Online Editor & Reporter- Haley Hill

Attending Arcata High gives us the unique opportunity of being within walking distance of a California State University. Just visiting Humboldt State University provides insight into college culture, and getting a feel for the CSU system can be especially worthwhile to those considering to attend one of the twenty-three campuses spread out across the state.

Jim Ritter, resident ray of sunshine and Director of the Career Frontiers program, has been organizing field trips from AHS to HSU for several years. These enable high school students to get to know professors, participate in college class discussions, and explore majors.

Senior Hannah Pereira is a veteran of these field trips. She has shadowed classes in business marketing, environmental science, and journalism. While Pereira herself is planning to attend HSU next fall, she believes that these field trips can be beneficial for all students.

“School can sometimes drag you down, you know, so just taking a little time off and going for a stroll to learn about higher education is a wonderful break in the day,” she said.

Mr. Ritter shares the same sentiment about the program. “Humboldt State has really opened their doors, and students can take advantage of these field trips to meet professors and see how welcoming and friendly they are,” he proclaimed. “The college class is different, yes, but something that they can see and go ‘I could do this!’”

A few Pepperbox reporters visited Deidre Pike, chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication just last semester. “It was marvelous,” Pike declared. “College can sound very scary to some students; they have a preconceived notion that it’s extremely stuffy and a great big auditorium with a teacher up front, you know you see that in movies sometimes. But Humboldt is a little more down to earth most of the time.” From Dakota Kalavitas-Heffernan’s perspective, “It was a really cool opportunity that we got to sit down and have an intimate discussion with the journalism professors at HSU.” To the field trip god and omnipresent beam of light, he added “Thanks, Mr. Ritter.”

Interested in a field trip?

Individual trips will be announced in the morning bulletin. Field trip forms are available at the office, and they can be left in the college and career center.