LA HABRA : Kids Never Too Young to Yearn

College campuses abound with prospective students and their parents in the spring. But an unusually young group of kids and their parents toured UC Irvine on Thursday morning, when 60 children from the bilingual kindergarten classes at Las Lomas Elementary School in La Habra came to visit.

The children spoke with university officials about how they might attend the school in the future. Many of these children come from homes that receive government assistance, said Las Lomas Principal Mary Jo Anderson. In some of their households, little English is spoken and no one has ever gone to college, she said.

“We have to try to have them see with their own eyes that there is life beyond poverty,” Anderson said. “This trip will enable them to see there are great opportunities out there for them.”

After a noisy morning arrival, the kindergarten students first met with about six current UC Irvine students of Latino background. One was Jose Solorio, 21, president of the Associated Students.

“You have to study hard, pay attention to what the teachers say, and graduate,” he told the children. “There are two things I want to see. I want you to come to a great university such as this, and I would like to see a Mexican-American President of the United States.”

The children cheered. When Solorio asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up, answers came from aspiring police officers, teachers, doctors, lawyers--and two Presidents.

Next came guided tours of the campus. The students saw dance studios and photo exhibits, typed their names into computers and looked at library books.

“I want to go to college because it looks like fun,” declared Stephanie Vasquez, 6, a would-be doctor, as she waited for lunch after the tour’s conclusion.

Her friend Christy Munoz, 6, agreed, saying her favorite place was the library. “I like books because I can read.”

UC Irvine arranged and paid for the trip after Las Lomas kindergarten teacher--and UC Irvine graduate--Maria Vigil was honored as 1991 California Teacher of the Year.

“I was the first person in my family to go to college,” Vigil said. “I feel if college is a part of their lives and their parents’ lives from the beginning, it becomes part of their dreams.”

About a dozen parents accompanied Vigil and a second kindergarten teacher, Eden Turner, on the field trip. Seeing a college campus was also a first for many of the parents.

Gloria Granados, 33, took a day off from her job cleaning houses to bring her three children--Andrea, 6, David, 11, and Alma, 12--on the trip.

“I never went to university,” Granados said. “I want the children to learn something from this.”

Reyna Callejas came with her son, Jose, 5. “I would like for my son to come here someday so he can be someone important in the future. He wants to be a doctor.”

This was the first school field trip for the Las Lomas students. The school has been unable to pay for any excursions because of budget cuts, Anderson said.

In preparation for the trip, Vigil and Turner had spent the last two weeks talking to the children about different careers they could have one day.

“It’s a big impact. These kids never get out of their neighborhood,” Turner said. “I think this trip will really inspire them to say, ‘Yes, I want to go to a university.’ ”

It was the first time Rose Martinez, a program officer in UCI’s Educational Opportunity Program, ever talked to kindergarten students about college plans.

“It’s a very unique but exciting situation,” Martinez said. “It’s a great opportunity to introduce them to college.”