DOWNEY – Several local high schools played host to a visiting representative of Chico State this week. 

Associate Director of Recruitment and Marketing at California State University Chico Peter Martinez spent several days this past week visiting local schools throughout the region.

According to Martinez, it was more of a learning experience than a presentation opportunity.

“It was listening tour to listen to everyone that was around, really understand the needs of the community…,” said Martinez. “Seeing the subtle differences between location to location, to the different communities…seeing those things is important because it helps us better utilize our resources to improve what we can do with those students, and the communities and the counselors and the staff…my expectation was really to learn a lot more about the community.”

Martinez’s tour included stops at Warren, Downey, and St. John Bosco. During his time in the area he met with several of the schools’ administration, as well as Downey Unified School Board Superintendent Dr. John Garcia, Mayor Pro Tem Sean Ashton, and DUSD Assistant Superintendent Roger Brossmer. 

During his visit on Wednesday, Martinez spoke to Bosco’s brand new Freshman University Prep Class about the importance of finding the right fit for their education after graduation.

“Until a guest speaker comes in with a different personality than me…maybe it all just sounds the same; I don’t know truly the ins and outs of the colleges, I don’t know the true personalities of the colleges,” said Bryce Weiglin, who teaches the class. “Having them come in, it’s a blessing…”

This tour could potentially bring more opportunities for further cooperation with Chico State. 

“We’re excited to try find ways to collaborate with the communities, listen to the families, address the needs of the schools, and hopefully find ways that we can attract more students to Chico State and then have those students eventually return to the community and share their experiences…,” said Martinez.