A local high school held an event to bridge the gap between high school life and the college experience, hosting 22 graduates, who spoke to students about what to expect after graduation.

Southside High School held its second annual Alumni Day on Dec. 19, bringing 22 graduates in from the classes of 2009 to 2014 to speak to students in grades nine through 12, who are enrolled in at least one honors course for the 2014-2015 school year, in addition to seniors who plan to attend college after graduation, said Dale Cole, principal at SHS.

Last year, the school held the event on a much smaller scale, Cole said. The idea came from Tina Petty, an honors math teacher at SHS, who contacted the alumni and arranged for them to come to the event. Due to positive feedback from students, the school decided to expand the event and allow not just seniors and students enrolled in AP classes, but all students enrolled in at least one honors class.

“We started it last year, so it was smaller,” Cole said. “She (Petty) brought in about six to eight students and they spoke with about 40 to 50 kids. This year, it went really well. The students gave great feedback on what we had done, and Ms. Petty was really the driving force behind it. I just wanted to find more and more ways to bridge that gap and get more students thinking about college earlier. They really need to start thnking about it when they’re freshmen. By the time they’re seniors, they really are college students. Most of the time, they’re already taking college classes if they’re planning on going to college.”

Cole said a total of 167 students in attendance were split into groups of about 20 each, and each group rotated to classes where an alumnus walked them through topics pertaining to dorm life, expectations of college, tips for success, college athletics and what students could to start preparing while in high school. During the sessions, students had the chance to ask questions and receive advice from the alumni, some of which were the students’ peers, at one time, Cole said.

Cole said staff and administration answers questions for the students, but for some reason, the advice and guidance doesn’t quite sink in like that coming from a peer or someone that is currently enrolled in college.

“We answer their questions sometimes, but they don’t believe us,” Cole said. “They want to talk to someone who is a student now.”

The graduates were presented with goody bags at the completion of the assembly as Southside’s expression of gratitude for speaking with the students, Cole said. The school is also sharing a Google doc with students, consisting of alumni’s email addresses so they will have the means to ask questions and for advice as the year progresses, Cole said. Alumni attending were Dylan Tripp, Galen Powers, Holly Perry, Sarah Poole, John Edwards, Danita Gibbs, Valarie Hodges, and Katie Boyd from NC State; Macy Paramore, Kyajia Mourning, and Tiffany Philbeck from UNC Chapel Hill; Destinee Joyner, Marlin Edwards, Tameka Smith, and Savannah Mumford from Pitt Community College; Eric Vick and John McCormick from East Carolina University; Houston Main and Kyle White from Campbell; Brittney Shelton from NC Central; Nathan Cobb from UNC-Pembroke; and Aaron Jones from Barton.​