In the past, Career Resource Center has been the hub for students going on to college and looking for guidance and assistance to do so.

The Career Resource Center, or the CRC as it is affectionately known, was used primarily by Dimond High’s junior and senior classes.

The CRC was run by Kim Lauwers and she took care of everything that went on in the office. Most would think that a counselor would have the same training as  Lauwers running the CRC but as Tracy Ashman said “We counselors don’t get nearly the same amount of training in that area. Our training is based on actual counseling and not college preparation. I only took one course in College on Career training”

The CRC office also has many materials that are useful in your search for a college, resources that are only found in that office.

In the past years the CRC has been open every day, during lunch, after school and also during most of the day.

It was as easy to get into the CRC for guidance as it would be to speak to a teacher about a project if not easier.

This year is much different, Dave Donk says “Now the CRC is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at lunch and after school. We don’t see as many kids as we did last year, and few come after school. Normally I will wait around till about 2:30 if no kids come for assistance but if one comes needing help I will stay for as long as they need.”

With the position of Career Recourse director eliminated due to budget cuts, it puts lots more work on the counselors trying to pick up the slack.

The counselors rotate, each taking up the job of working the CRC on separate days.

 This raises the question of the information being spread from one counselor to the other.

Ashman says that “most of the time we can take care of a student right then and there, but if we need to we can email each other”

Students can also go to their assigned counselors to ask about college if they feel more comfortable with them, but keep in mind that going to the CRC means students have the such as books as well as the internet.

Donk said, “Sometimes the websites can be great, but sometimes they aren’t laid out very well and it’s much easier just to refer to one of the books found in the CRC.”

The counselors still try to send out information on upcoming events such as college visits in the fall and the recent FAFSA workshop.

 They try to keep students informed, but with the added load to their jobs it is difficult to have the same level of coverage as there was last year.