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Published on 09/21/1998 All articles from this issue

Career centers prepare students for life after school graduation

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By Jean Newton

Special to the Town Crier

With student support programs in the forefront this school year at the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, the college/career centers at both Mountain View and Los Altos high schools are in high gear. Both kicked-off the school year with college nights this month and a variety of activities geared to give students choices for post-high school graduation.

In addition to College Night, both schools will sponsor college visitations for students and parents with representatives from 60 colleges, including state schools as well as private schools, during the next few months.

"We are here to help students and provide that little bit of extra support. We want students to leave us with a plan in mind," said Los Altos High college counselor Ginger Beman.

In an interview last January, Pat Osborne, a counselor at Los Altos High, said about 85 pecent of the school's graduates go on to college.

The college/career centers provide free services to students on a drop-in basis or through scheduled individual sessions. College counselors work hand-in-hand with student counselors at each school and are available from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Mountain View High and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday at Los Altos High.

"Some parents have the resources to pay for college counseling, but all parents should know they can get the same kind of quality service for free through their local high school," said Barbara Bogomilsky, Mountain View High college counselor

College counselors at both high schools help students with applications, SAT registration and study materials, essay writing, letter recommendations and forms, as well as financial aid and scholarship information.

Counselors said once families understand the costs and academic requirements, they can start to zero in on a plan.

Funded by the Mountain View Los Altos High School Foundation, parent groups and the district, counselors at the college/career centers are proud of their track records. Students from both Los Altos and Mountain View High attend colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Brown, Tufts, Stanford, Duke, MIT, Berkeley, Northwestern, UCLA, Vanderbuilt and Columbia in addition to two-year community colleges.

"We're known as a friendly place and everyone is welcome here," Osborne said. "We want to be available to encourage and motivate students to go forward in life. Sometimes we become that significant person in someone's life, and that's very rewarding."

For more information about college/career center activities, call Osborne or Beman at Los Altos High School at 960-8836 or Bogomilsky at Mountain View High School, 940-4616.