On Oct. 28, Aragon’s Advancement Via Individual Determination program took their first fall college field trip since the COVID-19 pandemic. During this trip, AVID students of all grades visited two local colleges: San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Students met at Aragon in the morning and took the district school buses to UC Berkeley where they had a guided tour from UC Berkeley and AVID alumni. After spending a couple of hours at UC Berkeley, the AVID classes drove to San Francisco State for a self-guided tour.
Students had a chance to ask the guides questions, learn about each of the campuses, listen to student experiences and consider their options for college.
“The field trips create a sense of unity and bond”
“I haven’t been to a college campus in a really long time,” said senior Rachel Ramirez. “[I was excited] to see what the whole atmosphere is like. [I’m] also [excited to see] the types of people there. Are there going to be people that look like me [and] am I going to see a lot of [students from] different types of backgrounds and races?”
AVID classes take a trip for all grades in the fall and a southern California trip for sophomores and juniors in the spring.
“The only [AVID trip] I went on was the huge [Southern California] one, and it was one of the best field trips I’ve ever been on,” said English and AVID teacher Victoria Daniel. “Each of the schools had wonderful tours. We were so happy to be together.”
One of AVID’s missions is to encourage students to attend four-year colleges. AVID teachers hope these field trips will help guide students as they make decisions about college and their future.
“I hope the freshmen start dreaming,” Daniel said. “I hope the sophomores start understanding more about
what college could look like. I hope that juniors really start narrowing in on what they like and what they don’t like. And I hope the seniors are able to see themselves in college, identify what they like and don’t like and be able to apply [it to their decisions].”
Field trips also serve as a way to bring the classes together. With five AVID teachers and 149 students enrolled this year, the program is considered a family to those enrolled.
“Overall, [the trip] was really fun”
“The field trips create a sense of unity and bond,” said ethnic studies and AVID teacher Courtney Caldwell. “We’re one big family and so when we get to take these trips [and] bring so many students, we get to mix class periods [and] grade levels.”
Many students found the trip to be beneficial.
“Overall, [the trip] was really fun,” said junior Giuliana Mendez. “It allowed me to see what college would be
like, and certain aspects that I might like or not like. [At] UC Berkeley, there [were] a lot of people and that was overwhelming for me. So I know that I might want a smaller school.”
In the spring semester, AVID sophomores and juniors will be taking their Southern California trip to California State University Los Angeles, Occidental College, University of Southern California and University of California, Irvine.
