Estefany Maldonado

2010 EOYDC Southwest College Tour

I was lucky and fortunate to be chosen to go to the Washington DC College Tour 2010, thanks to Southwest Airlines and other sponsors.  Me and 8 other students got the opportunity of a life time. We got to visit three universities, monuments, and important buildings. I got to fly across the country and visit Washington D.C, something I had not done before. I had the opportunity to spend almost a whole week away from my parents and experience how it would be like to be away from home. Personally going on this College Tour helped me realize very important things that will impact my future. I realized I would like to move out of my house, but I do not want to go to an out of state school. I also realized and changed my major. Overall, I just learned a lot of knew things that I never knew.

Before I went on the trip I had never actually been away from home and my family at the same time. I had also never visited or even considered going to any universities outside of CA. One of the universities that really captured my attention was the George Washington University. I loved the location, the atmosphere, the set up, and overall I just loved everything about it. If it was not so far from CA I would ultimately apply there and do everything possible to attend. But, being out of CA has made me realize how much I love CA and how I do not want to leave CA. I know going to an out of state University would be a great opportunity, but I don’t feel this is for me. I have basically grown up and lived in CA my whole life, and even though a lot of people encourage me to leave CA I don’t feel it is right. I have researched and considered other Universities outside of CA but at the end of the day the Universities that capture my attention and heart the most are those in CA. Going to Washington D.C and being away from home helped me realize I am capable of leaving home. I missed my parents but I also realize it would benefit me more to leave home once I go off to college because it will help me become more independent. I also do not want to be far from home so I can still visit my family and be able to stay in touch better.

Since I started looking at majors and what career I wanted to pursue the one that had caught my attention the most was nursing, but going on this trip has changed my mind. By meeting with all the different people we had a chance to meet with such as Rosie Rios, the US Treasurer and learning about her life and community involvement, I realized I want to continue in a path of working in the community and interacting with others. So, I have changed my intended major to Sociology, more specifically I want to be a Social Worker. Seeing how energetic and loving Mr. Cameron Moody, Eric Chinge, and Rosie Rios were about working with others and doing a job that helped resolved problems, either financial or engineering wise, it helped me realize that I want to help make a difference and solve problems too. So, by being a social worker I will still be in the Health Industry, I will be able to give back to my community and interact with others helping them resolve their problems and have a better life. Throughout the trip and my life I have realized I am good at interacting with others and a good listener and advice giver, so I feel this is the perfect job for me.

Other than realizing what I want to be and where I want to attend school I also learned a lot of knew interesting facts I never knew. When we went on the tour of the White House I learned a lot of knew facts about its internal and external decoration, I learned about the utility upgrades that are going on. Mr. Cameron Moody also gave me some facts that have been useful in my AP Environmental Science class, such as how they are installing new solar panels. When we went on a tour of Georgetown University I learned that one of the scenes of a movie I liked, The Exorcist was filmed right there in the University chapel. I thought that was really cool. We went on a tour of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, where we also met with the US Treasurer Rosie Rios. Going on this tour helped me understand and learn about the difficult process of making money. I learned a lot of facts that will be useful in my economics class, such as how much it costs to make money, and all the other fundamental facts about our nation’s currency. Going to the Nation’s Capital was a great experience, I got to actually see and go inside the room where the senate and congress sit to discuss issues. I go to see all the important monuments that I have studied about in my past history classes; it felt good to actually be able to see them in person. A fun fact that I learned was that shopping in CA is way better than in Washington D.C.

Overall, going on this College Tour has been a life changing experience. It helped me resolve several issues about my future that I still had questions about. I learned a lot of knew facts I never knew about, and I now have a wider knowledge of how Washington D.C functions. I know more about the White House, the Nation’s Capital, World Bank, and the Bureau of printing and engraving. I feel College Tours like this help students learn about different opportunities that are outside of CA, discover a new type of environment that most of us aren’t used to, and in some cases realize important things that will help us find out what we want to be and do. If it was not for this experience I would still be wondering if going out of state would be a good idea, and I would be following a major that is not for me. I really want to thank Southwest Airlines, EOYDC’s Pathway to College, and Ms. Regina, for letting me be part of this great experience.