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DOWAGIAC — Contrary to the multitude of undecideds among more than 350 high school students attending Southwestern Michigan College’s College Fair Sept. Contrary to the multitude of undecideds among more than 350 high school students attending Southwestern Michigan College’s College Fair Sept. 23,  Marcellus Community Schools senior Ben Aalfs is deep into researching his path to attaining his educational goals.

Aalfs sees himself combining automotive technology with business and marketing to open his own garage.

“I’ve checked out SMC’s business courses, which are great,” he said, “so I’ve thought about coming here for a year.”

Aalfs is also looking at WyoTech, the former Wyoming Technical Institute in Laramie, which prepares students for careers as technicians in the automotive and diesel industry.

Aalfs, who divides his time between Marcellus and Van Buren Tech in Lawrence, previously attended college fairs at Michigan State and Western Michigan universities.

Aalfs is seated with another Wildcats senior interested in pursuing cybersecurity or computer networking.

A group of young women from Hartford contains an undecided, two aspiring nurses, a potential veterinarian, an animal science and zoology for exotic animal research major and a possible Roadrunner who would transfer to WMU to combine early childhood education with singing.

“I want to go into performing along with teaching,” she said. “I want someplace nearby and have definitely been considering SMC.”

Eleven high schools — Hartford, Dowagiac, Marcellus, Cassopolis Ross Beatty, Decatur, Lakeshore, Coloma, Countryside, Covert, Sturgis and South Haven visited with more than 30 colleges to delve into such timely topics as admissions, specific programs and financial aid.

“The student energy was great and we received numerous compliments from the college reps on the space and hospitality,” SMC Adult Recruitment Manager Megan Kupres said.

Participating colleges besides SMC in 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse on the Dowagiac campus included Albion College, Alma College, Andrews University, Aquinas College, Baker College, Calvin College, Central Michigan University, Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, Eastern Michigan University, Ferris State University, Glen Oaks Community College, Goshen College, Grand Valley State University, Tiffin, Ohio’s Heidelberg College, Cleveland’s Hiram University, Kalamazoo College, Kendall College of Art and Design, Flint’s Kettering University, Southfield’s Lawrence Technological University, Michigan Army National Guard, Michigan State Police, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Northern Michigan University, Northwood University, Oakland University, Saginaw Valley State University, Siena Heights University, The University of Toledo, University of Detroit Mercy, University of Michigan, Western Governors University, Western Michigan University and WyoTech.

Technology is streamlining college fairs.

“StriveScan has dramatically improved efficiency and equity at fairs by removing the need for students to physically write their names on contact cards,” Kupres said about an app launched in 2020.

Students register via their own phones. A barcode is texted/emailed to them immediately. Colleges download the StriveScan app to scan student phones and get access to their information instantly.

“College reps are able to get more accurate information, which we then use to send targeted communications, and students can connect with more colleges by cutting down the time they spend at each table. For example, SMC had 91 scans — the most we’ve ever had from a fair,” Kupres said. “It took off in Indiana, but is starting to catch on in Michigan.”

“A cool feature in StriveScan,” she added, “is if a student is unable to attend, they can create a StriveScan account and request information from schools they are interested in.”

SMC last hosted a career fair before the pandemic in September 2018. The college previously hosted this event in the evening. This was the first time it was offered during the daytime to invite school groups.

For those seeking more in-depth information about SMC and the new Green Light Guarantee, the college is holding an open house Oct. 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Student Activity Center, off Dailey Road of the Dowagiac campus.

Register for the open house today at swmich.edu/open house. If you have questions before Oct. 1, call (800) 456-8675, ext. 2135, or email enrollment@swmich.edu.