During lunch, my friends and I usually sit at the College and Career Center (CCC), a place that offers a rare peace and tranquility in the school. Although we mostly spend our time talking about grades or the agonies of junior year, we sometimes come across some unique events that are held in the CCC.

One time, we listened to the accounts of several juniors and seniors about what they did over the summer; the activities ranged from Governor’s Foreign Language Academies to Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) internships, broadening my scope of possible summer opportunities offered to high school students.

However, it was disappointing to see that some of the resources provided by the College and Career Center were not given as much attention as they should be receiving. When we accidently stumbled upon the opportunity to talk about students’ summer experiences, I saw a surprisingly low number of students attending the event. With numerous students in the Jefferson community interested in enriching summer activities or internships, I expected more students to have participated in the event.

Of course, many students visit the CCC during college visits to learn more about their dream schools, but the amount of information the center provides for the students is immense.

Over the summer, I frequently visited the CCC website to gain more information about volunteer opportunities that are offered near my home as well as possible competitions I could participate in during the school year. The CCC also has collections of alumni questionnaire responses about their colleges, which could be helpful resources for students who are in the process of applying for college.

Additionally, last year my friends and I looked over multiple binders of students’ reflections on their summer experiences in hopes of finding the perfect internship opportunity. The information we found in the reflections was helpful not only because the students provided the contact information of the organizer, but also because they put their honest opinion about the activity.

The low participation in some of the CCC events I attended could be due to low publicity, among other reasons. If the events were announced more frequently and openly to the Jefferson community, especially through Intranet or morning announcements, more students would remember to take a few minutes off and visit the CCC.

The weekly emails sent by the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) named “This Week at TJ” are a prominent first step for publicizing more in-school events.

As a junior, there are so many things to consider—grades, colleges, tomorrow’s homework and the future. I’m lucky that I am provided with an ample amount of resources to help guide my future, and hopefully other students will be able to realize the school and CCC’s benefits as well.