On February 25, 2026, Animo Pat Brown hosted their NorCal field trip for the eligible students in the 11th grade. Students who received a 3.5 GPA or higher were able to go on a 3-day overnight field trip around Northern California, where they got to explore universities and gain a perspective of a college-like environment. The schools were UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly SLO, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and finally UC Merced. To many juniors, this brought a valuable learning opportunity and experience of what they want in the future when applying for college.
On the first day of the trip, the students were able to visit the University of Santa Barbara. Walking through the campus, I feel like was a memorable experience for most of the students since we were able to think about the college environment we would want to be in. We were able to discover the opportunities the college offers and create memories while thinking about our future goals. (Azul Hernandez)
After UC Santa Barbara, the students took an hour and a half drive to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where they had lunch and got to tour the campus led by students who go to the school. Cal Poly Slo was an amazing and rural campus. We learned that they offered an amazing engineering program, and many outdoor activities like horseback riding and hiking. Cal Poly SLO is also the primary rival school of UC Santa Barbara, so we got to hear the rivalries talk when we mentioned to the student tour guides that we were able to visit both campuses. (Wendy Rodas)
Students were also able to visit the University of Santa Cruz during their second day of the trip and experience the natural environment of the college. This day was a packed schedule day, where their first stop was UC Santa Cruz followed by a long bus ride to Stanford, and UC Berkeley later that day. Although there were many hours sitting on the bus rides, the students were having fun and enjoyed their time being with their friends on the trip. This picture captures some of the students visiting UC Santa Cruz. (Azul Hernandez)
As the second day was coming to an end, students spent their night in the Bay Area. Before arriving at their hotel, they were able to explore the city of San Francisco. The students were able to walk near the Golden Gate Bridge. When we got there, the sun was setting, so it was the perfect time for the students to take pictures and enjoy the moment. (Wendy Rodas)
After visiting the Golden Gate Bridge the students hopped on the bus for a 30 min drive to Pier 39, where students had their dinner before heading to the hotel. Pier 39 is an attraction for many tourists, there are shops, restaurants, games people can have fun at. I was also able to see sea lions as we looked over the pier and towards the shore. Overall, visiting the city of San Francisco was a key memory from the trip. (Azul Hernandez)
On the last day, students had to wake up early to head on the road to their last school, the University of California, Merced. Getting to the university was the sign that the trip was coming to an end. The students took a tour of the campus with students from the school, exploring a much more rural campus, different from the previous schools from the other days. The students had lunch in the college’s dining hall and got ready for a four-and-a-half-hour drive back home. (Azul Hernandez)
Wendy Rodas is a junior at Animo Pat Brown. She is an editor this year for the school’s yearbook. She looks forward to capture all the memories and events of her classmates throughout the school year. In the class, she has been working on taking pictures, interviewing people, and working on a system for the yearbook sales. Something to know about her is that she loves being surrounded by the people she loves, spending quality time with her friends afterschool or being apart of the schools soccer team is something she really enjoys. Another thing she likes is exploring new things and going on adventurous roadtrips, being outside getting to know new places and foods. All in all she intends to save the memories we made at school.
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