The beginning of spring brings not only warmer weather and sunnier days, but for most seniors, college decision notifications. Figuring out where to spend the next four years can be a difficult choice for some college-bound students, which is a situation many teachers experienced in their senior years as well.
Hands shoot up in the air as English teacher and Yearbook adviser Ms. Elizabeth Botello asks students to describe the protagonist of “Fahrenheit 451.” Ms. Botello, who attended schools in the University of California system for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees, double majored in Literary Journalism and Psychology and Social Behavior at Irvine and worked towards a Master’s degree in Journalism at Berkeley.
She ended up chosing UC Irvine over other UCs and Cal States based on several factors, which included distance from home and the programs the school offers. The campus’s layout, where the buildings are structured around a park in the center of campus, also attracted Ms. Botello.
“I really loved the campus, and I had heard so many good things about it. It was far enough to be independent, away from my family, but close enough to go visit on the weekends,” Ms. Botello said. “I thought it had a great environment. It was close to the beach and had a nice community of people.”
While an undergraduate at UC Irvine, she joined the campus newspaper and became the sports editor in her last year. Ms. Botello encourages students to become more involved in college because of the diversity and variety of campus organizations.
“Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t be afraid to go to a school far away. Push yourself, get out of your comfort zone,” Ms. Botello said. “You’re going to meet amazing individuals, people you’re going to consider family in a short amount of time. Live on your own, don’t be afraid to talk in class lectures. Whether there’s two hundred people or ten people, don’t be afraid to talk. Get involved.”
On the other side of campus, Biology teacher Ms. Vy Tague leads her class in mixing together two creatures’ genes to find out what characteristics the offspring will have. She attended UC Riverside and graduated with a degree in Biological Sciences with an emphasis on pre-medical studies.
Ms. Tague decided to go to UC Riverside over UCLA, UC Berkeley and USC because she applied to and was admitted to its seven-year combined Bachelor’s of Science and Doctor of Medicine degree program, which no longer exists. UC Riverside also offered Ms. Tague a full ride.
“Growing up, my parents were very overprotective, so being slightly far away enough allowed me to build my independence and I felt what it was like to live on my own without living on my own,” Ms. Tague said. “They had good agriculture programs and state-of-the-art labs, where I learned that my interest in medicine lay more in botany.”
Ms. Tague advises students to check what their life goals are and whether or not a certain school has programs that will help fulfill those goals. For example, if someone wants to go into medicine, she recommends that he or she should look for undergraduate colleges that have large numbers of students who go on to medical school after.
“Don’t slack off. I get that senioritis is here, but the more you slack off during your senior year, the more you’re slacking off during your freshman year of college,” Ms. Tague said. “Don’t go somewhere just because your friends are going. You can make new friends, it’s not that hard. Go where the school offers you the best programs and the best clubs.”
TCHS School Newspaper