Fallbrook High unveils new college and career center

The new college and career center at Fallbrook High School has a college feel to it, and that's exactly what the two mainstays of the center, Pam Cain and Tony Morrow, were looking to achieve when they oversaw the transformation of a room that had previously been used primarily for storage.

Located under the prominent clock tower in room 201, the new college and career center is nearly three times larger than the old one and has a maximum occupancy of 120. New carpet, new furniture and a new paint job give the center a clean and sophisticated look.

"We think we have the best high school college and career center in the county," said Cain, college and career technician for Fallbrook High. "It's a college-looking room and we want students to get the feel of what it's going to be like when they stand on a college campus. We want them to feel like they are already in college when they come in here."

The center has small signs hanging from the ceiling that feature the names and emblems of colleges, and college pennants adorn part of one wall. One corner showcases the different branches of the military, and the back wall features large photos of different trades such as auto technology, engineer design, cyber security research, advance manufacturing technology, robotics, and mechanical engineering.

The new center also has a conference room, something the old college and career center lacked.

"We were always looking for a space where community members could interview our students, whether it be for a scholarship opportunity, leadership opportunity or job opportunity," said Cain. "Now we have it."

The new center can also accommodate an entire classroom of students for presentations while still affording space for other students to work on their own.

"We bring in between 50 and a hundred different college admission counselors throughout the school year to give presentations on their school and the college admission process in general," said Cain.

Morrow and Cain also present classes and workshops, including a college seminar series that includes financial aid and scholarship information, and a career information series that includes career exploration and financial planning.

"Information," responded Morrow without hesitation when asked what was the important thing offered at the college and career center.

"The simplest way to put it, our job in here is to help our students reach their post high school goal," said Morrow. "Period. It doesn't matter what it is. Anything from applying to an Ivy League university to getting a job at the local fast food restaurant, we're here to provide information.

"If you want to go to Yale, great, we're going to tell you this is what your schedule needs to look like while you're in high school, these are the courses you need to take, and here's the application process to get you to Yale," continued Morrow. "It you want to work at McDonalds, great, we're going to teach you how to fill out an application, write a resume and how to do an interview."

In a student is interested in serving in the military, the college and career center is there to help.

"We have recruiters that visit campus," said Cain. "We actually have quite a few students that graduate and either enlist or do a deferred enlistment – go to college and then serve their time in the service. We have a lot of students apply for ROTC scholarships with all the branches. We have our JROTC program on campus. We have a lot of kids interested in military as an avenue to get their college education and then have a career as well as serve in the military."

Cain said it is important for all students to realize that going to college is feasible.

"Everyone is capable of going to college, whether you are going for your degree or you just need to take a couple of courses to advance your career," said Cain. "We want every student to know that they have that opportunity – they can go to college."

The college enrollment process – as well as the cost of attending college – can be frightening for students and their families. Cain and Morrow work to calm those fears.

"We have a lot of first generation college students these days, and the parents are nervous and scared, because it can be an overwhelming process," said Cain. "The kids are nervous and scared as well because every transition in life can be overwhelming. We try to make it not so overwhelming.

"We help them apply for financial aid," continued Cain. "We help them read their financial aid award letters and help them understand them. Basically, we try to break it down for them. We want to help make that transition (from high school to college) smooth."

Cain and Morrow also help student athletes who are recruited to compete at the collegiate level.

"We make sure they meet their academic eligibility requirements and any other eligibility issues," said Morrow.

All students attending Fallbrook High School need to put in 40 hours of community service – 10 hours per year – in order to graduate. That means every student will be paying a visit to the college and career center.

"At some point, every student on this campus has to walk through our doors because we currently are the office that approves all of the community service work that the kids are doing," said Cain.

"We place (students) throughout the community," said Morrow. "We have community organizations that have provided us their contact information, and we give this information to the kids. We understand this school is a big part of our community, so with everything we're doing for our students, we're also here as a resource for our community."

Fallbrook High School has consistently placed students at schools across the nation, including all of the Ivy League schools.

"We have kids everywhere," said Cain. "Fallbrook puts out some top academic students, so our students are very competitive in the admission process."

The most recent graduating class from Fallbrook High included students who will be attending Stanford, Dartmouth, UCLA, UC Berkeley and TCU.

The college and career center is open to students who are dropped off early at the high school as Morrow is usually in his office by 6:30 a.m. Cain arrives around 7 a.m. Both encourage all students to drop in.