Recently, the College Coach for Russellville High School planned a day for the juniors and seniors to tour Austin Peay's campus. Our coach and a group of students loaded onto the bus and traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee.

Our busy day began immediately upon arrival.

The tour guide led us from the Ellington Student Service Building on a trajectory to the Morgan University Center. The group was taken to a meeting room where an admissions advisory gave a presentation and answered questions. The total cost for an in-state freshman is around $20,000. Austin Peay offers multiple scholarships to its students and once an applicant clicks submit on their application, they'll automatically be registered for any eligible scholarship or financial aid.

College students can participate in more than 130 student clubs and organizations.

An average class usually has 24 students, so if you're not a fan of the big universities this could be the place for you. Students have a choice of over 53 bachelor's degree programs or 22 master's degree programs.

Once the presentation was over and questions were answered, the group went back outside and met their next tour guide who accompanied us for rest of the day. She was a theatre major which explained her energetic spirit. She led us around campus, telling stories and educating the students about all the buildings and resources they provide on campus.

We were surprised by the ample amount of diversity at the college. The juniors and seniors were even able to interact with a college student and hear her talk about her project to bringing awareness to domestic violence. We continued and toured several residential buildings until they came to the spot from where they began.

It was a fun, enjoyable and educational day for us high school students.

Our coach rewarded the students by taking them out to eat at the highly-recommended Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers. All the students were very respectful and showed a lot of interest.

Keep your eyes out because one of our own seniors might attend Austin Peay in the coming 2019-2020 year!

Also last Friday, Gate Students and Book Club members attended the second annual Youth Adult Southern (YAS) Book Con. Ms. Nancy Skipworth, Mrs. Lauren Fynboe and Ms. Jessie Nugent traveled with the students to Western Kentucky University where the event commenced at 9:00 a.m. in the Downing Student Union.

Free t-shirts were handed out to the students before they ventured off on their own to interact with a room full of authors. The authors' genres ranged from romance, fantasy, fiction, crime and much more. RHS students were able to personally talk with authors and gain insight into the world of publishing.

Throughout the day, numerous panel reviews and workshops were held for people to learn about the skills of creative writing. Several students purchased books from authors at the event and traveled back to school with knowledge, books and full bellies.

The event was very beneficial for the students who aspire to become authors themselves or those that just like to read. The students chose to eat at a restaurant on the campus such as Chik-Fil-A or Steak & Shake. Near the event's end, we explored the campus and met new people.

The trip was amazing and then we had an absolutely great time! Special thanks to the teachers that went on the field trip and made it possible for the students going on such a fun trip!

It's always great to experience a good time at school. Most students believe school is boring, but when administrators and teachers make an attempt to make the experience enjoyable it makes students more proactive.