Approximately 120 West Chicago High Community School students from the AVID program took a field trip to North Central College in Naperville on Sept. 17 to learn about the campus and what it can offer to future of students.

AVID students searching for a college were brought to North Central College in hopes of making the school  one of their college options.

Most AVID  students reported they were happy and excited about the field trip, and believe the opportunity to tour campuses as part of the program is a benefit to enrolling in AVID.

“I think that it’s a cool experience that we get a tour of the college, and hopefully I get to decide if I want to go there,” senior Eduardo Garcia said.

Those sentiments were echoed by other students.

“It gives you an experience of how it is to live on campus, and experience what it’s like to go to a campus,” senior Gio Andrade said.

When the students arrived, they were all gathered in the North Central College theater, where they were introduced to North Central College and the majors the school offers; a presentation was given on a stage by a few of the professors who teach there.

Later, after a short campus tour, students were allowed to eat lunch in downtown Naperville with their friends.

This is the first of many college tours for AVID students, and some remained undecided as to whether it was the school for them.

“The traffic would be bad if you were to bring a car to campus, it surprised me that the school was small and has a very tight community,” senior Marvin Maldonado said.

Most admitted that no college campus is “perfect”.

“In North Central College, they don’t have the major I was looking for, so I would not attend this college, but it is a nice school overall,” senior Angelo Jimenez said.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Photo by Adrian Sanchez

Students walk around the campus with their guidance.

Even though a college tour was scheduled, AVID students did not get the opportunity to get a look into the inside of the buildings. A lot of students stated they were disappointed by this, as they were eager to take a look at the dorms and major buildings.

“It was a group visit day, where there were multiple high schools, so the tours were amended to be able to meet the needs of the couple hundred students that were visiting campus,” Culbertson said.

As senior students get into applying for colleges and scholarships, AVID teachers Michelle Walters and Jennifer Culbertson strive to help them discover their career paths, identify top educational opportunities, and help them look for scholarship options.

Additionally, Culbertson has hopes that her AVID students will be awarded $25 million in scholarships this year, as last year AVID students were awarded $23 million in scholarships.

Either way, both Walters and Culbertson strive for the best for AVID students and a good year for AVID students.

“One piece of advice that I give seniors is ‘good enough is never good enough.’ So, if you have something, and you’re like, ‘that’s good enough,’ it’s not so excellent,” Culbertson said.