10/4/10 — On September 25, in the City of Temecula, students accompanied by their parents packed the second floor of the Promenade Mall. Eager teenagers with bags filled with pamphlets in one hand and a pen in the other visited some of the 125 booths of local alumni representing their schools – Ivy League, UC, other state, and private schools. Many students in Temecula had the opportunity to find out more about their college options at the Temecula College and Trade Fair.
“I came here to get more serious about education and my future,” Ryan Simmons, a senior at Temecula Valley High School, said. “I don’t know much about college so I had to come here in order to learn more about them.”
Sam Baker from Chaparral High School attended the fair for a similar reason.
“There are a lot more colleges here than I thought! I came here because I want to go to college, but I don’t really know much about colleges and the application process,” he said.
While some students were wondering which colleges to apply to, there were students at the fair who had their plans set and knew what they wanted.
“I was looking into schools like Washington University in St. Louis and USC because they are research-based schools. I hope to do something science-related in the future,” Nikka Veriato, a junior from Temecula Preparatory School, said.
Tayler Gallagher, a junior from Chaparral High School is interested in playing college football while majoring in kinesiology.
“I really hope to go to a school in San Diego because I really like it there. Hopefully, I will be able to attend San Diego State University and play for the Aztecs,” he said.
In addition to college representatives from all over the nation, there were representatives of military institutes and recruiters from the army, navy, and air force at the college fair.
Caleb Johnson, a senior from Chaparral High School’s NJROTC program expressed his interests in the military.
“I was looking at a few military colleges, and I really hope to go to Norwich Military Institute. I am impressed at the fact there are so many military schools here.”
Temecula’s annual College and Trade Fair provides many students the opportunity to learn more about the colleges they want to attend, as well as learn about schools they may not have expected to consider before. Many students seemed inspired for their new school year, as well as their aspirations for the future.
