Every other year, Guidance Counselor Robert Shandy arranges for over 100 colleges to attend the the LHS college fair.  And every year a few stragglers cancel at the last minute or ask to be added to the list.

Shandy, a veteran at planning this event, does not blink an eye.

“It’s like planning a birthday party for a 127 kindergardeners,” Shandy said. “You just can’t know what to expect.”

Half of the colleges represented are from Kansas and are part of the Kansas Association for Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers (KACRAO). KACRAO sends Shandy a list of Kansas schools available, and Shandy adds them to the program. The other half represent the rest country from USC to Harvard.

While the event is geared toward college-bound juniors, undecided seniors may find their matches in the wide range of universities, community colleges and vocational schools.

“We call it a college fair because no one would want to come to Post-Secondary Education Night,” Shandy said. “We really have more to offer. Who would have known there’s a Tulsa Welding School?”

To make the college fair a success, Shandy has enlisted National Honors Society volunteers. The volunteers will greet college representatives and lead them to their spots. 

“I told my volunteers to come early,” Shandy said. “These people are eager beavers, and they’ll be here ready to get started.”

They will also direct the representatives to the hospitality room. Pizza Shuttle donated dinner, Lions’ Pride donated cookies and DECA and the Lions’ Den donated bottled water for the hospitality room.

“We like to kill them with kindness,” Shandy said. “I want to let them to meet the students and see what a great school LHS is.”

After the fair, Shandy will count to see how many of the 500 bags he ordered are left so he knows how many students attended. He will then send out critique sheets to all the schools in attendance and find out if they plan on returning to LHS for the next college fair.