Though I’ve only been in AVID for two years, it feels like I’ve been in AVID for all four. AVID stands for Advancement via Individual Determination, in which all AVID students strive for excellence. Our goal in AVID is to prepare for and be successful in college. 

I started AVID my junior year, which I feel was the perfect time to begin. Being a junior, your goal is to be familiar with what types of colleges there are, practice answering UC Insight questions, and just overall preparing for college applications. Mrs. Manter, senior AVID teacher, and Mr. Alvarez, former AVID tutor, taught us a lot about creating goals (life and academic), self-perception, exploring our college options, self-motivation, getting familiar with financial aid, and even do’s and don’ts for job interviews. 

I went into AVID not knowing what I wanted to major in, or even what college would best suit me. Having Mrs. Manter and Mr. Alvarez to guide me, I then knew what I wanted to do in life and what the best college was for me. 

Now being a senior, our goal in AVID was to apply to as many colleges as we could, whether they were community, CSU’s, UC’s, or private colleges. We also focused on filling out our FAFSA as early as possible and applying to scholarships. Though Mr. Alvarez is no longer our AVID tutor (he currently teaches Math 1 here at Selma High), we still keep him informed of our progress and achievements. 

Ms. Contreras, AKA Ms. C, is our new AVID tutor this year. She is currently a senior at Fresno State, which is super resourceful because she gives us insight about what’s currently going on at a CSU, and gives us information about how different college is compared to when Mrs. Manter was in college. She also gives us advice on choosing our classes and managing time. 

We often take trips to the colleges we learn about. Altogether, the senior AVID class has been to schools such as CSU East Bay, UC Berkeley, CSU Sacramento, UC Davis, Fresno Pacific University, CSU Fresno, and UC Los Angeles. Visiting college campuses really gives us a feel of the college and whether it’s a good fit for us. All AVID students also take an annual trip to Six Flags for AVID Night as well. Seniors also get an exclusive trip, which depends on what college you want to visit. This year, we toured Los Angeles and visited UCLA. 

I highly encourage everyone, regardless of grade level, to consider joining AVID. AVID has really helped me figure and plan out exactly what I want to do and how I want to do it. 

Thank you Mrs. Vang, Ms. Chang, Mr. Filkins, Mrs. Manter, Mr. Alvarez, and Ms. C for continuing to teach AVID with such passion and influencing a generation of future college students.