On Wednesday, March 15, Notre Dame Academy’s new college prep kiosk was installed in the hallway outside of the library. 

The kiosk was created by a company called NextGrad based in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

NextGrad contacted NDA to ask if they’d like a kiosk to display college-prep material, and after a NextGrad representative met with Principal Andrea Hearden, Technology Director Gina Fredrick and College Counselor Becky Bain, the decision was made.

“The material featured on the kiosk is strictly educational – no commercial ads,” shared Bain. “Colleges buy ‘screen time’ to pay for the kiosk. NextGrad kiosks are now in over 200 high schools across 15 states.”

Bain added that the purpose of the kiosk is to “provide a fresh new way to get students thinking about college.”

“It’s a re-invention of the old college bulletin board,” she said. “I’ve given NextGrad our school profile including all the popular colleges our students apply to, so the colleges advertised will be relevant to NDA students.”

The kiosk will also feature some of NDA’s own informational content each month, such as the colleges NDA students will be attending, scholarship deadlines, to-do checklists by grade and other college-prep information

Another benefit of having this kiosk is that NextGrad will provide a college scholarship to an NDA student. 

“At the end of the year, they provide $500 toward a scholarship that we’ll award a student,” said Bain. “Details will be forthcoming, and you’ll see that scholarship awarded during the 2024 Senior Awards program.”