Juniors and seniors took their annual College Trip, March 3-4. Ten students attended along with Academic advisor Michelle Warkentin, Andrea and Scott Donaghe. The group visited four different universities in southern California along with a famous ice cream parlor for dinner.

The first college the group visited was the University of Southern California. The school first opened in 1880 to 53 students. The students were amazed by the architecture and the size of the campus.

While at USC, Morgan Miller, ’16, fell in love with the atmosphere.

“The campus was really beautiful,” Miller said. “It was very spacious and the buildings were outstanding. I also really liked the food they offered on campus. Everyone was very welcoming and nice.”

Andrew Moore, ’16, although a faithful USC fan, knows the price makes attending the school difficult.

“I grew up as a big fan of USC,” Moore said. “I thought the campus itself was awesome. However, the price makes attending the school unlikely for me. But I will still always be a fan of the university.”

The second college the group attended was Azusa Pacific University. The group was able to meet up with alumnus Elora Hargis, ’14, before touring the campus. APU was the first Christian campus the group visited.

The Christian atmosphere of Azusa Pacific, along with their gym, seemed important to Caleb Goodale, ’16.

“I liked how the school offered chapels and worship sessions,” Goodale said. “Also I wasn’t expecting their gym to be that big. It was probably one of the nicest gyms I’ve seen. However, I didn’t care for the fact that you were only allowed to miss 10 chapels.”

Junior Bailey Brogan did not like the way the campus was set up. He also did not care for the atmosphere the campus offered.

“I didn’t really like how the school was split up into a west campus and east campus. Although they offered a trolley ride, it still seemed inconvenient,” Brogan said. “Also, the west campus seemed sort of cramped. But we had just come from USC so Azusa didn’t really have a chance.”

My favorite part of the college trip would have to be going to Farrells for dinner. It was like walking into an old diner and definitely made you feel like you were taken back to a different time period. It was a great bonding time with my fellow classmates and we left there with many memories to share. –Junior Timothy Nyberg

That night, the group went to Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant for dinner. Majority of the group agreed that dinner was the best part of the trip. Many of the students had participated in Kids Day earlier that morning and were running on their last bit of energy, which made the night that much more enjoyable.

After waiting an hour, the group was seated and the waitress, DeAnna, set the tone for the evening with her animated and sassy personality. The group decided to celebrate Brogan’s belated birthday, which included him going to “boot camp” once he finished his meal.

Timothy Nyberg, ’16, found the night very enjoyable and a dinner he would not soon forget.

“My favorite part of the college trip would have to be going to Farrells for dinner,” Nyberg said. “It was like walking into an old diner and definitely made you feel like you were taken back to a different time period. It was a great bonding time with my fellow classmates and we left there with many memories to share.”

The next morning, although tired, the group woke up bright and early to visit the next two universities. First on the list was the University of California Riverside.

Senior Justin Porter enjoyed the tour and learning about the school’s different research projects.

“I liked how the tour guide spoke about the research that their science program does,” Porter said. “I thought their study on the mantis shrimp and that spider with the golden silk was interesting. Also, the way they mapped the citrus DNA was pretty neat.”

The college trip is important because it allows students the opportunity to visit college campuses outside of our local area. For some students this is their first campus visit out of Fresno. I try to pick different types of schools so students are exposed to both large and small campuses, public and private. –Michelle Warkentin, academic advisor

While disappointed with one of the schools programs, Elise Winegarden, ’15, thought the campus was nice.

“I thought the campus was beautiful,” Winegarden said. “There were plenty of trees and open space outside. The orange trees smelled lovely too! However, their nursing program isn’t one of their stronger programs so this wasn’t the school for me.”

The final school the group visited was California Baptist University. There, they met up with alumnus Annalise Rosik who spoke about what she has enjoyed so far.

The first part of the campus that the group explored was the cafeteria, or the “caf”. CBU has the third best cafeteria in California and the students enjoyed its all-you-can-eat policy. Collin Winegarden, ’15, saw the “caf” as one of the schools best features.

“Obviously I loved the cafeteria and unlimited food!” Winegarden said. “The recreational center was pretty awesome too. I loved the variety of activities you could do there. But what I loved most was the campus itself. I thought it was the perfect size with plenty of trees.”

Although he enjoyed the cafeteria, Joshua Carter, ’16, feels like the university still needs to build a stronger reputation.

“As a school, CBU is great, however, it doesn?t have a reputation which is one of its problems,” Carter said. “It needs to build a stronger reputation and one way to do that is hiring better professors and create strength in its different fields. I think by doing that, they will be known as a great Christian college and just a great college in general.”

Academic advisor, Michelle Warkentin, has been in charge of the annual college trip since it first began. She sees it as beneficial for the students who take it and enjoys seeing the students experience college life.

“The college trip is important because it allows students the opportunity to visit college campuses outside of our local area,” Warkentin said. “For some students this is their first campus visit out of Fresno. I try to pick different types of schools so students are exposed to both large and small campuses, public and private.”

“In my opinion the best part of the trip was seeing students walk through the massive libraries, peek into the lecture halls, and eat lunch together on the campuses. It was neat to see them experiencing college campuses first hand and open their eyes to the possibilities of what lies ahead of them after high school.”

Overall, everyone who took the trip enjoyed it and felt it was worth its while. They will be taking the trip again next year for any juniors or seniors that are interested.

Follow The Feather via Twitter @thefeather, Instagram @thefeatheronline and Facebook @thefeatheronline.
This writer can be reached via Twitter: @_olivialoren_.

For more features, read the March 11 article, Heritage honors Music Department with Sweepstakes Award (PODCAST, SLIDESHOW).