Students from Pittsburg’s Hillview Jr. High and Antioch’s Dallas Ranch Middle School arrived at Los Medanos College Tuesday, Oct. 27 for a general tour of the college campus.
The students were shown around campus from the Library to places such as Auto Tech, the Child Development Center and the main math building.
“I think it is good that they have the tours divided to allow the students to inquire about different majors,” said Deirdre Williams, a counselor at Hillview Jr. High about themed tours for students with different academic interests.
The field trip for both schools, which ran from 9:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., was scheduled to allow the middle schoolers to also see the wide variety of colleges and universities visiting LMC for the annual fall Transfer Day, held on the same day.
The students and their teachers were excited about both the college tour and the opportunity to see representatives from so many transfer institutions.
“I’m just excited for the kids to get a feel for college,” said Pamela Price, a counselor at Dallas Ranch Middle School.
Another instructor, Niko Debaca, said she anticipated the college fair would be big, “and I was pleased that it met my expectations for what I wanted my students to experience.”
Nicole Westbrook, a Career and Technical Education counselor at LMC who helped out with the event, said she liked how the field trip exposed younger students to universities and the college experience. The students from both schools looked into potential future colleges and gathered information about them, as well as about LMC.
Most of the middle school students had smiles on their faces during their visit and appeared impressed by the fair and the college itself. But some said they were just happy to be out of their normal classes and away from their respective schools.