San Juan Unified community celebrates bright futures at College Night event

San Juan Unified continued its celebration of College Week on Sept. 21 with a College Night event hosted by Rio Americano High School. 

High school students and families from around the district filled both of Rio Americano’s gymnasiums on Thursday evening to speak with college admissions representatives from over 60 colleges and universities. 

Liv Bacchi, a 12th-grade student at Rio Americano, was grateful to ask her admissions questions in-person. 

“I was excited to kind of get a chance to talk one-on-one with the admissions officers,” she said. “It’s easy to look stuff up on the internet, but you never really know if it’s right.” 

Outside the building, San Juan Unified’s Family & Community Engagement team handed out goodie bags to students. Attendees enjoyed a snack break at the three food trucks stationed by the event. 

After helping to organize College Night with the volunteer organization, Rio and Beyond, Diane Tully, a Rio Americano parent, was happy to see students explore different programs. 

“I love it when a student is walking through and they see a college that they are excited about, and they get that look of “Ok, that’s the one,” she said. “Doing it in person really makes an impact on the students, it makes them realize that this is something that they can do. And that’s our whole purpose.”