Nested in the south side of the Media Center, TuHS’s College and Career Center is dedicated to preparing students for post-high school life. The Wolf sat down with the center’s Jennifer Butts and Kathy Stallkamp to speak with them about what the center has to offer all Tualatin students.

Q: What are some things that the center can help students with that they might not be aware of?

STALLKAMP: We provide guidance of places to volunteer, here’s how to get an internship, here’s advice on preparing yourself so that when you’re a senior you’ve got a resume to go forward.

BUTTS: Scholarship and application essay review. There’s a small percentage [of students] that take advantage of that.

STALLKAMP: Finding a job; all of the local businesses call us regularly looking for employees; we post those on our website.

Q: What do you help students with the most frequently?

STALLKAMP: In a general sense we help plan with everything post-high school.

BUTTS: And [with] most of those things, whatever path beyond they involve, money comes into play, so I would guess we spend a lot of time on financial support — figuring out all those forms and all of those details.

Q: How can working with the center improve your chances of getting scholarships and financial aid?

STALLKAMP: A lot of the local scholarships; we work directly with the people giving those scholarships. I work with those people, so I can give advice on what kind of things they’re looking for in their essay and in their application.

Q: What’s something you wish that college-interested students knew but usually don’t?

BUTTS: Sometimes the college-specific scholarships they don’t really dive into. They’ll fill out the application and be like, ‘Yay, I’m done!’ But they don’t go to the school-specific scholarships page.

STALLKAMP: The pre-work before you apply – using Naviance Supermatch to identify schools that’d be advantageous to consider. We have a couple of lists of questions that students can use when they go to college visits – things that they don’t even think about!

Q: What would you tell students who are anxious or confused about visiting the center, or who don’t want to sit down and talk across a desk?

STALLKAMP: I always tell everybody: relax, we’re here to guide you. We’re here to help you, so it should not be a very scary process. [I wish] they could change their mindset to it’s an exciting process, it’s a new opportunity.

BUTTS: Some students may be nervous because it’s the ‘College and Career Center.’ It just seems like a daunting thing, but there is no judgment in this department, and everybody’s plan is exciting and new, and we just want to guide students, whatever they are interested in.

STALLKAMP: If a student needs help, they can stop in between classes, come at lunch, they can email us, we can set up a Google Meet or meet in person. We can answer their [questions] just over email. We’re also really open to meeting students with their parents or a friend.

Stallkamp and Butts also wished to make it clear that, “This is not just for seniors. It’s surprising how many people think it’s only for seniors. We want to make it obvious that anybody is welcome.” 

Regardless of which year you are in, with the help of the College and Career Center, “There’s a lot [you] can do to make senior year a lot easier.”