New students at Jamestown Business College were welcomed with a sunny Wednesday evening and a bag of goodies. The meet-and-greet, which included icebreakers, schedule workshops and parent information sessions was attended by 160 guests. The number consisted of freshman directly from high schools in Chautauqua, Warren and Cattaraugus counties and their parents.
"Although we do have a number of non-traditional students, this orientation is really for recent high school graduates," said Jessica Golley, JBC's director of marketing and communications.
Local businesses also constituted a presence, with representatives from the Jamestown YMCA and the Jamestown Cycle shop both in attendance.
Article Photos
At top, students participate in an icebreaker to start off the event. Above, faculty member Kathleen Gustafson speaks to incoming freshmen about scheduling at JBC. At left, Paige Burnett joins the crowd of new students at orientation.
P-J photos by Nicholena Moon
The students learned about college life along with the various programs JBC has to offer. Faculty members spoke to the incoming freshmen about career development opportunities, student activities, financial aid, and faculty and staff support. The information was designed to help both students and parents, the former gaining a knowledge base of their new school and the latter walking away with an understanding of their child's upcoming experience.
Paige Burnett, who graduated from Maple Grove this spring, anticipates learning skills that will help her launch a career in "hospitality management for travel and tourism."
When asked why she chose JBC, Burnett said, "It's a fast way to get my degree, compared to the other schools. I'm excited that there are specific classes, that it's not just fluff - the classes are specifically what I'm going for."
David Conklin, JBC president, expressed enthusiasm about the number of incoming freshmen.
"This will be the largest number of students directly out of high school that the college has had in several years," he said.
This year, the college is celebrating its recent transfer agreement with Gannon University that allows students completing JBC's Bachelor of Business Administration to complete their master's degree in one additional year. Its current programs are also still staples at the college.
"At this time our two most popular programs are the marketing management and accounting, and those are going very strong, Conklin said.
The president then spoke of upcoming changes in the job market.
"As things in the working environment show various needs, we will look into it."