By Devonte Demby

VIDALIA — Sometimes students just don’t buy what their parents and teachers tell them about attending college.

However, professional college recruiters may have a better ability to lessen the grip of anxiety that can accompany first-year college students.

Wednesday morning at the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center, Concordia Parish seniors were given the opportunity to learn different college and career choices at college and career day.

Hundreds of students from the Concordia Parish schools visited with 22 representatives from schools, colleges and universities Wednesday at the event.

The senior students from Ferriday, Vidalia and Monterey high schools rotated in 15-minute sessions to visit each of the representatives.

Buddy Givens, career day organizer, said he thinks this event helps students meet the right recruiters who will lead them in the right direction.

“They can sit and listen to their parents. They can listen to their teachers, and sometimes they don’t,” Givens said. “But when you get a recruiter from a college and they start to talk about what you need to have to prepare for college, they tend to listen to these recruiters.”

They hear parents all the time, so when they hear someone from LSU or the University of Louisiana at Monroe talk about those institutions, they tend to actually listen to them, Givens said.

He said he likes this event because it places everything in front of the students.

“This can even cause some students to start thinking about what they wish to do,” Givens said.

The parish students did not seem to take the career day opportunity lightly. With goals and ideas in mind, each student spent their time looking for a school or university that best fits their needs.

Vidalia High School seniors Finola Reed and Rebecca DeRouen spent their time together speculating if the University of Louisiana at Lafayette was the right choice for them.

Although Reed’s heart is not entirely set on ULL, she is still treating it as a valuable option.

“They did tell me that they have an animation program, which is something I’m very interested in,” Reed said.

While Reed is attracted by the rising industry of anime, her classmate, DeRouen, is more fascinated by history.

“I’m going to major in history, and they have a really good history program at ULL,” DeRouen said. “I just think history is an interesting subject.”

For Ferriday High School senior Dontell Myles, he is using this opportunity to shop around and find both his school and major.

“I really like Louisiana Tech because it is closer to home,” Myles said. “But I’m still trying to find the right field to go in.”

Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez was among the many schools recruiting high school students. Academic Counselor Viveca Johnson said she thinks the event provided students with some essential information about preparing to attend college.

“Going to college is expensive today,” she said. “If you know what program or major you want to do and you are aware of the cost of the school, I think that allows you to have a more effective college career.”

Johnson’s recruiting skills attracted the attention of Ferriday senior Adrian Wiggins, who said he thinks Co-Lin is a good start for him.

“I’m just glad that we are doing something like this for our students because it gives them options,” Givens said. “We are just thankful that our colleges and universities come here and they are excited to help.”