Sixty-one colleges, including 17 Cerritos College programs and six out of state schools, gathered Oct. 3 in the gymnasium to inform high school students about what each college had to offer.

Over 1,000 students from ABC, Bellflower, Downey and Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School Districts came to find out what each if not every college from across California had to present.

Hector Ibarra, Downey High School senior, said that he was looking into a career in computer technology and said that he hoped to talk to representatives from Cal Tech, Virginia Tech, or MIT.

“I’ve had an interest in computers for a while,” he said, “and I would hope that one day I will be able to develop computer software.”

Angel Hernandez, Downey High School senior, said that he was undecided on what to study after graduating, but he was interested in going to a Cal State University such as Cal State San Diego or Cal State University Pomona.

Cerritos College was also represented and among the 17 programs that were there were Cosmetology, Financial Aid, Scholar’s Honor and Court Reporting.

Cerritos College President Dr. Noelia Vela said that she was pleased with what Cerritos College had to offer, as well as with the relationship Cerritos has with the surrounding high schools.

“The Cerritos College faculty has done a fantastic job in helping to promote what other colleges have to offer high school students,” she said.

One of those hoping to recruit was U.S. Army and as Staff Sergeant Eric Quintanar hoped to change the misconception of the Army.

“On average the Army has 150 men and women who are either full-time or part-time,” he commented, “and one of the first things that students as us is if they will be going to Iraq.”

He said that wasn’t what the Army does, but that there is information that the Army provides in regards to jobs and also that 100 percent of the tuition is paid for when students come into the army.

As for how much the tuition was for the Army he declined to answer.

Another interest that was among the high school senior was cosmetology because as John Glenn High School senior Mira Rodriguez said, she has had an interest in the field since she began high school.

Galtin hoped students would be interest in taking a course at Cerritos because as she said, “In cosmetology students will learn the skills of hair cut, styling, anatomy and makeup.”

Soledad Guellegos, John Glen High School senior, said that the reason why she had an interest in cosmetology is because she wanted to learn how to cut someone and “how to make someone look pretty.”

However, Galtin added that there was more to cosmetology than students learning how to make someone look pretty.

On average, Galtin said that 75 students enroll in cosmetology mostly of freshmen and seniors and after students complete 1600 hours of the course there is a mandatory “exit exam” that must be taken in order to graduate.