MCAC’s “Michigan Experience Day” 2017

“Michigan Experience Day allows high-achieving students – who may not otherwise have the possibility to step foot on campus – to be immersed in the traditions and experience of the university,” says Mollie Bush, Acting Director of MCAC. “It truly allows the students to envision themselves as members of the University of Michigan Community.”

Throughout the day, the high school students had the opportunity learn about the Michigan experience from campus experts: U-M faculty and students. Faculty organized lectures to expose students to U-M’s academic culture. This year’s lectures included faculty from the College of Engineering, School of Nursing, Ross School of Business, and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. U-M students also led roundtable discussions to share their experiences of life on campus and joined the high school students for lunch in U-M’s South Quad dining hall. High school students also had the opportunity to tour campus.

Celina Flegal, MCAC adviser at Holland High School, shared that she took the opportunity to connect her high school students with Holland High School graduates now at U-M. She thinks interactions with U-M students are the highlight of the day for the high school students: “It really gives the high school students the chance to see that [the U-M students] were in their shoes at one point, and see that they can be in their shoes at some point in the future.”

MCAC is diverse group of recent U-M graduates, working full-time as college advisers in select high schools throughout Michigan to address the widening gap in college preparation. Advisers help students navigate every aspect of the college-going process. They work with principals, counselors and teachers to foster a college-going culture in their school and community to increase the number of low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students entering and completing higher education.

For more information about the Michigan College Advising Corps visit http://ceo.umich.edu/mcac/