The annual CAL academy college bound field trip was one for the books. This year was a bit different because it was Mrs. Wydra’s (first year CAL lead teacher) hosting it, rather than Ms. Rubinger who does it every year. This year the CAL students went to four different universities which included, Stanford,  San Francisco State, UC Berkeley, and UC Merced. The three day trip was packed and filled with fun, adventures, and a lot of pictures.

On the first day of the trip after long hours of driving, we finally arrived at our first destination, Stanford University. It was an extremely beautiful campus with elegant buildings. Everyone was blown away with the beauty of the church in the front of the campus. Students took pictures in front of the church and with Stanford’s famous statues. Another unique characteristic of the campus was its underground bathrooms and its magnificent gardens. After exploring its law buildings and the library, we paid a visit to its gift shop and that ended our visit.

After a night sleeping on the Notre Dame High School gym floor, the second school the CAL students went to was San Francisco State University. The students had to wake up at 7:30 a.m. to get an early head start in order to get there, and after splitting up into groups, each teacher was given a list of places to take pictures of with their groups. At San Francisco State, there is this building where there are stairs on a building that go onto the highest point on the campus and gives you an amazing view of the campus, many students said it was a workout. Once finished visiting San Francisco State, all the students were driven to Pier 39 on Fisherman’s Wharf to grab a meal. The pier was filled with souvenir shops, restaurants, and live entertainment and students were given time to explore and eat. Before heading to UC Berkeley, everyone headed to the famous Golden Gate Bridge to take some pictures and everyone had a great time.

Our third stop was at The University of California, Berkeley. Everyone was very excited to tour the campus and see what the university had to offer. Our tour guides were all previous Birmingham students and were very happy to show us around and give us advice. The campus was very large and had lots of nature incorporated in the campus. The school had lots of hills and many libraries, even an underground one connecting all of them. We were able to see all the Greek life and see the frat houses all over campus. Our guides told us about the school’s long history and all the past controversy on campus. After we finished touring Berkeley, we all got on our buses and started to head to the hotel where we would be spending the night. Unfortunately, in the middle of the freeway, one of the buses broke down. We had to wait a couple of hours until the other bus came back for us. Finally, after a very long day, we made it safely to our hotel.

Once we arrived to our hotel, things got much better. We ate Subway for dinner and then we discussed our day and planned our final day all together. At this group meeting seniors were able to talk and give advice to others about their experiences and what they had learned. Many gave great advice and got emotional about all the things they had faced in the past, but also shared how they overcame every obstacle put in their way. After a very long day we were able to finally go to our rooms and sleep until the next day.

Unfortunately, Sunday morning was the last day of the Cal trip and the last school the CAL students were visiting was UC Merced. Even though it is located in a more rural setting, the campus was beautiful. Students were free to explore the campus and see what it was all about. When it was time to go, the ride home was a long one, but students kept themselves occupied by playing music on the bus, playing cards, or just talking to their friends. The CAL College Bound Field Trip is always a memorable experience that students will never forget and one that helps them get an understanding of what college is really about. It is also one students should be interested into applying for in the near future.