© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Expanding access and options for precollege experiences

Dr. Shawn Wahl
Dr. Shawn Wahl
Dr. Shawn Wahl
Dr. Shawn Wahl

Part of getting ready for college is imagining yourself there. But some students don’t have a clear idea of what that looks like.

Maybe he would be a first-generation college student. Maybe his school districts doesn’t have the resources for the fields he dreams of. Maybe he believes he has to declare a major when he walks on campus in order to be successful.

Dr. Shawn Wahl, dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Missouri State University, says the precollege experiences can be transformational.

"If they're from a district that doesn't have the resources, whether that's related to science labs or artistic experiences and instruments, it gives students the opportunity to dream about going to college, and to actually perform or work with high quality equipment," Wahl said. "Anytime a student has the opportunity to come to a college campus, to work with a faculty member who empowers them or who coaches them in a different way,I think those are the sorts of things that are really important."

An interview with Wahl

COAL offers many precollege experiences in each of the academic departments, including: 

For more information, contact the COAL office at 417-836-5247.

Copyright 2021 KSMU. To see more, visit KSMU.

Tags
Nicki received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration from Missouri State in marketing, in 2002 and 2004 respectively. After gaining experience in writing, marketing, special event planning, fundraising and public relations, she returned to the university to work as the public relations specialist in the office of university communications. There she tells the university’s story by sharing the stories of individuals at Missouri State.