A Student's Experience on the AVID South Field Trip
Alma Aranda and Ezra Musarra, Staff Writers
The AVID program at FOHI has hosted the juniors’ three-day overnight California college field trip for years now, and recently, they started letting non-AVID juniors benefit from the experience as well. There were two field trips this year, one for more southern campuses, and one for more northern campuses. The bus we went on was a huge charter bus with comfortable seating, outlets, a restroom, and plenty of room for our luggage. The windows were big, and the view was enough to keep most of us awake and off our phones, although a lot of us were asleep or playing charades and other phone games with our friends.
Events
The University of La Verne – We first drove to La Verne, which according to the tour guide had a good Greek life. It’s near enough to commute and has a good sports program. We came here in the very morning and then had an hour bus ride to UCLA.
UCLA – They had delicious and varied food, but we only saw one of their food halls. The internet was not lying about UCLA having the best dining hall in the nation. Their architecture was interesting and beautiful; it was different from the other UCs due to UCLA’s architecture not being modern. Being a top UC and the top public university in America, UCLA has good programs as well as school spirit, which feels comforting coming from a high school with its own prominent levels of school spirit. It is mega prestigious, so remember that while applying.
CSULB – They had a good sports program. The campus was foggy and cold. It had a large Japanese garden with a pond, big blue pyramid, and modern architecture. The bookstore was full of high-quality school merchandise, and outside of the bookstore was a market with cute items and anime-shaped cookies.
After the two schools, we were to stay at Oceanside’s Best Western Hotel for both nights of the trip. We unloaded and then went to In-n-Out (still stuffed from UCLA lunch), we then came back and did homework for an hour. The Wi-Fi was tricky, but I used my phone’s hotspot.
We then went to our rooms to prepare for “lights out,” which was at 9:30, when our doors were taped to prevent sneaking out and such.
Our tape was removed at 7:30 and we rushed down the stairs to stock up on the free breakfast. It consisted of a typical American hotel breakfast with a waffle machine that got popular amongst the FOHI hotel guests.
The bus would take us on our tour at 10:30, so we had time to explore the hotel that had a complimentary fitness room on the second floor and pools outside.
We then went to...
UCSD – Long tour with longish self-guided portion that included a scavenger hunt, although most people just roamed wherever and explored the various areas of the campus. The dining halls were full of restaurants with delicious food. They also had several markets/stores if you prefer to make a home-cooked meal to eat in your dorm. They have this library, a feat of engineering and architecture, where our group spent a large part of the self-guided tour. We also were led on a medical tour that allowed us to be in the very rooms with the very medical equipment used by both students in the medical and engineering fields..
SDSU– One of the tougher CSUs to get into, it is near the beach, and it was not as foggy or as cold as CSULB, our visit here was on the short side especially because people were leaving school because it was a Friday.
Cal State Stair Master (San Marcos) – They had lots of stairs and was a commuter school, so it was empty on a Friday afternoon. Come to this school if you like a scenic cardio workout on your way to class, but it is not commuting distance from Fontana, so you would be one of the only non-commuters.
We then hit the shopping center dinner!! We got pho and free Wendy's burgers, but the center had tons more restaurants and stores to go to.
We arrived at the hotel right after, and we had homework hour and then around two hours to explore the hotel. Most people checked out the pools and hot tubs, but I do not like crowded pools, and I ate a ton that day, so I hit the fitness room.
We had breakfast again at 7:30 AM. The menu had changed a bit, with potatoes, omelets, and fried eggs, but the waffles and everything else were still there.
UCI – They are a pretty school within commuting distance, and we got to see firsthand how close it was to Fontana since it was the last school on the list. It had a massive multi-floor gym with a rock-climbing wall and outdoor swimming pool. It had a good security system where you could press a button when you felt unsafe.
CSUF – They are a pretty school within commuting distance, and we got to see firsthand how close it was to Fontana since it was the last school on the list. It had a massive multi-floor gym with a rock-climbing wall and outdoor swimming pool. It had a good security system where you could press a button when you felt unsafe.
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Alma’s top three favorites were UCLA, UCSD, and UCI with San Diego and Irvine being a close tie.
Ezra’s top three favorites were also UCLA, UCSD, and UCI (how unoriginal lol).
About the Contributor
Alma Aranda, Staff Writer
Alma Victoria Aranda is currently a (very tall) junior who wants to dye her hair again. She is always cold, so you can always find her in like seven hoodies and two jackets.