College

Like many college freshmen, my first semester is over and I am getting ready to start my second semester. One of the things I learned during those first months is that there might be a few things that you just don't think about when you start out after high school graduation. After you've decided where you want to attend college, they will give you dozens of pamphlets about the many organizations, opportunities, places and rules associated with the university. The things they don't always tell you might seem obvious,  but they are things you might just want to remember as you prepare for your first semester in college.

janeth@herald-mail.com Students from the Black Achievers program at the Hagerstown and Camp Curtin (Harrisburg, Pa.) YMCAs teamed up for a college tour at the end of March. The tour was organized by Joe Summers of the Camp Curtin Y, who invited Hagerstown Black Achievers to come, too. Colleges were chosen to show an array of options - small and large schools; public, private and Christian schools. The 41-member group, including 12 students and two chaperones from Hagerstown, traveled by charter bus to Wright State University and the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio; the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University in Cincinnati; Wilberforce University and Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio; West Virginia State University in Institute, W.Va.

With two children in high school, I read all the newspaper articles and advice columns on college admissions with great interest. The articles are never reassuring. They always focus on "big name" schools and the fact that thousands and thousands of kids apply to these highly selective institutions, but only a handful get in. Kids with perfect Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores who have invented new techniques to help the lame walk and who have spent summers replanting the Amazon rain forest are rejected.

Lindsay Conrad, formerly of Waynesboro, Pa., recently donated 10 inches of her hair to the Locks of Love program. She decided after four years of growing her hair out, it was finally time to donate it to Locks of Love. For her, the only place to do this was at Snips Hair Studio in her hometown, where she has been getting her hair cut since she was 8 years old. When asked if she will miss her long hair, Conrad said, “Yes, it took me all of college to grow it, and I loved my long hair, but it will grow back and now a child will be blessed.” Locks of Love accepts hair donations and provides wigs for children who have lost their hair due to illness.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Shepherd University has been named a 2006 Best Southeastern College by the Princeton Review. Each college chosen this year had to meet the standards of the Princeton Review for academic excellence within its region. The listing features an overview of Shepherd including topics such as admissions, financial aid, student body, academics, campus life and programs offered, as well as selected student comments. The Best Southeastern College honor is designed to raise awareness of academically excellent but lesser-known schools with students looking to study within a specific geographic area.

Editor's note - There are a lot of people you see around town that you recognize, but don't know anything about. People like... Julie Bayer Age - 21. Hometown - Hagerstown. Where would you see Bayer? - The Salisbury University senior returns to Hagerstown for brief visits when she can get a break from her studies in clinical lab science and job in the medical lab at Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford, Del., about 20 miles from Salisbury, Md. Bayer started at Salisbury as a nursing student, knowing she wanted to do something in the medical field.

Any school counselor has experience with the Super Student. This is the student that has it all - perfect grades, extracurricular activities and an impressive number of community service hours. They might be the captain of the football team, president of the student council or class valedictorian. Their future seems locked up - acceptance to their college of choice accompanied by a hefty scholarship package. Counselors will tell you nothing is guaranteed. College admission offices want strong students, but they don't expect every applicant to have a 4.0 grade-point average and a perfect 36 on the ACT. Academics definitely are important, but colleges also want students who have heart, enthusiasm and a desire to succeed, meaning even the Super Student might not make the final cut. One way students can demonstrate their passion is through extracurricular activities.

As many of you know, Maryland Cooperative Extension is part of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources of the University of Maryland. This year - 2006 - marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the university. While my space does not permit a complete history of the Maryland Agricultural College, known today as the University of Maryland, I will attempt to hit the highlights. On March 6, 1856, the Maryland General Assembly chartered a new institution of higher education, the Maryland Agricultural College which was the first agricultural research college in America.

As parents, we become accustomed to being involved in our children's education. We read to them when they are very young. We help them with their homework and attend their school events as they get older. By the time they're ready to apply for college, many parents tend to step in and take charge of the application process. The transition from high school to college is one of the important transitions in life, and that's why parents need to take a "hands-off" approach to a student's college application.

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer Melissa Nelson wants to go to college, but she does not know where. On Monday, she and about 1,800 high school students got the chance to meet with representatives from 162 colleges at South Hagerstown High School's Choice '96 to talk about that decision. "Some of these colleges I didn't know existed," said Nelson, 17, a senior at Williamsport High School, as she walked with her mother past the tables set up by the colleges. Her mother, Cindy Shank, said the first question she asks college recruiters is when is the application due for acceptance and financial aid. "They have tons of information here," she said.

Kathleen Dorman talked Sunday about her days abusing cocaine and how she was “headed in all the wrong places.” Dorman - speaking during an adult education commencement at Hagerstown Community College - said she was told that she was never going to amount to anything and for seven years, she prayed to God for help. That help arrived in the form of a husband who she now credits with being an “angel” in her life. Dorman moved to Hagerstown from Baltimore and began seeking her high school diploma with help from the Washington County Family Center.

Wilson College's Class of 2013 is poised to make a great impact on the natural world because the next 10 years will be key in protecting the planet, the class' graduation speaker said Sunday. Sylvia A. Earle said that just last week, the Earth passed a milestone in which carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere passed the 400 parts-per-trillion mark. She also said half the coral reefs are gone, as she witnessed during a dive at the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia this month.

Hagerstown Community College sophomore Grant Smith followed up his indoor national title in the shot put by winning the outdoor title in the event on Friday at the NJCAA Track & Field Championships at Hutchinson Community College. Smith, a Brunswick High School graduate, joins a short lists of HCC athletes who won two NJCAA national titles in track & field, along with Jeff Scuffins, Mike Pazcuzzo and Terry Baker. Scuffins and Baker were standout distance runners, while Pazcuzzo earned his titles in the high jump.

It wasn't a case of what the Hagerstown Community College baseball team did. It was more a matter of what the Hawks didn't do. Missed opportunities came back to bite HCC as Harford scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning on Sunday to notch a come-from-behind 7-4 victory and eliminate the Hawks from the Region XX tournament. “We just couldn't come up with the big play or the big hit,” HCC coach Scott Jennings said. “We left the bases loaded in the seventh inning.

Lebanon Valley College recently announced the names of the winter and spring athletes from this area: - Matthew R. Aldridge of New Market, Md., was a member of the men's lacrosse team. Aldridge, a graduate of Linganore High School, is a sophomore economics major. - Alex L. Beard of Frederick, Md., was a member of the men's lacrosse team. Beard, a graduate of Gov. Thomas Johnson High School, is a junior English major. - Peyton V. Carper of Frederick was a member of the women's basketball team.

The opening game of the Region XX baseball tournament had a little of everything. It was topped with the drama and suspense that come with extra innings and tight play. It took more than five hours and 17 innings to play and featured everything but a home run. In the end, that is probably what Hagerstown Community College wished it would have had in its final at-bat. Second-seeded Chesapeake College outlasted the Hawks to win the 9-8 marathon at HCC. The Skipjacks, batting as the home team, didn't take the lead until the very last play of the game but never wavered throughout, answering each HCC run no matter the situation.

The Hagerstown Community College baseball team had just as many hit batters - six - as hits on Wednesday. The bumps and bruises led to a 4-3 Maryland JuCo victory over Montgomery-Germantown. Fittingly, the winning run scored on - what else? - a walkoff hit batter. “We can't control that,” HCC coach Scott Jennings said. “It worked for us today. It gave us ways to get on base.” The Hawks (29-25, 13-12) were locked in a 3-3 tie with Germantown (32-16, 11-11) entering the bottom of the ninth.

Wilson College will observe World Labyrinth Day on Saturday by creating a temporary labyrinth on the campus green and hosting activities. Those who walk the labyrinth are said to “find” themselves rather than getting lost, as they might in a maze, according to a news release about the labyrinth. The event is free and open to the public. At 11 a.m. in Warfield Hall's Allen Auditorium, the Rev. Margee Iddings will present “Preparing to Walk a Labyrinth,” where participants can learn more about this ancient practice before experiencing it themselves.

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CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The following area students were named to the dean's list for the fall semester at Wilson College: Tracey Artz of Sharpsburg Courtney Bernecker of St. Thomas, Pa. Dionne Donghia of St. Thomas Marissa Feldberg of Greencastle, Pa. Charlotte Flood of Mercersburg, Pa. Jeaneva Gagne of Frederick, Md. Joanna Gardner of Hagerstown Tonya Grissinger of Mercersburg Kira Hernandez of Greencastle ...