California State University Northridge (CSUN) welcomed SIATech Boyle Heights Independent High School students for a tour of their campus in November. Although it was one of the coldest and windiest days of the year, we had a lot of fun exploring the college campus.
CSUN is one of 23 public universities in the California State University system. It was founded in 1958 and sits across 356-acres in the San Fernando Valley.
Our tour guide, Denise Lopez, was a fourth year sociology major from Van Nuys, California. She spoke to us about her college experience and reminded us that your undergraduate years are a time for you to learn, grow, and discover yourself. She also went on to tell us told about her changed her major five times before finally deciding to pursue her bachelor degree in Sociology. She encouraged the group to explore different courses even if they are not related to interested major because it might lead to discovering new interests and passions.
SIATech Senior Gabriela Cuevas, 19, had the following to say about her on campus experience:
“I really like the college tour! I had never been to Northridge or to a California State University before because the opportunity never presented itself until now. The school was cool because they had a lot of student services and student activities. I liked seeing their top of the line renovated gymnasium, their Olympic sized pool, and their movie theater! Attending this trip motivated me to become a college graduate. I know that I have to take a lot of college classes to get to where I want to be in life. My mom has inspired me to become a corrections officer so I was interested to learn about their criminal justice major and classes relevant to the field. I have a lot of family members who are in law enforcement and I aspire to be like them one day!”
In the coming Spring semester, SIATech Boyle Heights hopes to continue introducing our students to further colleges and universities with trips to: Mount Saint Mary’s University, East Los Angeles Community College, University of Southern California and more.