Kindergarteners Get An Early Taste of College Life

What would you have known about college when you were five years old? Maybe you know a little bit — perhaps a sibling is attending, or perhaps your parents are alumni and holds their alma mater very dear, or perhaps you simply live in an active college town. Many children, however, grow up knowing nothing at all about college, and are unaware of all that the future might hold. This month, however, over a thousand of these children in the Orange County area will get a glimpse into college life with Fullerton College’s 14th Annual KinderCaminata.

Kindergartners from Anaheim, La Habra and Fullerton schools districts will get an early taste of college life Friday when Fullerton College hosts the 14th annual KinderCaminata.

More than 1,000 pint-sized students have been invited to tour the school, have their faces painted and meet with Buzzy, the campus mascot.

Several schools in the area participate in KinderCaminata, with the express purpose of introducing underprivileged children — and their families — to the world of higher learning.

KinderCaminata was developed to give children, many of them from immigrant, low-income families, and an introduction to the “college dream”. KinderCaminata helps them to see the benefits of school and respect for their families as the way to become whatever they hope in the future. KinderCaminata parents are encouraged to accompany their children to attend the college fair. Parents will also have an opportunity to attend a parent workshop, in either Spanish or English, on how to prepare children for higher education over their time in school.

Community colleges across the county will open their doors to the children in the days surrounding March 31st in celebration of Cesar Chavez Day, a man who also worked toward the benefit and upward mobility of the immigrant and the common man.

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