University Coastal Trip is Once in a Lifetime Opportunity for Diverse Group - Crafton Hills College

Publish Date: July 5, 2016

Group of students

On May 31st, 18 Crafton Hills College students participated in a three-day university road trip to visit campuses on the central coastline.  It was the first of its kind trip with the goal to expose first generation and underrepresented groups to higher education.  Furthermore, it was the first time that all 18 students had participated in an overnight activity sponsored by the college.  

Crafton Hills College’s mission is “to advance the educational, career, and personal success of our diverse campus community through engagement and learning.”  Through equity funding, some of our most vulnerable students were able to engage in this activity that promoted inclusiveness and exposure to resources not otherwise available to them.  The majority of the participants are students of color including Latino, Pacific Islander and Native American.  Half of the students are first generation college students and one student is an undocumented DREAMER.  In addition, we had a diverse range in age – four students are 25 and older, including one who is over 60 years of age. 

Our coastal road trip included four universities that consisted of campus tours at each: first we began with California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo, known for their strong engineering and agriculture programs; University of California Santa Barbara (located right on the coast); the newest of the CSU campuses, California State University Channel Islands and lastly, California State University Northridge, which is the only public CA university to host a deaf studies program. 

Students demonstrated excitement and high levels of interest throughout their experience by asking questions, writing notes, taking pictures, and making connections amongst each other, as well as with the faculty chaperones.  All students reported they knew nothing to very little about each campus prior to the trip.  After the tours, students reported they would likely apply for transfer to at least two of the four universities that were visited; UCSB was the most popular choice among them.  Historically, California community college students transfer primarily to the CSU vs. the UC system thus providing evidence that through these tours, the students’ saw more options/opportunities than may have been previously considered. 

Overall, students expressed a positive experience.  Some of their comments include:

  • "Exhilarating”
  • “I learned a lot about the education and resources”
  • “Best trip ever”
  • “With all the questions asked, it has helped me see what I want in the school I pick”
  • “I feel a lot more knowledgeable”
  • “Insightful”
  • “Motivating”
  • “Fantastic”
  • “I had an amazing time. I learned a lot about these universities.  This trip helped me a lot in getting           more info about these colleges.  I hope there are more trips in the future.  The chaperones were             great.  This trip was an overall amazing experience.  Thank you!!!”

Submitted by Mariana Moreno, Transfer Center Coordinator and chaperone extraordinaire.

Ethnicity: Latinos 33%. Caucasians 28%. African Americans 17%. Native Americans 6%. Pacific Islander 6%. Persian 5%. Middle Eastern 5%.

There was a wide representation of ethnicities among the 18 students who participated in the University Coastal Trip.

Age:1st Generation College Students. Age 18-24: 6 out of 15 students were first generation college students. Age 25-30: 1 out of 1 students were first generation college students. Age Over 30: 2 out of 2 students were first generation college students.

One-half of the 18 students on the trip were first generation college students.