UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced, Chico State, Fresno State and Stanford were some of the many colleges that Manuel Solis visited this summer. And it was all thanks to a special program called Upward Bound.

But before all this, he said, he went to Arizona to visit some family members and also to see the university out there.

During his Upward Bound experience at Cal Lutheran University, he had to stay in the dorms for five weeks but got to go home on the weekends.

Solis had to attend three classes a day. The first one was a math class that was a collge course. Then he had an English class followed by another course called senior seminar. He said he got lots of college experience because he was basically living like a college student.

But just because the trip was a scholastic one that doesn’t mean it was just school nonstop. They also had lots of fun experiences, like when he went to UCLA for a rope course. Solis’s Upward Bound group also stayed in a hotel out in Santa Cruz where he said that their patio was the forest and witnessed a bobcat walking through it.

He says he will never forget that summer because it was filled with education and lots of fun. He recommends many other students to join Upward Bound because “It’s an experience you won’t forget.”

Jonathan Mendoza

Jonathan Mendoza, a senior here at Channel Islands High School, said he had a good but simple summer.

Like almost every other high school student he said he went to the fair over summer, like he does every summer.

He said this summer he focused on what he loved the most: his passion for soccer. But he didn’t just play at any other field here in Oxnard; He went out with some friends to practice and scrimmage on the UCSB soccer fields. He said it was a great experience because he got to train with some players from the university and that gave him a challenge.

Going out to hike was another big thing on his summer list. He went hiking a couple times and even has scars all over his arms and legs because he fell down on one of his hiking trips. Despite the bruises, he says it was thrilling.

Although his summer consisted of sports and adventures, that didn’t prevent him from staying at home to keep up with his favorite show, “Prison Break.” He watched every show from the beginning to the end.

Mendoza said, “I felt like crying at the end,” because the show was just that intense to him.

Mr. Al Vargas

Can you imagine three straight days of non-stop fishing?

To some people that sounds like a horrible time. But not for CI teachers Mr. Al Vargas and Mr. Vinnie DiBella, who had one of the best fishing experiences this year.

On June 20 they both departed from Burbank to Seattle, then departed from Seattle to Sitka, Alaska, their destination.

They rented an aluminum 40-foot boat and set out to fish three straight days from 6 a.m. to 4.p.m. Their primary catch was king salmon and halibut, and they were quite successful in making some great catches.

When asked what the highlight of the trip was, Mr. Vargas responded by saying, “Sunday and the waves were around 16 feet and the wind was blowing at around 35 mph.”

But that was no excuse for them to not continue on their fishing. He says that only made the experience even better.

They returned from Sitka, Alaska, on June 24 with an experience they will never forget. Something to remember is that the worst day of fishing is better than the best day working.