EDUCATION: A panel of Poly High School alumni return to tell students what college is like.
By Michelle Boulos, Staff Writer
As college application and acceptance season kicks in, students are thinking about their futures, and college pressure is pervasive throughout Poly high school.
Thankfully, on Wednesday, December 16, Poly held its sixth annual college panel, run by Mrs. Valerie Titus, one of Poly’s several guidance counselors, to address student concerns. The panel, which spanned three class periods in length, was composed of Poly alumni currently attending undergraduate or graduate school.
Students asked the panel a plethora of questions, from how to apply, financing and time management to internships and college life in general.
“Make sure you take advantage of what Poly has to offer,” James Webb, current senior at Stanford University, said. “If you watch movies about college you think it’s all one way, but what this does is it makes college seem more accessible,” he added.
“When I did attend the panel in previous years, I remember that hearing the past students speak of how hard they had to work to make it to their dream schools and pursue their passions as major, and that really resonated with me and pushed me to strive for my absolute best,” Kaelyn Sabaal-Wilson, a freshman at Loyola Marymount University, recalled.
Hopefully, the wonderful advice the panel gave this year had the same impact on the students who embodied it and will motivate successful college careers for those who listened, asked and reflected.