On Friday, Oct. 4, a group of high school students turned heads on campus, causing people to take a second look. One student even stopped to take a picture of the group. The group of students from Escondido Community Day School were taking a tour of the campus led by a San Diego State Ambassador. Their teacher assistant Sarah Licona noticed the student taking a picture of them.

“Stereotype, there we go, that’s one of the things we always see,” Licona said. “There’s a Jack In The Box right next to our school and when we walk down the street, people will look at us and ask us why we aren’t in school. People like that (boy taking a picture) put them down.”

Licona said most students are currently enrolled in the Escondido Community Day School. All of the students in the program have been kicked out of other schools because of gang violence, and possession of drugs. The majority of the students in the program are male; Licona said most girls don’t last in the program because they either get pregnant or run away with their boyfriends.

Licona decided to surprise her students by getting them tickets to the San Diego State football game and a tour of the campus on Friday. She wanted her students to see what a university has to offer and hopefully, inspire them to attend college after high school. The students took a small tour of the school passing by the statue of SDSU’s first president, walking down Campanile Drive and touring near the library. She led them on the tour to show them what life can be like in college and to help them feel like they can belong in a college community and succeed further in their lives.

The students later that day attended the football game at Qualcolm Stadium where the football team played against the University of Nevada, Reno. Licona said the students were excited to attend SDSU’s football game even though they don’t watch a lot of college football.

“I grew up in the neighborhood, so I know how tough it is to not have anyone home,” Licona said. “I know how it is that you have to be watching out if you see your enemy. Knowing you can’t go to school because you have to watch out. Once you find that teacher that gives you everything you need, that’s your home and that’s where you belong. That’s something I try to incorporate in them.”

Licona said the school isn’t a “normal” school because it’s a yearlong school with only one week of break for the holidays and one day for Thanksgiving. The students get credit for five classes, five hours a day. There are three graduation times throughout the year in January, August and December. So far, its largest graduating class has been 32 students while its smallest has been only five.

“I plan on going to Palomar community college to get my A.A. and from there transfer to a university,” senior Daniel Govea, who will be graduating in January, said. “I’ve been in this school for almost five years. Visiting this campus showed me it has everything I thought a college would have and just walking around made me realize how big it actually is.”

In their homes, they don’t have the reliability of interacting with their parents, Licona said. Their parents care about them, but for many parents working late hours, it’s hard for them to spend the extra time. For the students, coming into Licona’s classroom, it’s like a second home. They spend about five hours a day at school and it’s a comfortable and safe environment.

“I’m not sure what I want to do after graduation,” senior Alexis Gonzales said. “My favorite subject in school is biology; I like a lot of things about it.”

Photo by Arturo Garcia Sierra, Assistant News Editor