Last year it was USC, now it’s time to visit UCI! McAuliffe’s California Junior Scholarship Federation, better known as CJSF, went and visited the University of California, Irvine on November 19th and got a full tour of its campus. It wasn’t just exciting for the seventh and eighth-grade students on the field trip, but it was also an opportunity to get an inside look at the college.

Upon arriving at the campus and making their way to the entrance of the food court, the students were set free to explore the stores and restaurants, as long as they were back at a certain time with their groups. Most of the seventh and eighth-graders ventured into the food court, getting food from places like Wahoo’s, Subway, Wendy’s, and Panda Express. The students who traveled a bit farther into the food court found a Jamba Juice near the bookstore. 

The Hill, UCI’s bookstore, was filled with a variety of different items like souvenirs, clothes, snacks, a technology section, and even an Urban Outfitters! Surprisingly, there was a scarce amount of books, but if you looked in the back there was a tiny stand that consisted of adult and children’s books.

Time seemed to fly by fast, and soon the students had to return to their assigned meeting place. Although, some got stuck in the Starbucks line! Once everyone was rounded up, the seventh and eighth-graders were divided into three groups with one parent volunteer to supervise. Finally, it was time for the tour, and the groups set off with their tour guides to view parts of the huge campus, like the dorms and research buildings.

Not all of the tour was just walking around and observing. A little bit into the tour, everyone stopped to look at trees and a field where the students attending UCI could study. It wasn’t long until the middle schoolers started running across the grass and rolling down the hills. Before they went back to their tour guides, Mrs. LeTourneau managed to snap a few group pictures of the students, and then it was back to the tour.

All in all, the field trip was exciting for everyone attending. In the end, everyone packed away their belongings, loaded the bus, and came back to McAuliffe. CJSF’s 2019 field trip to UCI was a definite success, and next year’s field trip should be just as remarkable as this year’s was.