Signing Days celebrate high school seniors’ next steps

Amidst the bustling hallways and hopeful dreams of high school seniors, a new chapter unfolded in May as students penned their commitments to embark on an educational journey at Laramie County Community College.

Staff from LCCC’s Enrollment Services and Student Success Coaches made trips to South High School, East High School, Central High School, Burns Junior and Senior High School, Pine Bluffs Junior and Senior High School, Torrington High School, Wheatland High School and Rawlins High School to join high school seniors and their families to celebrate their next steps.

Danessa Miller, 18, is a senior at East High School who signed a commitment May 2. Miller said she plans to pursue a degree in the Business and Accounting Pathway at LCCC before transferring to a four-year school. At this point, she said she wants to be an architect, a goal she knows she can begin pursuing at LCCC.

“I am really excited about the next chapter in my education,” Miller said. “I am so thankful for my family, friends and mentors for their support throughout high school, and for my future plans. I know what I want to do, and I'm looking forward to being on campus and getting on track to graduate and successfully transfer to a four-year school. I feel confident that LCCC will help me get on a path to meeting my goals and building the future I want.”

With hundreds of students signing commitments in 2023, LCCC continues to see jumps in the number of signings at nearby high schools. Blake Paintner, LCCC Student Success manager, said she’d attribute that uptick to several factors, including offering more dual and concurrent enrollment courses, Student Success Coaches building relationships with high school staff and students, and Pathway coordinators’ outreach efforts.

High school seniors choose LCCC for a variety of reasons, Paintner said. Whether it’s the proximity to home or the unique offerings in areas such as Trades and Tech or Health Science and Wellness, she said LCCC’s value proposition is increasingly appealing to many.

“I also think word-of-mouth is helping with recruitment, as LCCC students are sharing their experiences with friends and classmates,” Paintner said.

Signing days, Paintner said, originally started out recognizing athletes and later those taking on military services. A few years ago, however, she said folks in local school districts and at LCCC recognized that it’s worth celebrating all students going to college.

“Getting to celebrate all students who are dedicating themselves to higher education is important to our local school districts, and to LCCC,” Paintner said.

As with any big life decision, Paintner said she knows some high school students see barriers between themselves and pursuing higher education. But at LCCC, she said she’s seen over and over again how the college’s resources meet students’ challenges, allowing them to overcome obstacles and succeed in changing their lives for the better.

“Whether those obstacles are financial, family or personal lives, I’ve seen a lot of students overcome those obstacles at LCCC because of the support services and resources we have,” Paintner said.

The Fall 2023 semester at LCCC begins Aug. 21.

To make an appointment with a Student Success Coach in Cheyenne or Laramie, use the Navigate app in myLCCC, which can be found on the website at lccc.wy.edu. To learn more about dual or concurrent enrollment, go to lccc.wy.edu/highschool/collegeprep.