A Multi-college Experience
More stories from Brianna Rivera
On Friday, Oct. 21, Ms. Bui, Ms. Vasquez, and 33 students spent the day visiting and learning about 3 of the 5 Claremont Colleges. Although the trip was fun, it required early departure; everyone had to be ready to leave by 7:30 a.m. I rushed to arrive before 7:20 and was relieved to find the bus still at HMSA. The bus ride to the destination was approximately one hour to one hour and a half long, which allowed plenty of time to admire the beautiful scenery. Once we reached the desired destination, we did not waste any time— the tour of Pomona College began promptly. Our group went on 3 distinct and encouraging tours around Pomona College, Pitzer College, and Claremont McKenna College.
Pomona College was up first, led by a very charismatic and bubbly tour guide that helped the crew around the campus. She was in her second year at Pomona. She showed us many of the fancy science buildings and took us into a few of them to see the classrooms. She also opened up one of the dorm rooms to let the students and counselors see the interior.
The second college we visited was Pitzer College. Our group entered a bright orange room with a huge, beautiful painting of oranges on the front wall. Coincidentally, that day was also the college speaker’s birthday, so we waited quietly until he walked in, and then we sang him happy birthday. After the introduction, we met our new tour guide. She was in her fourth year at Pitzer College. She showed us an antique-looking home and explained that each year, a new senior applies to live in the house. The chosen senior gets to live in the amazing house for a year at the expense of cleaning and caring for the house. The campus also has a small chicken coop with different colored chickens. Throughout the entire campus, there were beautiful student-painted murals and breath-taking quotes.
The third and final college visited for the day was Claremont McKenna College. The 33-student group divided themselves among the three available tour guides. My group’s tour guide was in his fourth year at Claremont McKenna. He took us through many conference rooms filled with beautifully decorated tables and elegant pianos. He explained a few school traditions and showed us a couple of pretty water fountains. There is also a section on campus that looks like you can walk on water.
These colleges all share resources and a large campus, which makes finding materials extremely convenient. Any of these schools would be a great option if you’re looking for small schools with great support. Everyone that went on the trip had fun and learned a lot of useful and interesting facts about the Claremont Colleges.
