UC Santa Cruz Field Trip

The day started bright and early as we rounded up our excited students and boarded the bus. Meg Ramey was in charge of our group, with me and Jayda Shuavarnnasri accompanying as chaperones. After we arrived, we had lunch in the UC Santa Cruz dining hall. We all had a tough time holding back—it was all you can eat. And the seventh graders? Well, never underestimate a growing adolescent! I remembered my first few weeks of college and how easy it was to overdo it. I’m sure they will remember their first dining hall experience (and all the ice cream!) when they get to college, and eat more responsibly than I did as a freshman.

After lunch, we had a Q&A with our 3 tour guides, and the students asked great questions about sports, campus life, and the library. UC Santa Cruz has two libraries holding a total of 1.5 million books for their students to use. That’s a lot of knowledge! Then, we toured the absolutely beautiful—and hilly—campus. We saw the dorms, the different department buildings, and the theatres. Everywhere we went, there were redwoods, birds, squirrels, and flowers—a completely different experience than an average day in San Francisco. We learned about the video game lab, countless clubs, and that somewhere on campus, you can even pet a shark!

Needless to say, the students were exhausted by the end of the day, and I can only imagine the impact the visit had on our students. I can’t wait for them to go on a few more college visits and see the amazing variety of campus environments that are out there!