A record number of students, more than 520, filled the William R. DeCota hangar for Vaughn College’s open house events over the past two Saturdays. The event allows prospective students and their families to experience living and learning at Vaughn in a hands-on setting. Following an introduction from Vaughn College President Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo and Vice President of Enrollment Services Ernie Shepelsky, guests attended presentations from the College’s academic departments, and experiential sessions that give guests their very first college experience.

“Vaughn is at the forefront of engineering and engineering technology, as evidenced by our robotics team, the VEX U World Champions, and the rise of our unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV club,” noted DeVivo.

Vaughn’s programs and offerings attracted guests from all over New York and from as far as Massachusetts.

“This is the first college tour we’re attending, and it’s been fantastic,” said Ailed DiBerardino, who attended the event from Westchester county with her son Artie on Saturday, November 19. “He’s been building and taking things apart since he was very young, and Vaughn’s programs seem like the perfect fit for him.”

“I looked up Vaughn when I heard about their robotics program,” added Artie. “I’m interested in robotics and mechatronic engineering, so I knew I had to come see the College up close.” Vaughn offers one of only four ABET-accredited mechatronic engineering programs in the US. Attendees and their families also met with admissions, financial aid and career services representatives to learn about all of the tools Vaughn gives students to achieve their goals.

“Our New York City location enables us to make important industry connections, leading to internships and jobs,” said DeVivo. “And the job forecast for these fields is great; Boeing forecasts that the aviation industry will need more than 1 million pilots and maintenance professionals over the next 20 years.”

For the first time, Vaughn brought in employed alumni to conduct tours for guests of the open house, connecting students at the beginning of their academic journey with people who have recently completed theirs. “Bringing in alumni helps these potential students connect to Vaughn in a whole new way,” said Shepelsky. “They get to talk to people who started where they are, completed their college experience and have utilized Vaughn’s resources to move onto that next chapter in their lives.”

Vaughn College will hold its spring open house sessions on Saturday, April 1 and 8, 2017.

img_5278 img_5295 img_5302

Left to right: Vaughn College President Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo welcomes guests to the open house event; Aviation Department Chair Dr. Pete Russo introduces attendees to the College’s aviation programs; Artie DiBerardino and his mother, Ailed, attend the open house event on November 19.