As a college preparatory school, Monsignor Edward Pace High School dedicates itself to ensuring that its students have the right experience and academic acumen to continue their education beyond high school.
Twenty one Pace juniors and seniors took a road trip across Florida to visit six Florida state universities in a unique opportunity to get a first-hand preview of their potential college options from October 5 through 7.
The Pace College Campus Tour, which is in its second year, was organized by Lilian Dubon, Pace’s college advisor, who chaperoned the trip along with Melanie Otero, a Pace guidance counselor. Hopping on a charter bus, the group rode up to University of South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast University on their first day, traveled to the University of Florida and Florida State University on their second, and closed out their tour at University of North Florida and University of Central Florida.
Along their journey, they ran into many recent Pace alumni who gave them authentic and honest advice, such as Andrew Oguga, class of 2014, at USF; Janelle Gonzalez, class of 2014, at UCF; and Christian Roig and Gabriel Sanchez, class of 2015, at UF.
“Many students had their hearts set on different schools before the tour,” said Otero. “But now they’re looking at things differently.”
“I wanted to see the options I had at the public universities in Florida,” said Matthew Sarria, a Pace junior. Before the tour, his college of choice was the University of Miami, but he went on the tour after it was recommended to him by students who went last year. “They said that it was a good experience to see the college campuses, the students in the campus during school hours, and get a feel for the college.” Sure enough, he wound up being impressed with the tight-knit student community at UF and says that it is his new top choice.