Tech holds college fair

LYNN – Lanelle Jones didn’t believe she’d get accepted to college because of her grade-point average.”I was really worried about it. I was freaking out about it,” the 18-year-old Lynn Vocational Technical Institute student said Thursday night.However, after some encouragement from her guidance counselor, Johanna Smith, she knew college was in her future.”Ms. Smith made me feel like I could go to college. She calmed me down. She told me that not only could I go to college, but I could also get scholarships,” Jones said while filling out an application to Salem State University.Jones attended Lynn Tech’s first-ever College Application Night along with many other students in the school’s library.All six members of the Salem State University admissions office, along with representatives of Marian Court College in Swampscott and North Shore Community College in Lynn, showed up to help the high school seniors apply for college.”We are just here to support them,” Smith said. “This can be a very daunting process for most of them.”Smith said that many of the students are the first in their families to attend college, which can make the application process more challenging.”When it’s a parent’s first time looking at a college application, it can be overwhelming for both the student and the parent,” Smith said.Jones is applying to Salem State and Westfield State University, and just found out she was accepted into Marian Court.”That was great to find out,” she said about her recent acceptance.She hopes to major in early childhood education or criminal justice.”I could see myself being a teacher’s assistant or even a teacher,” Jones said.Some students worried about how they were going to pay for college in such troubled economic times.”I think less kids are applying because they are worried they can’t afford it,” Marian Court admissions assistant Krissy Norris said.Norris said Marian Court tries to alleviate their fears.”All they see is one big number,” Norris said. “We try to break that down for them as clear as we can and let them know it is possible for them.”Salem State admissions counselor Soane Mertelus agreed.”You have to break it down for people and let them know that there are scholarships available to them,” she said.Norris is an alum from LVTI and said she would have benefited from an event like this when she was a high school senior.”I would have loved this,” Norris said. “I really think this is a great idea.”Mertelus said Salem State has not been negatively impacted by the economy. “Tons of people have been applying to Salem State ever since we turned into a university,” Mertelus said. “We are getting a lot of attention.”Anaeli Lopez is considering attending Salem State.She decided to attend College Application Night to get a head start on her applications.”I haven’t really started any of them yet, so I thought this would be a good time to start,” Lopez said.Lopez’ older sister was the first one to graduate college from her family. Lopez said seeing her sister graduate inspired her to go to college.”I get excited about it when I think about it,” Lopez said.Jones will be the first one to graduate college from her family. Her parents passed away when she was younger, and she now lives with her grandmother. This has pushed her to be the best she can be.”I am determined to graduate college, get a job and eventually get my master’s,” Jones said. “I want to make my family proud.”Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].