Thousands visit St. Lawrence College Kingston campus open house (2024)

St. Lawrence College open its doors to thousands of visitors during its annual spring open house event on Saturday.

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Prospective students and their families toured the college’s Kingston campus for much of the day, speaking with faculty and students and learning about programs.

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Open house events took place at the college’s Brockville and Cornwall campuses on other dates.

“We’re really pleased about it,” Glenn Vollebregt, St. Lawrence College’s president and CEO, told the Whig-Standard on Saturday. “I’ve been at this for about 25 years now and this is probably the largest crowd I’ve ever seen, at all three campuses.”

Vollebregt believes that people are recognizing more the value of a college education.

“Our grads get jobs. They have the skills that are required to get a good job,” he said. “And I think that’s becoming more well known in the province, and in the country. And globally, actually.”

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Vollebregt pointed out that college graduates are the “engine of the economy” In Ontario, and he believes that St. Lawrence has “taken it to the next level” in terms of providing an applied education.

“Virtually every program we have has a work-integrated learning experience,” he said. “They get out in the field. I was talking to a young lady who’s taking our nursing program, and what’s unique about our program is that in the very first semester of a four-year program, they’ll be out in a placement. So very, very quickly they get that hands-on experience.

“I would say that close to 100 per cent of our programs have that experiential piece to them.”

Opening the college’s doors gives a glimpse into campus life, which Vollebregt described as “a unique culture.”

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“People say it has a unique flavour,” he said. “It’s a real family environment here, and I know that term can be overused sometimes, but it really is. We have small classroom sizes, our faculty get to know you within the first couple of days, and it’s a really strong community.”

The college sees approximately 8,000 students each year — 6,000 of those at its Kingston campus — and employs 600 full-time staff, with an additional 1,400 who work in some capacity for the institution.

St. Lawrence will host another open house event in the fall.

“This is a great way for students and their family and friends to get an idea of what they’re signing up for,” Vollebregt said.

mbalogh@postmedia.com

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