WATSONVILLE — Even before he joined several of his peers on a cross-country trip to see some of the top universities in the U.S. in late September, Pajaro Valley High School senior Anthony Ramos had experienced life away from home.
In summer after his sophomore year, Ramos participated in the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program, and this past summer he studied surgery with the Boston University Leadership Institute.
So Ramos, who plans to study neuroscience and then go to medical school, was the perfect candidate to participate in the annual Ivy League Tour.
The eight-day trip brings students from Watsonville and Pajaro Valley high schools to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the universities of Boston, Tufts, Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Yale and Pennsylvania.
The trip is fundamentally a chance for elite students to gauge their interest in the universities and get a taste of college life.
Participants were chosen from dozens of students through an application process designed to mimic that of a real university, with letters of recommendation, an essay and an interview with PVUSD officials.
It is also a time to leave home and expand their horizons as they prepare for their first step into adulthood. Participants stay in dorms and interact with students.
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Pajaro Valley High School
Karen Vega
“I thought going back east was a wonderful experience,” said Karen Vega. “I feel lucky that my parents support me in my goals. I hope to go into a nursing program and then come back to Watsonville and serve my community.”
Geniva Aguayo
“I couldn’t wait to start this journey; it was a really different experience for me,” said Geniva Aguayo. “I’m hoping to get into UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara or UC Berkeley. I am honored to be the first one in my family to go this far in education. I hope to set a good example for my siblings.”
Liszette Gonzalez
Liszette Gonzalez described the trip as an “adventure” that showed her just how small Watsonville is, and how she can find similarities in a drastically different place.
“I really fell in love with Yale,” she said.
Gonzalez plans to apply to the school early, with applications due by Nov. 1.
She plans to study either biology or civil engineering.
Yesica Guzman
“It was fun to go all the way to the East Coast to see the universities and hear the benefits they offer,” she said.
Guzman said she liked University of Pennsylvania, and hopes to study sociology and human biology there, to prepare for medical school.
Donovan Arteaga
Donovan Arteaga said he found some of the differences between the coasts striking, even down to the food sold in the stores.
“I found it very exciting to experience a different part of the country,” he said.
As for a major, Arteaga is wavering between biochemistry and civil engineering.
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At Watsonville High School, Ron Sandidge (from left), Yannely Collazo, Alexis Peña, Mauricio Medrano, Angelica Ruiz, Daniel Knight and Lorraine Sandoval-Vigil pose for a photo after returning from the East Coast Ivy League Tour. (Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
Watsonville High School
Yannely Collazo
Yannely Collazo called the tour “eye-opening.”
“Trips like this make all your effort worth it,” she said. “You see that you can do so much more than you limit yourself to.”
Still unsure which school she wants to attend, Collazo said that she found herself drawn to Yale and Columbia universities.
In either case, she hopes to study neuroscience.
Angelica Ruiz
Angelica Ruiz was ecstatic about the trip.
“It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever been offered,” she said. “It was a lot to take in.”
With plans to major in biology or psychology on a pre-med track, Ruiz is now eyeing Yale or Boston universities.
Ruiz said her surprise over the cultural differences between the east and west coasts were tempered by her discovery of the Yale University La Casa Latino Cultural Center, which she said would make her feel more at home.
When asked her advice for younger students, Ruiz advised them not to let obstacles get in their way.
“Anything negative in your life, turn it into a positive,” she said. “You’ll make it far in life, and great things will come to you.”
Alexis Peña
“Going to the East Coast was really special,” said senior Alexis Peña. “It felt like a very rare experience. No one in my family has been through something like this.”
Daniel Knight
Daniel Knight said he was interested in Cornell University.
“I was born and raised in Watsonville and I feel lucky to have the teachers I have here at Watsonville High,” he said. “I have always excelled at math and science so this is the field I think I will go for.”
Mauricio Medrano
Mauricio Medrano said the trip was his first to the East Coast.
“I am kind of interested in MIT,” he said. “I want to go into stem field biochemistry. I really feel the Ivy League project should be encouraged for all students. To be there and see it for yourself is a whole other experience.”
