WSU is using the immersive digital environment of virtual reality to connect high schoolers with mentors to help prepare them for college. “Using cutting-edge technology, we’re using immersive VR experiences to engage in simulated environments that give the sense that the students—or actually their avatars—are meeting in person with their WSU student mentors,” said Ray Acuña-Luna, director of College Access Programs in the Office of Academic Engagement.
What do you get when you make pizza, pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins, and ice cream all on a Saturday? Plates and bowls of deliciousness plus an introduction to college-level science, if you are a lucky high-schooler who attended a virtual cooking class hosted by Washington State University’s Office of Academic Engagement and the School of Hospitality Business Management. For three hours, dozens of OAE student participants across the state followed along in their own home kitchens while three HBM instructors in chef’s whites worked in front of cameras set up throughout Todd Hall’s commercial kitchen in the Carson College of Business.