Santa Maria High School juniors explore universities

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS

Santa Maria High School juniors recently spent three days touring eight universities, including San Diego State University, UC San Diego and USC.

During their visits, the juniors talked with former Santa Maria High School students attending UC San Diego and USC. The students asked a variety of questions about their majors and experiences.

This was the second tour for Santa Maria students as they also explored campuses, ranging in size from 3,000 students to 40,000 students and staff, from March

8-10.

The students reported that it was inspiring to see a few SMHS alumni attending and thriving in university and college environments, according to college and career counselors Erica Martinez and Christy Reasner.

“Thank you for bringing me along on the trip. I learned a lot about college and all the career paths,” said student Cory Klomp in a news release.

“I really enjoyed this trip! It was informative to help me get a view of each campus. It also helped me see the different campuses, the environment, the people, and everything around it,” said student Mariana Lopez. “I really enjoyed that there was an SM alumnus to talk to at USC because it made me feel that he also came from this city and has gone to USC so that means it is possible for me as well,” said student Alexis Vargas-Rodriguez. Cecilia Grimaldo, the counselor for the 11th grade at Santa Maria High School, described the trip as a success. “The best part was seeing students visualize themselves in the campuses we visited and realizing that their dream can become a reality.” email: kzehnder@newspress.com