Vista Students Gear Up for College

Red Bluff >> The University of Oregon, Butte College, Chico State, Stanford — eighth-graders at Vista Preparatory Academy were asked to dream big at an assembly Friday morning focusing on post high school colleges and careers.

“You are in control of your future,” Principal Isaac Scharaga told the students, whom he noted will be moving on to high school in five months.

Scharaga told his students to remember to do three things — work hard, be strong and be courageous.

The assembly featured a handful of Vista alumni who spoke about the education and careers they went on to have.

Laura Schreter is enrolled at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento where she is studying in hopes of one day opening and operating her own veterinary clinic.

It’s a goal, she told the students, she’s had since she was a little girl.

California State University, Chico Professor Curtis DeBerg told the students to find a career where they are doing something they love.

Scharaga said not every student will attend a four-year college, but students should keep their options open and know there are people out there to help them along their way.

At the end of the assembly each student was given a T-shirt from a college or university from across the country.

Scharaga said he believes the school’s recent emphasis on colleges is paying off. He said three years ago 63 percent of eighth-graders met state requirements. The school’s most recent figure is 93 percent.

More than half of the 200 eighth-graders at Vista are on the honor roll, Scharaga said.

College Options, which is working with Tehama County schools, has as its mission to strengthen the college-going culture in the North State by increasing opportunities for students to pursue postsecondary education, and ensuring that all students can make informed decisions about their education and their future.

By Rich Greene, Published in the Red Bluff Daily News on 1/10/15

Click here to read original article.