As College and Career Day came around this year, Woodside students participated in activities related to activities after high school and in their near future.
On Oct. 9, each grade level participated in different tasks ranging from college tours to test taking.
“Every grade level has a different activity to get exposure to colleges, careers and different pathways after graduation,” guidance counselor Jimmy Hernandez said. “Starting with freshmen, they get the opportunity to visit a college campus, some of the local ones like San Francisco State, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, just so that they could get that exposure, that experience, [to] be on a college campus, and kind of start thinking [or] just visualizing themselves in a higher [education] institution.”
During this half school day, freshmen participated in college tours to local colleges to see campuses and better understand college life.
“Last year, we went on a field trip to UC Berkeley,” sophomore Tobias Billig said. “[It was] interesting to see what all the buildings were. And then also, some of the teachers talked about their stories… about college.”
College and Career Day plans have stayed relatively consistent throughout grade levels after the tradition began during the early 2010s. However, plans for the sophomores have been the most unsure.
“The sophomore year experience has changed over the years,” principle Karen Van Putten said. “The same donor and with input from the administration, they talk about, well, do we have all sophomores take the PSAT that’s geared for the 10th grade?…It just gives some context for the student and what they might have to prepare for. Also, once they get the results, it might guide them to decide what classes they want to sign up for in their junior year.”
Sophomores and seniors were the only grade levels that had multiple options to participate in during College and Career Day. Tenth graders completed the PSATs or workshops while twelfth graders did the SATs, toured campuses, worked on college applications and completed other activities which supported their journey for applying to college.
“It’s one of the last opportunities in October on campus where the kids have a last opportunity to take the SAT for their college application process,” Van Putten said. “In addition, for seniors, they have options of working on their college applications….[to review] what the personal statement is for the UCs, the University of California system, common application, their open-ended essays, how to write or craft a really strong essay for colleges…[they also had] opportunities to maybe work on their senior thesis.”
Along with having the opportunity to take the preliminary-SAT, tenth graders also participated in various workshops that promoted and encouraged their future.
“I thought it was pretty interesting,” Billig said. “We went to the new gym and they had all these tables set up [and] they gave you these budgets. You had to go to these different tables and organize how you’d spend your money.”
Discovering potential future plans is very important for Woodside students’ next steps as they graduate high school.
“I think it’s just that exposure,” Hernandez said. “[For students] to kind of visualize themselves and start thinking about, what do I want to potentially major in, kind of see the differences of the systems, things like that.”
Behind the scenes, prior to College and Career Day, lots of planning was required for setting up the student activities. Van Putten plays a key role in organizing this event every year.
“The principal is the one who kind of oversees the entire program,” Van Putten said. “But really it’s all the individual teachers and the staff members who are really doing the detailed work. [They are in charge of] hundreds of tests [that] have to be ordered [and make] sure that the kids have signed up and they’re registered.”
Many Woodside staff members and volunteers from other organizations had a part in organizing and managing the whole event.
“I supported the sophomores with the workshops,” Hernandez said. “We collaborated with an organization called 10,000 degrees that brought volunteers, and they had different stations where students [would go] to…[and then there were] motivational speaker[s] that had a session on just like goal setting, focusing in school and kind of getting away from the noise and things that distract the students.”
The various workshops and activities supported student learning and helped prepare them for college, management of necessities and more.
“I really got an opportunity to see how to plan for college and to start thinking about it,” Billig said. “I didn’t really realize how much, just outside of college fees alone, [that] textbooks, technology [and] all that stuff [would cost]. I think that’s something everybody should have to think about.”
Van Putten emphasizes how everything is free and accessible to all students due to the thoughtful and generous family that funds the program and believes in accessible opportunities for everyone.
“It is truly a Woodside High School tradition,” Van Putten said. “We want this day to [have] an aspirational meaning. We want all of our Woodside High School students, whether they’re ninth grade or a senior, [to know] that we can provide them with either the opportunity to take a test for free or an opportunity to go visit colleges, [and help them understand what’s] beyond Woodside High School, and what those options are.”
