Winter Discovery Day is approaching on January 20 and two campus arms have linked together to give prospective students a slightly different feel when they arrive in Caldwell for the event.
“We want it to be an actual, physical experience of what our community and our culture really offers here,” said Visitation and Events Coordinator Anne Whitwood.
For the first time, Whitwood is joining forces with Arnoldo Hernandez and Adan De La Paz of the College’s Department of Inclusion & Intercultural Engagement for the event, which falls on the same Monday as Martin Luther King Junior day.
Student ambassadors will be hosting short tours from 9:30 to 10 a.m. The event officially begins at 10 in the Langroise Recital Hall as Co-Presidents Doug Brigham and Jim Everett will welcome the students and their families. That will be followed by English professor Diane Raptosh leading a simulated class on why social justice belongs in schools.
Next on the agenda, the prospective students will head one way while the parents stay in the recital hall. Current students and parents will be available for parents to visit with about the College, while the prospective students head over to Simplot South for a poverty simulation led by Claudia Suastegui, the associate executive director of the Treasure Valley YMCA. Then, as noontime approaches, the prospective students and their parents will be reunited in Simplot South for lunch and also Martin Luther King Educational Experiences, a program hosted by the College’s AFRO Club.
Official tours will be offered at 12:30 p.m. and all guests are welcome to attend a panel discussion hosted by the Inclusion & Intercultural Engagement department at 1:30.
Winter Discovery Day is a recruiting event aimed at showing prospective students the importance of social justice and demonstrate its value on campus.
“They get to actively take part in an academic setting and two social settings in a matter of three hours,” said Whitwood, who graduated from the College in 1993. “They are completely immersed in our community.”
Winter Discovery Day is open to high school sophomores and juniors who are considering The College of Idaho and is free to attend. Registration is required, but Whitwood said it will be available at the door in the Langroise Center for Performing & Fine Arts.
The College of Idaho has a 128-year-old legacy of excellence. The College is known for its outstanding academic programs, winning athletics tradition and history of producing successful graduates, including seven Rhodes Scholars, three governors, and countless business leaders and innovators. Its distinctive PEAK Curriculum challenges students to attain competency in the four knowledge peaks of humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and a professional field—empowering them to earn a major and three minors in four years. The College’s close-knit, residential campus is located in Caldwell, where its proximity both to Boise and to the world-class outdoor activities of southwest Idaho’s mountains and rivers offers unique opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. For more information, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.