Morgan Hall, which handles on-campus visits from students interested in studying at Washburn.

Washburn hosts senior days multiple times a year, most of which take place in the fall semester. The next senior day will be on Nov. 16 and will follow the same schedule as the event did last Friday. A combined junior and senior day will occur next year on Jan. 25 as well. If any students at Washburn have younger siblings who are exploring their options for higher education then they may want to mention to this amazing experience to their siblings. To register for senior, junior, transfer, or sophomore Day, simply go to Washburn University’s homepage and look for the admissions section. This will give a variety of options for campus visits, including the sign-up form for Ichabod Days.

Be sure to greet and be friendly to any high school students who visit our beautiful campus on the next Ichabod Day and let them feel welcome.