Ariana Lester

Mrs. Henry
Service Learning, Period 4
4 April 2016
College Exploration
For my college exploration I went to the African American Diaspora for CSUMB and
a campus tour at Sonoma State. At the diaspora I was fortunate to meet with the head of
admissions and the head of the kinesiology department. It was informative and fun. At the
campus tour, I was taken around the campus and told about the buildings and their
significance; while there we also were taken on a dorm room tour which was quite
interesting.
The African American Diaspora was one of many held events on April 2 on the
CSUMB campus. The event started at 11:00 and ended at 3:00; They had clubs representing
what they do and how incoming students could be part of it, all the majors had information
meetings where you could learn about the field and career possibilities, the heads of each
major were walking around the event and engaging incoming freshman, and they had campus
tours included. It was the very thing that made me want to go to CSUMB.
At the event I attended the kinesiology informational meeting held by the head of the
kinesiology department, I learned about the career field that would be open to me and what
degrees they offered. I met with one of the professors from the department and he told me of
the class size and the labs that they do. He also told me of the internship possibilities through
his own work and how as an incoming freshman I could get involved. I also had the privilege
to talk to the head of Admissions, he gave me tips on how to get through my classes and what
would be a good route for me in my four years at CSUMB. He also told me that his goal was
not to make me come to his school but to go to the school that would make me a productive

member of workforce. I couldnt of had a better experience at a school and it was what made
me want to go to the school.
The campus tour at Sonoma was interesting and informative, I was taken to the
different buildings and shown which majors were currently at work in each. We were taken
into the buildings at shown what the labs looked like. The campus was the smallest Id ever
been to so it was the easiest to maneuver around. We were also taken to the dorm rooms and
given information about the safety. The dorms are the 12th nicest in the country and it was
definitely impressive.
What I didnt like about the school was on how small is was, there were only about
five main buildings. I didnt enjoy the atmosphere of the area, it was too much like Solano
County and there was nothing new for me or exciting. I also didn't like how you needed a car
for the area, I wouldnt get the opportunity to explore public transportation which I feel is an
important skill for me to learn. The worst part was how secluded it was, there was no major
city around the area so I would have limited exploration. Because I visited I found that the
school was far from a perfect fit for me. I am glad I had the opportunity to find that out
before I went there. Due to the exploration, I made an educated decision to go to CSUMB,
and I wont be left saying what if.