When 41 advanced drama and choir students packed their
belongings for a 10-day trip across the East Coast, they expected
new experiences, but no one ever thought it could change their
lives.
When 41 advanced drama and choir students packed their belongings for a 10-day trip across the East Coast, they expected new experiences, but no one ever thought it could change their lives.
“It was the experience of a lifetime that not many people get to have,” freshman Arianah Ruzovich said.
Ruzovich and the rest of the group spent the 10 days touring college campuses, taking acting, choreography and dance lessons from Broadway professionals and getting a taste of big cities like New York and Boston.
“After spending the last three years of high school wondering what I’m going to do with my life, visiting New York helped me realize there is more out there than just the small town life,” Jessyca Fox said.
The idea of the trip was spearheaded by Stephanie Williams, Fine Arts Department Head, and Choir Conductor Amy Oelrich. With fund raising and donations, the group raised $58,000 of the $72,000 needed to pay for the trip.
“The community was awesome,” Oelrich said. “Everyone was so supportive and we couldn’t have done this without everyone’s support.”
During the trip, the students participated in the Heritage Music Festival. Out of 34 choirs, the San Benito High School women’s chorus took second place, and the festival chorus brought home third. Their tight itinerary also included catching the Broadway hits “42nd Street”, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Sly Fox,” and touring five colleges.
Williams said aside from having a great time, the students on this trip gained knowledge and skills only offered in places like New York.
“They learned much more than we could ever teach them in the classroom or in Hollister,” she said.
Senior Anthony Barnes plans on making acting his career. During the trip, he got to see his soon-to-be college, Marymount Manhattan, in person for the first time.
“It was really great to see my school,” he said. “I think when you’re there in person you look at things differently.”
Sarah First, 18, agreed with Barnes, and said going to the Broadway shows and meeting the actors made the experience special.
“Meeting the actors made it much more tangible,” she said. “Being all the way out here in California you always just think of Broadway as way over there, but meeting everyone really made the experience.”
Oelrich said being able to participate in workshops and meet people in the career field which many of these students aspire to be part of, taught them so much more than she or Williams ever could.
“I can’t sum up how amazing this trip was in one quote,” she said. “The extent of how educational this trip was is amazing. These students were basically seeing the work they’re doing now, in a career form.”
The money budgeted to send all 41 students and 13 adults even included meals, but senior Steven Valdez decided to splurge anyhow since he was on vacation.
“We had about $15 a meal to spend, but we were in Boston and it was a lobster dinner and I couldn’t resist,” he said. “I ended up spending $82 on dinner and it was worth every penny. I still salivate when I think about it.”
After ten days of traveling, performing and learning, the long trip, which the teachers said went remarkably smooth, hit a bump in the road – literally.
“We were 20 minutes away from home in Gilroy and we got a flat tire,” senior Elizabeth Krajewski said. “It was like the trip was never going to end.”
More than a week after their return, the students and teachers are still catching up on sleep. However, after getting a taste of the big city life, some of the students are still dreaming of the day they say goodbye to Hollister and hello to skyscrapers and subways.
Fox said, “After visiting New York, everything is small fries when you come home to Hollister.”
