High schoolers getting a glimpse of university

A group of 40 Grade 11 world religion students from St. Joseph-Scollard Hall will get their first taste of a university lecture on Thursday afternoon when they join Nipissing University’s first-year Introduction to World Religions and Cultures class.The university class, taught by Dr. Susan Srigley, is just beginning their section on Islam, a perfect opportunity to welcome the high school aged students into the discussion. “It is important to me as a university educator that we maintain a real presence in our community and share knowledge with all of our community members,” said Srigley. The visit was first discussed when Srigley met St. Joseph-Scollard Hall teacher Katherine Zappala at World Religion day, held in North Bay on January 20. Both were guest speakers that day who found commonality in their desire to engage students and community and share their passion for the study of religion. They immediately began formulating plans to bring the high-school students to the university. “This is a terrific opportunity to expose high school students to the experience of a university classroom, to show them the differences and to ease any potential anxiety,” said Srigley. “It is enormously helpful to me as a university professor to work with high school teachers and students to know what is being taught, so I can continue to build on that knowledge and work with those students at the university level.” The class takes place on March 7 at 12:30 p.m. in room H104.??