21 January 2013
PANEL: On December 18, AVID hosted its third annual college panel.
By Leti Bernard, Features Editor
Most high school students plan on going to college after they graduate. They prepare by taking college-level courses, visiting prospective college campuses and applying to a handful of universities. However, one can only go so far in preparing for college.
Luckily, Poly’s AVID club helps students go further with their college preparation by offering them a glimpse into college life through the words of Poly alumni.
AVID hosted its third annual college panel for students on Tuesday, December 18 during periods four and five. Valerie Titus, a student counselor, coordinated the event with the help of Carley Soto, the new AVID teacher. The Riverside Educational Enrichment Foundation (REEF) supports this panel every year by giving a grant to cover the expenses. This year’s college panel spokesperson was Joy Johnson, a 2004 Poly graduate who attended Riverside City College for two years and then transferred to California Baptist University as a Communication Studies major. She introduced the 23 Poly alumni who presently attend either a four-year university or a junior college. Those colleges included Stanford University, California Baptist University, Spellman College, RCC, University of California, Riverside, Howard University and California State University, San Bernardino.
Johnson then proceeded to present a series of topics about college and posed questions relating to those topics to the former Poly students.
The first question asked was why current high school students should go to college in the first place. Gavin Reagans, a 2012 Poly graduate who now attends Howard University as an Economics and Music major, responded, “Aside from having a degree from an institution, you meet people […] It’s an unbelievable experience to meet people.” Rebecca Bernard, who graduated from Poly in 2010 and now attends California Baptist University as a Sociology and Christian Behavioral Studies major, said, “One major advantage is broadening your horizons […] I’m getting much more knowledge; it’s priceless.”
The alumni also answered questions about balancing academics with social life, dealing with the stress of college and navigating the admissions process before entering college.
Among the many questions asked, there was one question that often boggles the minds of many high school students wishing to attend a university: what’s the difference between college and high school?
Denzel Alexander, a 2011 Poly graduate who now attends Mt. San Jacinto College and majors in Criminology and Dance, gave an answer that was unanimous among the panel: “College and high school are much more different […] no one’s babysitting you in college.”
The whole panel agreed that one must be responsible and able to balance studies with social life in order to have a successful college career; it is not always about having fun, but it is almost inevitable that college will be an enjoyable experience.
The panel ended with some parting words of wisdom from the alumni to their student audience. The last grain of advice, from Rebecca Bernard, encouraged students to go beyond the norm of getting a good grade.
“Try to break the habit of getting an ‘A’; focus on the mastery of learning.”