Junior Anna Parsamyan was among more than 100 students in attendance for the College/Career Fair held at the Glendale Civic Auditorium on Oct. 29. Parsamyan said that one of the college admissions officers even remembered her from a prior event.

“I’ve been coming to the college fair since ninth grade and I went to the college representatives and told them I’m ready for college — in ninth grade,” Parsamyan said. “This year I came back and I looked at different colleges [and it]  really opened my mind about them. The guy from UC Berkeley remembered me from two years ago because I told him I wanted to be an astronomer.”

According to head counselor Karine Turdjian, the event was sponsored by Glendale Educational Foundation (GEF) in partnership with Glendale Unified School District Career Technical Education and was coordinated by Susan Hunt.

Representatives from 137 colleges and universities set up tables to answer questions of incoming high school students and parents.

Turdjian said that while information on colleges is online but going to a college fair is more beneficial. “Nowadays, so much information regarding colleges is available online and in books, but the real, tangible value of attending a college fair is to gain insight into the culture of the institution itself,” Turdjian said. “College fairs allow you to meet representatives from a range of institutions.”

The event ran from 5:30‒8:30 p.m., with students and parents lining up to the tables ready to get their questions answered.

Alumni and admissions officers from schools as close as Glendale Community College to as distant as Harvard College were in attendance. Students with handfuls of college brochures moved from table to table asking alumni questions.

Amira Alvarado, the regional admissions coordinator for Baylor University in Waco, Texas, said that her job is an exciting one. “I get to visit high schools meet with students talk with them about Baylor answer question and get real excited about Baylor,” she said.