Discovery Day III
Every fall semester, Discovery Day provides younger students with their first exposure to higher education while providing college service-learners with an engaging opportunity for leadership and service. Freshmen from Roseland University Prep (RUP) spend a day with Sonoma State University(SSU) freshmen inspiring a love of SSU so all the students can aspire to become and stay Seawolves. "I expected a long and boring day but I ended up having a lot of fun. I learned to become a better leader and realized that I can do a lot to advise high school students about college. I can apply it to my life by going to high schools and helping kids with college applications," said Charlie Bertole, SSU freshman.
Discovery Day incorporates important levels of reciprocity. While in previous years, the 20 AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) students attended, this year RUP brought over a hundred students. Principal of Roseland University Prep, Aubin Giampaoli, explains, "It was really beneficial to the whole freshmen class to give them a real taste as freshmen at a university." The day consists of RUP students joining SSU service-learners from two University 102 sections in a brief introduction and ice-breaker. Then they form groups to embark on a scavenger hunt which better accustoms them to the SSU campus while allowing interaction between both groups of freshmen.
Discovery Day landed on a rainy day which made the campus scavenger hunt a bit more exciting. The pizza lunch was generously sponsored by SSU President Ruben Armiñana. Interim Provost Saeid Rahimi introduced himself and greeted the high school students. After lunch, panels of students from Outreach and the UNIV 102 classes, shared their personal stories and answered questions about the process of becoming a University student.
The Office of Admissions & Student Recruitment has developed a longstanding relationship with the staff and students of Roseland University Prep. All RUP students who meet the CSU requirements are given direct admission to the University.