Choosing a college major is one of the most difficult decisions students will face in their academic careers. That’s why Cochise College is hosting events to help high school and college students learn about the wide array of available career programs located close to home and find the direction that’s best suited for them.

This file photo shows an avionics student.

Meet Your Major and High School Expo events will be held Monday, Feb. 13 at the Sierra Vista Campus Student Union, and Wednesday, March 28 at the Douglas Campus. The events are free and open for students to learn about the programs and opportunities available at Cochise College, with the help of advisers, campus tours and information tables.

At the upcoming event to be held at the Sierra Vista Campus, the High School Expo will go from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is geared toward high school students, while Meet Your Major is from 2 to 5 p.m. and for students already taking Cochise classes. The Douglas Campus event in March invites both future and current students between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and it coincides with the Aviation Career Open House.

“We want students to become familiar with the Cochise campus and our programs, and we also want them to learn about the advantages of going to UA South, because lots of people aren’t aware that there is a UA South campus,” said JoAnne Ellsworth, counselor at the Sierra Vista Campus. “We also have lots of students who are general studies or undecided on a major, and financial aid has become more restricted. If something is a good match for them and their skill level, we want to help them find it instead of wasting time. Plus, it’s an opportunity to consider things we offer, but maybe students haven’t thought about before or don’t know about.”

The Aviation Career Open House will highlight the program at the Douglas Campus. The public is invited to stop by campus to not only learn about careers in aviation, but also get a hands-on experience by taking a spin in the flight simulator, exploring the fleet of aircrafts and meeting pilots.

To dig in even further, the aviation department is offering a special rate of $64 for a half-hour introductory flight. Just ask about it when you RSVP at 417-4114 by March 15.

Both Meet Your Major events at each campus will showcase the advantages available to Cochise College students, including more than 100 degree programs and many career and technical certification programs. Cochise College also has strong links to the University of Arizona — through Cochise Cats and the UA South campus right next door to Cochise’s Sierra Vista Campus — as well as Arizona State University through Point ASU transfer agreements, and several other four-year universities. Articulation agreements with each university vary, which is why counselors urge students to visit the High School Expo and Meet Your Major events to receive accurate and vital information.

“Sometimes students don’t even know what’s available or why it’s different,” Ellsworth said. “Some schools will let you transfer in a lot of credits from a community campus. Some colleges have unique programs that just aren’t for everybody, so we want to make sure students would be a good fit for what’s there.”

At both campus events, there will be free iPod drawings, and Cochise College clubs and organizations will provide information about student life activities.

At the Douglas Campus event, in addition to university officials and Cochise advisers, representatives from AZTransfer.com, a website designed for students transferring within Arizona’s public institutions of higher education, will be on hand to answer questions about transferring credits from Cochise College.

Also in Douglas, criminal justice students will be able to interact with employers to find out about different requirements for getting into the police academy, border patrol or other public safety programs.

“We’ve never focused on the idea of our students needing to give thought to what they want to major in,” said Marguerite Conners, Career and Cooperative Education coordinator at the Douglas Campus. “We hope they can realize how many programs we really have, because how would you know? You go to an adviser and say ‘I know I need an English class.’ But you might not know, for example, if you’re willing to commute, you can take classes in the culinary arts program. Students rarely get the opportunity to make those choices, to say ‘If I’m willing to commute, I can open myself up to a lot of majors.'”

If you go…

High School Expo, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Meet Your Major, 2 to 5 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 13
Sierra Vista Campus Student Union
901 N. Colombo Ave.
Call 515-5483

Meet Your Major/High School Expo
& Aviation Career Open House
Wednesday, March 28, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cochise College Douglas Campus
4190 West Highway 80
Call 417-4044 or 417-4750 for more info.