COSTA MESA : Seniors at OCC Have a Ball Despite Rain

A brief afternoon downpour Tuesday afternoon put a damper on Orange Coast College’s annual senior day, a day for high school seniors to visit the campus and learn about student life, clubs and academic programs.

Although the shower lasted less than an hour, it aborted the hot-dog roast and prompted many club members who were staffing the 34 booths to seek shelter.

“I’ve been here eight years and this is the first time it’s rained on senior day,” said Linda Moeller, an instructor and adviser to the college’s Associated Students, as she wiped raindrops from stainless steel napkin dispensers. “We had a barbecue set up for 3,000. Now we’ve got leftovers for 2,000.”

The rain, though, didn’t stop a helicopter from dropping about 300 white Ping-Pong balls onto a throng of more than 100 high school and college students waiting in the quad below. Twenty of the Ping-Pong balls were numbered, redeemable for prizes such as OCC sweat shirts and gift certificates to local stores.

After grasping at the falling balls and picking up a few on the bounce, 20-year-old business major Ruben Lozano snagged ball No. 17. Lozano said he was between classes and came out to the quad to see what the commotion was about. The numbered ball won him a $10 gift certificate to a store at South Coast Plaza.

Lozano summed up senior day this way: “They just get all these high school kids to come out and make it look like an exciting place.”

Melanie Mosher, an 18-year-old senior from Newport Harbor High School, said senior day was a good opportunity to find out about the college’s clubs. “But it’s raining now,” she lamented, “so all their stuff is gone.”