‘Staff Bingo’ Highlights the Life After Eagle Rock Fair

From the Claremont Colleges on the West Coast to Colby College in the East, from South Texas all the way north to Anchorage, Alaska, and even overseas in Uganda and the Philippines, Eagle Rock students recently learned where select Eagle Rock staff members headed off after their own high school experience.

It was a “share and tell” on a grand scale, with staff describing their own experiences immediately following high school and college. This first-ever Life After Eagle Rock Fair featured staff memories, along with photos, anecdotes and adventures, all to enliven presentations from colleges and universities about their offerings for new high school graduates / incoming students.

Participating Eagle Rock staff members provided “fun facts” about their experiences, and at the end of the presentations, students played “Staff Bingo,” tasked with identifying what fun fact belonged to which staff member. Prizes ranged from a kitchen patrol shift cover from an Eagle Rock instructional specialist, to a trip to Safeway with two friends, and first choice to an off-campus movie or play.

Among the fascinating facts uncovered during the “Staff Bingo” portion of the evening:

• Did you know two of our staff members were in the Peace Corps?
• Could you guess which one of our instructional specialists held a koala?
• Which instructional specialist attended community college before transferring to a four-year institution?
• Did you know one of our staff members was a photographer for a whitewater-rating outfitter?

Along with the fun came some important information for our future college students, including the best questions to ask recruiters, info about extracurricular activities offered in colleges and universities, and an exercise in practicing college/gap year fair etiquette.

A week following the Life After Eagle Rock Fair, eight of our students put their skills to the test while attending a Gap Year Fair in Lafayette, Colo. The world might not be ready for them, but these Eagle Rock School students showed up with all the right questions and a determination to make their dreams happen.

A special thanks to all of the Eagle Rock staff members who supported this effort and contributed to a wonderful night. And a special thanks to the following colleges, universities and programs that donated information and supplies to round out the evening’s activities and takeaways:

• Kalamazoo College
• Colorado College
• Tufts University
• Wilderness Inquiry
• Breckenridge Education Center
• University of New Hampshire
• Scripps College
• Pitzer College
• Pomona College
• Queens University
• University of Texas Austin

– – – – – – – – –

About The Author: Beatriz “Bea” Salazar-Núñez is the registrar and Life After Eagle Rock instructional specialist at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center in Estes Park, Colo. She is responsible for enrolling new and returning students, as well as assisting students in exploring their options as they prepare for their journey after Eagle Rock. Bea completed her undergraduate studies in psychology and ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Denver before receiving her Master’s degree in higher education administration from Colorado State University in Fort Collins.