CCPA 9th-Graders Come Together in the Great Outdoors

While CCPA’s 10th-graders were bonding around a common college-minded vision, our 9th-graders were coming together at one of California’s natural wonders: Yosemite National Park.

“It was fun even though I’m normally not a nature type of person,” says Michelle of her class’s three-day adventure at Yosemite. “It really brought the 9th grade together. [Out of our element] we had to stick together and make sure everybody else was okay. Some people weren’t people I would normally hang out with, so I made new friends.”

They also learned what they were capable of, fortitude-wise, particularly during their 5-mile group hike up to Vernal Falls. “I don’t give up that easily, even though it was hard going up the mountain,” says Michelle’s classmate Ericka. Not only did they face a daunting incline, they also got soaked by the falls, which cascaded dramatically thanks to recent downpours. “We thought it would just be mist,” says Michelle, “but we wound up having to wear rain jackets and everything.”

Ericka says the kids later used the grueling hike as motivation for future schoolwork. “We applied it to a test we had to take, and realized the test was going to be much easier!”

At UCLA and Pepperdine, a Glimpse of the Future

If you want to give high school students a vivid impression of university life, try dropping them into the middle of finals week on a campus of more than 50,000 students. This is where 30 Coliseum College Prep Academy 10th-graders found themselves this past spring, on a tour of the University of California, Los Angeles and Pepperdine University.

“It was finals week,” recalls 10th-grader Alberto, “so everyone was walking around with their blue books and running [to their exams]. During finals you can go to the library any time, it’s open 24 hours a day.”

Alberto and his classmates were impressed by the collegiate sense of purpose on display all around them. “Seeing everybody carrying books, heading to class, ready to study — it looks cool,” says fellow 10th-grader Elier.

“Before these tours,” he reflects, “I wasn’t really sure about college, but this trip kind of convinced me.”

CCPA staff chose these two campuses for their differences as much as their similarities: Pepperdine, with just 5,000 students, offered a look at a much smaller campus. While that smaller feel – perhaps a little closer to CCPA’s small-school environment – appealed to some, both Alberto and Elier preferred UCLA for its bustling energy and range of extracurricular activities.

“I really liked UCLA,” says Alberto. “I liked seeing the bookstore, all the athletic fields, the student clubs they have – just the whole world there. We got to see that whole view of college life.”

Like the Class of 2012 leaders profiled in our last Communicator, Alberto and Elier are aware of their unique place in CCPA history. “It’s cool we were the first [CCPA students] to experience [these southern California college tours],” says Elier.

They both speak of how tight their class has become. “We’ve all known each other since 6th grade, it’s all the same people.”

Science Teacher Elli Jenkins saw this on display at the year-end assembly in June. When Alberto, Elier, and the rest of the sophomores were announced as “CCPA’s first graduating class, the Class of 2012,” “All of the 10th-graders went ballistic! You guys are in this together,” she tells them. “You’re this really strong group. You show such spirit, and every one of you is helping each other to ensure you all graduate.”

With their ideas of college coming into clearer view, the kids are eager to get a look at more potential destinations, locally and elsewhere: There is talk of touring a few East Coast colleges in the coming year. For now, UCLA and Pepperdine loom large in their sights as they continue their march toward graduation in 2012. They’ve been there now. And they can picture being there again, in the fall of 2013, as college students in the throes of finals week themselves.