LACF Blog for February, 2012

By Brenda Lovera

 

 

 

 

On January 5-8, 2012, Adolfo Moreno (10th grade) and Emiliano Tellez (8th grade) travelled to San Francisco to tour colleges and see the sights.  I interviewed Adolfo and Emiliano about the trip and their amazing discoveries.

 

 

 

 

Brenda Lovera: Who did you guys go to San Francisco with?

Emiliano Tellez: We went with Curt Gibson and his wife Kathy.

Adolfo Moreno: It was just the four of us cruising through San Francisco.

 

Brenda: What colleges did you visit?

Adolfo: UC Berkeley also known as Cal. It was a really good college! Good quality and a great environment. I felt like I was in the woods and everything.

Emiliano: We visited Stanford which was kind of far away from San Francisco. We had to take three trains and a bus to get there. We weren’t able to take the paid tour so we got a map and toured the campus on our own. Stanford was cool!

 

Brenda: Where are the colleges located?

Adolfo: UC Berkeley is in the city of Berkeley overlooking San Francisco Bay.

Emiliano: Stanford is in the city of Palo Alto between San Francisco and San Jose.

 

Brenda: What college did you like the most?

Adolfo: Well, I liked Cal because it provides opportunities for all students, not just residents or citizens of the U.S. Anyone basically can go. It’s the top public university in America.

Emiliano: I think I liked Stanford because the campus was more private. Plus, they have an acting program!

 

Brenda: What are the requirements for each college?

Adolfo: The requirements were pretty basic, have a 3.0 grade point average.

Emiliano: Stanford had higher requirements, a 3.5 grade point average, which is why I think I liked it more. It’s more challenging to get into which I think will make a better experience. No offense UC Berkeley! I loved that school too!

 

Brenda: How would you describe each college?

Adolfo: Stanford is a really out-going smart school. You don’t just need brains or brawn to go there, you need both, you need to be well rounded.

Emiliano: Berkeley was very liberal. What I mean by that is the word to describe the overall atmosphere was “freedom”; seeing all races and ethnicities mix together was liberal, very free.

 

Brenda: Did you learn something from the trip?

Adolfo: Yes! I learned that you can’t just go to any college, it depends on what you want to be in life, what career you want. For that, you want to go to a special college that is good in what you want to be.

Emiliano: I learned how to experience life in San Francisco and that I like shrimp. I thought I hated seafood. Also, I learned the benefits of going to UC Berkeley or Stanford. They both guarantee a good future. I’m considering those schools for college now.

 

Brenda: What were the highlights of your trip?

Adolfo: The highlights for me was seeing Emiliano’s face in the seafood restaurant when the cook smashed a live crab to cook the meal, and when he (Emiliano) found his true love and sharing the room with my best friend! We had a blast and everything was so much fun! I got in trouble though. When we rode a trolley I pulled the trolley bell. I didn’t know we weren’t supposed to. It’s okay, we didn’t get in that much trouble.

Emiliano: I think one of the best highlights was being able to travel in an airplane again! I hadn’t gone on a plane in 5 years when I first came here and it was fun! Also, getting in trouble with Adolfo in the hotel, just seeing San Francisco and being away from home!

 

Brenda: Do you think the trip was worth it? Explain why you feel that way.

Adolfo: I believe it was worth it because it was my first time being on an airplane! I didn’t know what to expect. It was a great experience. And also, learning that colleges are like people; all people are not the same, some are good at one thing and some are good at another. We all have different stuff that we’re good at and colleges are like that too. They’re all not the same, each one has different things that they’re good at.

Emiliano: It was worth it just to see what life would be like away from home going to college. I also learned a lot about San Francisco in particular and how to navigate the city. It was fun, I’m planning to go back.

 

Brenda Lovera

 

 

 

 

Brenda Lovera is an 8^th grade student at McKinley School in Pasadena. She is an aspiring writer and journalist.