Hudson Valley hosts parents and perspectve students at annual open house

News Editor

The college’s annual open house attracted over 1,000 attendees on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The event began at 9 a.m. and ran until 1 p.m. According to President Drew Matonak, the open house is one way in which the college hopes to increase enrollment. “There are a lot of things going against us from a demographics perspective, but at the same time, Hudson Valley is doing really well. we’ve had an increase in new enrolled students this fall,” he said.

Those who attended the event were divided into four groups and directed to auditoriums where deans from the schools spoke. “The faculty here at Hudson Valley are just outstanding. Most of our faculty have master’s degrees or higher, and our tuition is very very reasonable,” said interim dean of health sciences Carol Bosco while addressing perspective health sciences students. Bosco also highlighted the college’s student support systems and updated lab facilities     

After the presentations, attendees were taken on tours and invited to linger in the Campus Center where a handful of tables were set up representing various college departments, services, and activities.

“We are really proud of the atmosphere we have created here on campus,” Matonak said. “We want to showcase ourselves and show what Hudson Valley has to offer, and then let them make a good decision.”

Planning for the event began over nine months ago, according to Melissa Coon, associate director of admissions. By 11:30 a.m. she identified the event as a success, predicticting they would reach their goal of 1100 people.

According to Coon, one of the most important parts of the open house was providing students and parents with financial aid information. “A lot of these students are just starting their college search, and a big part of that search is how they are going to pay for it,” she said.

The college employed about 15 student tour guides for the day, each leading groups of up to 20 people. The tours emphasised the library and the learning resources of the LAC according to Coon.

“It’s pretty hectic right now, we do a lot of work behind the scenes,” said Ben Cerveny, a business administration major and tour guide. He noted that students are mostly interested in what happens on campus between classes.

Helping students understand the atmosphere of the college was also a goal according to Shane Batcher, a tour guide at the event. “This gives them an opportunity to really interact with the campus and students that are already going here, and get to know what it would be like to go here themselves,” said Batcher.