Marian Catholic hosts College Day

CHICAGO HEIGHTS | The Marian Catholic Alumni Association, in conjunction with the Marian Catholic Guidance Department, hosted their annual College Day reception and panel discussion on Jan. 5.

More than 70 young alums from the classes of 2010 and 2011 participated in the event geared toward helping current juniors make informed decisions about the college selection and application process.

Set in the Sr. M. Paul McCaughey, O.P. Leadership Center, the grads responded first to a series of prepared questions by standing or staying seated. The question which saw 100 percent of the grads responding positively was, "Do you feel that Marian Catholic prepared you well for your college experience?"

Kara Morrison '10, who attends the University of Missouri, urged the juniors to complete four years of foreign language while at Marian because "taking foreign languages in college is very difficult and you're going to need the extra preparation."

Another topic the grads stressed was to take as many Advanced Placement courses as possible at Marian.

Kieran Dziallo '11, an Illinois Institute of Technology student, explained. "By taking all the AP classes I could, I had already earned 40 credit hours before stepping onto campus," he said. "Plus, after having four years of English at Marian, I'm one of the few technical-minded students who can write completely coherent papers with no trouble at all."

After the panel discussion adjourned, the juniors mingled with the grads, asking individual questions and finding out more about life on campus.

Gerry O'Brien, Guidance Department director at Marian Catholic, summed up the day's events.

"Having this many young alumni take time out of their semester break to talk about their college experience to current students is terrific," he said. "Hearing the grads say how they've benefitted from their Marian education is a testimony not only to their parents for making the decision to send them here, but to our various academic departments who have invested so much time, effort, and dedication to helping our students succeed."