Friday morning, March 15, three buses pull up to Cal State University of Channel Islands in front of the beautiful view of a strawberry farm.  Excited students pressed their smiles against the bus windows, not wanting to wait for an exceptional adventure. The buses stop and the doors open; students from all three buses scramble out with a face of adventure to a different place.

Counselors Ms. Laurie Tristan and Ms. Christine Silva took 128 students, grades six through eight, to a MacTivity Field Trip at Cal State University of Channel Islands on March 15.  Students were eligible by completing ten MacTivities or more.

MacTivities are optional assignments and activities designed to encourage students to think and plan for college and careers.  There are 20 or more MacTivities created for each grade, and if students complete all MacTivities, they receive a medal during the third awards assembly.

The MacTivities started five years ago, in 2014.  They were started by Tristan and Silva because they wanted to start a program to promote college and career preparation.

MacTivities are used to help kids explore college facts and campuses, and to get an opinion of what they want to do when they are older.  Some colleges MacArthur has been to include Biola, USC, CSU Fullerton, FIDM, University of San Diego, Point Loma Nazarene University, UCLA, CSU Dominguez Hills, and UC Irvine.

Madeline Orellana, eighth grade, learned more about the A-G requirements and about Financial Aids. She turned in her MacTivities the day it was due. She said, “The field trip is a lot of fun and totally worth doing ten MacTivities!”

Students learn more about themselves, possible colleges, and possible careers.  What usually goes on in the Field Trip is students go on a campus tour, and students learn about the acceptance requirements for that college or university.  Tristan said, “We go to the college campuses to learn about students’ point of view and experience the world outside of Santa Ana.”

Rollan Nguyen, eighth grade, learned about the A-G requirements and types of colleges in and out of California.  Rollan liked his experience and also learned lost of information from that college. Rollan said, “The field trip very fun and the bus was loud with singing but the tour of the college was fun.”

At  Cal State University of Channel Island, the Library is made with windows instead of a wall, so the sun could shine in to use natural light instead of electricity. The students use reusable water bottle because their mascot Ecco the dolphin live in the water. The Cal State University of Channel Island they also have a bell tower that rings every 15 minutes.

Julia Ariston, eighth grade, learned the Cal State University of Channel Islands has a multicultural program to make students feel more welcome at school.  Julia said, “It was worth doing 10 MacTivities, because it got me thinking about what college I want to attend and what I want to study.”

Cal State University of Channel Island also has a therapy dog named Doc and is sometimes taken to the Cal State University of Channel Island students during finals. Their School colors are and Silver and Red.  Silver was chosen because of their mascot Ecco the Dolphin. Red was chosen because they have strawberry fields.