Lake Land’s Student Activity Board (SAB) holds one day designated for students looking to transfer to four-year universities. This is called the Transfer Expo or Transfer Day. Transfer Day was held on Wednesday, September 29 at the Field House. The event is similar toWelcome Day except instead of clubs, there are colorful banners along with informational packets of the different universities that contribute to the ambience of the Field House.

The event was organized by Joy Kaurin, a Counseling Services Specialist with the assistance of Bryan Burrell, an Academic Counselor; David Seiler, a History instructor and the interim Student Life Director; and Lisa Leisch, the Counseling Services Operations Specialist.

The purpose of Transfer Day is for Lakers looking to transfer to four-year universities. These students can talk to college representatives and have important conversations about their colleges. These conversations can include what the college has to offer, information about class size and cost and culture of the university.

Last year, COVID-19 forced the colleges to limit the travel of their representatives to recruit prospective students. As a result, Lake Land College changed Transfer Day into a virtual event.  Each college had a Zoom link to allow any student who was interested in transferring to partake in the virtual interview. However, the virtual event did not fare well since only 29 students participated. In previous years, over a hundred students participated.

Originally, Transfer Day was held in February or March, right before Spring Break.  However, many college representatives as well as Lake Land counselors realized that students have already submitted their applications during the fall semesters. So for the last 10-15 years, Transfer Day was held during the fall semesters. Many private institutions of higher learning would use this occasion to recruit students based on the majors that the institutions are well known for. This gives the private institutions an opportunity to offer scholarships to help pay for the costs of tuition, fees, housing, etc.

While many local colleges and universities such as Eastern Illinois University, Illinois College, Illinois State University, Indiana State University, Lakeview College of Nursing and Southern Illinois University were in attendance, there were some notable universities that made their first ever appearance at Transfer Day, which were Grand Canyon University and Murray State University.  

Grand Canyon University in downtown Phoenix, is one such university that made its inaugural appearance for Transfer Day. Tressa Schuler, the Academic and Transfer Counselor of Grand Canyon University, was once a volleyball player for said university. She is now responsible for recruiting students to attend Grand Canyon.  She mentioned that a great majority of students have never heard of this private, non-denominational Christian university.” Schuler, a Dixon, Illinois native, plans to recruit many students from the Midwest, especially from Illinois. Schuler cited that “Grand Canyon University offers degree programs in Business, Theology as well as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).   

There are many other colleges who attend Transfer Day that offer unique majors.

One such university is Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, Illinois. Marissa Baker, Enrollment Counselor at Lincoln Christian University, stated that “this Christian university offers exclusive majors such as Worship, Ministry, Biblical Studies and Organization Leadership.  Many students of all fields, in addition to the above mentioned majors, can attend college for five years and earn both their bachelor’s as well as their master’s degree.”

Another university is William Woods University, located at Fulton, Missouri. Tyler Bracht, Transfer Admissions Counselor, specified that the university offers four different types of degrees in Equestrian Studies(the study of horses) along with American Sign Language (ASL).  William Woods University is a NAIA, Division I school that offers 18 varsity sports. 

Jorge Colon, Transfer Admissions Counselor at Illinois State University, cited that the university offers Game Design as a bachelor’s program along with Creative Technology as a master’s program, which can be taken on-line.  All of the classes on campus are held at the Quad.

Rusty Nelson, Assistant Director of the College of Agriculture at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, stated that the college offers Animal Science, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Business, Forestry, and Agricultural Mathematics along with 30 different academic programs in the college.  Additionally, Nelson mentioned that past Lake Land College graduates, Sam Bricker, Payton Hines and Chase Trainor, are presently enrolled in the college. 

Twenty-five to thirty universities at any given year have attended Transfer Day at the Lake Land Field House. Below are the list of colleges that attended this year’s Transfer Day:

Moreover, many students have utilized the option of joining the Illinois National Guard after graduation. The local National Guard is located in Mattoon. 

According to the Illinois National Guard Recruiter, Emma Selvie the state National Guard will pay the tuition and fees for students who attend state colleges and universities such as Eastern Illinois University, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Illinois College, etc.

In addition, Selvie mentioned that before any students can participate in the Illinois National Guard, they are required to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test to determine qualification for enlistment in the armed forces. From there, if the students pass, they will go to camp one week a month and receive a $200 drill pay.  Additionally, the students received a stipend of $397 per month to cover any college expenses. 

Lake Land College’s Transfer Day has been a great way to learn about many future opportunities for students looking to transfer.