By Steve Phan, Staff Photographer and Nicole Tieu, Managing Editor
For the past three years, teachers have been wearing college attire every Wednesday to spark conversations about their college experiences and about new colleges that students have never heard of before. This subtle tradition started around seven years ago when Clint Walters, current Guidance Specialist, was the College/Career Specialist. Annually, on college fair day, Fountain Valley’s teachers would wear a college shirt to signify the colleges students could look into.
“Sometimes students fixate on just one college and just the fact that people walk around a student may say, ‘where is that [college]?’” said biology teacher Emily Barro.
After Michaela Wakeman moved in as the College Advisor, she advocated for wearing a college shirt every Wednesday. Currently, Fountain Valley High School, and other schools in the district participate in creating college awareness with their own College Wear traditions. This way, students may have an opportunity each week to ask their teachers about colleges.
“It’s a great opportunity to see where all the teachers and staff went to college to initiate a conversation,” said Wakeman.
Although many teachers on campus participate in College Wear Wednesday, some students are unaware of its existence. However, the College and Career Center plans to begin sharing quick college fun facts during the Wednesday morning announcements each week to raise awareness.
“I think it’s really cool that a lot of teachers are promoting the different colleges around here so the students have an idea of all the options available,” said Ryan Cheung (‘16). “It’s neat that people get into the spirit of thinking about college.”
Students are also encouraged to wear a college t-shirt or sweater every Wednesday to spread their knowledge of various schools.
