Some 20 students from Fillmore High School recently stepped away from their video games and MySpace pages for a week-long exploration of educational and career opportunities in Ventura County and beyond. The Third Annual Ventura College East Campus Summer Bridge Program provided these students with valuable information designed to assist them in their future educational and career choices.
As part of the program, students attended orientations and campus tours of several colleges and universities including: Ventura College, California State University Channel Islands, California Lutheran University, University of California Santa Barbara and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Counselors at each school provided the students with important information regarding admissions requirements, financial aid, students services, study skills and other tips for being successful in college.
In addition to the college tours, students visited the sites of two major employers in Ventura County: Haas Automation, Inc. and Naval Base Ventura County. At each location, students had the opportunity to tour the facilities and ask questions of various professionals about their careers in either the private or public sector.
The organizing committee for this event consisted of Counselor Assistant, Raul Barraza; Adminstrative Assistant, Sabrina Canola; and Coordinator of Off-Campus programs, Art Sandford. They would like to thank the following individuals and groups for their enthusiastic support of this project: The Ventura College Foundation, Haas Automation, Inc.; UCSB Office of Academic Outreach; Capt. David Fleisch and Protocol Office Diane Crane of Naval Base Ventura County and Margaret Chimalpopoca of Ventura College Matriculation. A special note of thanks goes to Ms. Norma Pérez-Sandford, FHS counselor, for her tireless efforts in recruiting students for the program.
Fillmore High School participants included: Jessica Acevedo, Maria Arreola, Ermelinda Arreola, Lisette Casillas, Maritza Cruz, Sam Cruz, Taylor Gaitán, Kelli Magaña, Magali Magaña, Xaviera Martinez, Mari Ramirez, Mayra Regalado, Susana Rodriguez, Claudia Rosales, Jesse Sanchez, Carina Sandford, Sarah Solis and Anayeli Torres.