Students, parents meet with colleges during fair

Veteran nuclear plant worker Donald Hunter knew he was lucky when he secured a good job in the 1970s without an education.

But he knows those days are over and he wants better for his 18-year-old son, Corry.

The two were among thousands of high school students and parents who came to a college fair offered at Northview High School on Thursday by some Dothan organizations in conjunction with the Alabama Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions.

Military branches and more than 30 colleges from across the Southeast were represented by recruiters eager to gain access to more students.

It appeared all of the state’s public colleges, including Auburn University and the University of Alabama, were represented.

“I know what it is to work for a living. If he has a degree, it would open up more doors for him,” Donald Hunter said as Corry grabbed information from a Wallace Community College table.

“I’m gonna continue to work ‘til I get him through school and then I’ll retire.”

Corry, an Ashford High School senior who said he’d made C’s most of his 11th grade year, said he wanted to improve his grades so he could get scholarships to go to college. He spent time with recruiters like Florida A & M University’s Rudolph Von Slaughter, who answered questions about tuition, scholarship programs, room and board.

Some students, like Emmanuel Christian senior Lee Peters, said they wanted to explore their options.

“I just want to get information today. I might be a minister so I’ll be looking into going to a Christian college,” he said.

Debi Breedlove, Wallace College’s outreach coordinator for health sciences, said more parents showed up with their children to review the various tables than last year.

“It’s probably because it’s costing them more money or that we’re doing a better job communicating, but for whatever reason, more parents have responded and are getting involved with their child’s education,” Breedlove said.

Breedlove said the fair was one of several hosted at schools over the past couple days.

The final fair is expected to be today at Geneva County High School in Hartford.