LEWISTON- Amanda Cyr and Amanda Bissonnette never considered going to college.

The Lewiston High School freshmen thought it would be hard. They though it would be scary. They thought it was a place for other kids.

On Thursday, a tour of Bates College and a chat with local college students helped change their minds.

“They seem, like, so cool,” said Bissonnette, 14.

Cyr, Bissonnette and about 60 other Lewiston High School ninth-graders spent the day at Bates as part of the high school’s first Aspirations Day. Designed to get young teenagers thinking seriously about higher education, the daylong event gave kids a firsthand look at college life.

“I want kids to see themselves on a college campus and know that higher education is a very real option for them,” said Assistant Principal Elizabeth Bradley, a Bates alumnus.

Some of the high school freshmen had never been to a college campus before. Many had never thought about going.

Teacher Karen Choate estimated that only about 15 percent of her students have assumed that college would be part of their future.

On Thursday, the freshmen attended sample history classes and met with admissions officials. They ate in the school’s dining hall, talked with Bates students and got a look at the college’s massive buildings and quiet, tree-lined common areas.

Like many of their classmates, Cyr and Bissonnette were not moved by the 45-minute history lecture.

But the girls and their classmates giggled as they crowded into a cluttered dorm room. Their eyes widened as they toured the school’s bright art studios and walked the halls decorated with student paintings.

“It’s cool,” said 14-year-old Raelynn Langlois as she peered into one of the classrooms.

In the end, it was the Bates College students who hooked Cyr and Bissonnette. For the first time, they heard that higher education was fun and interesting. They learned they didn’t have to get all As to go to college. They didn’t have to be rich.

“You can see that you don’t have to pay for it. If you can’t pay for it, you can get scholarships,” Bissonnette said.

They saw the possibilities and were inspired.

“Before this I didn’t care,” said 15-year-old Cyr, a student athlete whose grades aren’t always very good.

Now Cyr has a goal: Attend Bates.

“You have to go to college,” she said.

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