45 Miami Lakes Educational Center students join major college tour

What is college really like? The best way to answer that question is to go visit a college campus, to walk through the hallways and classrooms, to talk to current students and faculty. But, travel is expensive and whose parents can take the time off from work to traverse the country?
Yordanka Mezawi, Miami Lakes Educational Center’s (MLEC) teacher of the year, started the process of organizing a school trip at the end of last school year. After months of planning, saving, researching and preparing for the cold weather, 45 students and four chaperones met at 4 a.m. in the morning on March 17 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to begin their college tour of ten schools in five days.
Day one was a whirlwind. Boston, Massachusetts, historic, lively and cold. MLEC Jaguars spent the beginning of the trip at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was more than a tour, it was personal, two MLEC alumins David Pacheco, class of 2015 and Jonthan Tagoe, class of 2017, spoke to the team. Not only did they offer a personalized tour of the historic campus, they answered questions and offered advice on everything from the academics to battling home sickness to how to adjust to the cold weather.
“I feel like that was really special. We got an advantage over other people who go on tours with a tour guide, I really liked how we were able to get most of ours done by actual students and students from MLEC that know where we come from,” said junior Chika Ojukwu.
There was still so much left to see, Boston University, the Museum of Science, Faneuil Hall and Harvard University where there is also a current MLEC alumna, Julissa Higgins, class of 2015.
Then, off to Northeastern University, Boston College, Providence College, Brown University and Yale University over the next two days. Luckily, more alumni. At Brown, the team met up with Samantha Cardet, MLEC class of 2014 and discussed financial aid and Brown’s open curriculum.
Next on the itinerary was the city that never sleeps, New York. For many of the students, this was their first visit to “the Big Apple.”
The first stop was New York University where they met with another Jaguar, Lessenitt Campos, class of 2016, now majoring in Sports Management.
“The city looked colossal yet constricted, elegant yet noisy,” said Karla Perez. They toured the sites from Central Park and Times Square to the Majestic Theatre where the group watched a Broadway Show.
“Watching a Broadway play was a once in a lifetime experience that not that many people get to experience. I was blessed to be able to be there,” said sophomore, Mya Young.
“Students were able to visit 10 of the most competitive schools in the country in the span of five and a half days. Hopefully, it encourages them to apply,” said Mezawi. “We have great, talented, dedicated and motivated students at MLEC and I hope that this trip allows them to see just how many opportunities they have.