It's never too early to start thinking about post-secondary education, and students from Legacy Oak Trail got their first taste of college life during a specialized tour of St. Clair College this week.
The visit, led by the College's Marketing and Recruitment team, brought about 50 students through many parts of St. Clair, including stops at the Schools of Engineering Technologies, Skilled Trades, Health Sciences, and Nursing.
Grade 8 students from Legacy Oak Trail receive a specialized tour, with a stop at the school of Engineering Technologies at St. Clair College Campus with Prof. Dale Haggith on Feb. 4, 2025. (Rich Garton/St. Clair College)
"Getting younger students involved in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and understanding what career pathways and opportunities are for them really opens their eyes to where they need to enroll in high schools, what kind of courses they need to take and then which pathways they need through their education - and ultimately - their careers," said Dale Haggith, a professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology - Automotive Product Design at St. Clair College.
Prof. Haggith led a discussion during one of the student's stops at his lab, giving them information and advice about the differences between college and university, the types of jobs available to graduates and to spark an interest in STEM careers.
"What would I like to learn more about? What do I enjoy doing? How long do I want to go to school? Those are key questions to determining their pathway for the for the first time, when they get into post-secondary," said Haggith. "They have the opportunity to choose what they want to learn about that they haven't learned enough about, and it gives them the opportunity to kind of forge their own way, for once."
"Providing them the opportunity to see the facilities and see what St. Clair has to offer really opens their eyes to what they can experience here, and some of the differences that currently exist in their educational journeys," Haggith said, noting the students were very engaged and asked many good questions.
Students also rolled up their sleeves and participated in a LEGO robotics activity, building functional robots with Spike Prime LEGO Robotics kits.
Parnia Farmani, a Grade 8 student from Legacy Oak Trail, was one of those students interacting with the technology and inquiring about programs at St. Clair College.
"The future is here, and you can pick what you're going to do for the rest of your life. I find that really cool," said Farmani. "I do various extracurriculars here, but just to see the buildings, the inside of it, it's really cool."
Emma Skovran was amazed with the facilities, which felt like a little city within a school.
"There's so many different courses and classes and labs you can visit and take and there's so many different food options available," Skovran said. "You don't have to even leave campus."
To book a tour, please contact the College's Marketing and Recruitment office.
