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Remember the first time you set foot on a college campus?

Hopefully, that experience was a positive one. Maybe it was at Rockhurst at tulip time in the spring, or perhaps the fall, when the leaves turn color. You might have had an interaction with a faculty, staff member or student that really made the difference in your college decision.

Tomorrow, prospective college students from across the Kansas City metro area will get a chance to make some of their own memories of campus as °Ä¿Í×ãÇò hosts the KC Scholars College Fair in the evening on Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Arrupe Hall.

It’s the first fair sponsored by KC Scholars to be held in-person since 2019. And it’s an incredible opportunity for students who are seeking to complete their college degree through KC Scholars — a group that includes traditional first-time college students as well as adult learners — to talk to the program’s participating institutions. As host, it’s also an opportunity for Rockhurst to welcome those students in a sort of de facto campus visit. For Carmen Panlilio, Ph.D., interim vice president for enrollment services and marketing, it’s a perfect time to make a good first impression.

“It allows us to showcase our campus, our students, and our programs. The simple act of being here reminds the counselors, the families they serve, and the city of KCMO that Rockhurst has been here and will be here for them,” she said.

And what better way to showcase what’s been happening on campus — from our new president to the renovation of Sedgwick Hall and the addition of the Saint Luke’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences — than by seeing it for oneself?

More than the opportunity to showcase Rockhurst, Panlilio said hosting the fair is a way to support an organization that has helped thousands achieve their educational dreams. KC Scholars was established in 2016 with the goal of increasing the number of college graduates within six counties in the Kansas City metro area, partnering with local institutions (including Rockhurst) to offer support for traditional and nontraditional college students with financial need.

“KC Scholars is the epitome of inclusivity, support and engagement,” Panlilio said. “In the relatively short time that it has been in existence, it has helped so many families and communities.”