The Homestretch : Thousand Oaks Upperclassmen Look to College and Brink of Adulthood

Every year about this time, panic sweeps across the campus of Thousand Oaks High School.

For the college-bound members of the Class of ‘97, now nearing the halfway point of their senior year, the winter recess that starts this week signals the end of a long stretch of key deadlines and decisions.

So far the seniors have had their last shot at boosting scores on college entrance exams. And many have scrambled to meet year-end college application deadlines, amid a crush of financial aid workshops and visits by college recruiters.

But really, the panic is just starting to set in.

On a campus where about eight of every 10 seniors go on to college, much of the buzz this time of year revolves around where students are headed next year. And for many, with futures riding on letters of acceptance from good schools, entrance exams and application deadlines are giving way to an uneasy anticipation.

Around here, the suspense crackles in the air like static electricity.

“That’s all people have been talking about lately,” said 17-year-old Leila Jirari, who already has been accepted by Sonoma State University but who has her heart set on any number of University of California campuses.

“Everybody wants to know where you’re going to college, whether you’ve been accepted by this school or that school,” she added. “I’m really tired of it. I try not to think about it too much. It’s out of my hands.”

So true. In fact, she joins 510 other seniors at Thousand Oaks High who are in the homestretch of a 12-year journey, having laid a foundation along the way that has delivered them to this place and time.

For some, such as 17-year-old Colton Smith who bags groceries after school and sings in the school choir, some colleges have already sent word easing the anxiety somewhat. Colton has been accepted by San Diego State University, his top choice, and is waiting to hear from Utah Valley State College and Brigham Young University.

For others, such as straight-A student Sarah Choi, the most nerve-racking prospect could be sifting through stacks of offers expected to arrive in coming months from schools such as Harvard, Yale and Stanford.

But for most, drawing a bead on the future remains an uncertain task, clouded by the unknown and burdened by realization that the last year of high school is quickly slipping away.

For the bulk of these upperclassmen, many of whom have been together since first grade, the winter break brings a new reality, one that pushes them to the brink of adulthood and a step closer to the world outside the protective womb of public education.

“You’ll start seeing kids dig in their heels and really put on the brakes,” said Principal Jo-Ann Yoos, who is in her first year of guiding the oldest and largest high school in the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

“I think they are starting to realize that the year is just barreling along. And before they know it, they’ll be standing in a graduation line and realizing how much they’re going to miss this place.”

*

Of course, the senior year is not all panic and college preparation.

On the day of the Homecoming Dance early last month, senior Autumn Dopudja was leaving nothing to chance.

Nearly six hours before her date showed up, the 18-year-old aspiring singer and actress was sitting in a Woodland Hills beauty salon prepping for the big night, a senior year milestone.

Her hair was streaked gold to match her gold-sequined gown. Her nails were clipped and filed and painted the same color.

She had ordered the dress two months earlier, even before she had a date for the semiformal affair. And, of course, she had splurged for a new pair of shoes and elegant evening gloves to set off the ensemble.

The entire package set her back about $500.

“I always try to outdo my past outfits,” she said. “I just thought, because this was my senior year, I had to look my best.”

Earlier in the week, her outfit had consisted of blue jeans and an oversized football jersey, rough-and-tumble athletic wear for the starting wide receiver in the school’s annual powder puff football game.

Other homecoming week activities included the selection of the Homecoming Court. There was even an auction, where seniors were “sold” to the highest bidders and made to perform a variety of menial tasks.

No one fetched a higher price than 17-year-old Matt Hoffman, who coaxed his girlfriend, senior Randi Malinowski, into shelling out $32 to match the number on his varsity football jersey.

A few days later, No. 32 was steamrolling across the football field, playing so hard in a heart-breaking loss to Camarillo High on homecoming night that he suffered a concussion.

When the night was over, he couldn’t remember much of the game. But he remembered that his team had lost, a defeat that left him so shaken that his father climbed out of the stands to wrap a comforting arm around him.

“We’re close, real close,” Matt said of his dad, Dan Hoffman. “He always gives me good advice.”

The next night, however, Dan Hoffman was dispensing advice of a different kind to his eldest son. With Matt and Randi decked out and about to leave for the homecoming dance, the Los Angeles Police Department veteran warned of the dangers lurking in the night.

“There are going to be a lot of kids out there in their dads’ cars,” he lectured. “Some of them are going to be drinking. You need to drive defensively.”

The rest of the night was a blur. There were homecoming photos and dinner at a Mexican restaurant. There was a high-energy dance with hundreds of kids packed into the school gym, working up a sweat to a thunderous, bone-jarring beat.

There were all-night parties and early morning breakfasts at local coffee shops. For the seniors, it was the kind of night they will always remember.

“I loved it,” said Autumn, who plans to attend Moorpark College next year. “But it means the school year is half over. Everyone is starting to realize this isn’t such a bad place. Really, it’s been the best time of our lives.”

For Matt Hoffman, it’s a little more complicated.

He and Randi have since broken up, ending a relationship that has been going since their freshman year. And he still hasn’t set his sights on exactly where he wants to end up next year.

“It’s a scary time right now,” said Matt, who ultimately wants to become a police officer like his dad. “Before, when I was playing football, I could just relax and concentrate on my studies. But now the future is coming and it’s time to make some big decisions.”

*

It is the great balancing act of the graduating senior. Go away to college or stay close to home. Pursue a higher degree or go straight to work. Taste some independence or continue living with a net.

For 15 years, Joan Sparks has helped students wrestle with those issues. As head of the school’s Career Center, she has guided youngsters through the maze of questions that confront those who stand at the threshold of adulthood.

And always about this time, her room becomes an outpost of bedlam and alarm. It has been no different for the Class of ’97.

Beginning with the first month of school, waves of seniors began washing into the Career Center, seeking information on application deadlines and test dates for college entrance exams.

Those best-prepared actually started the process last year, narrowing their school choices and taking their first round of Scholastic Assessment Tests. Those who wanted to boost their scores took the SATs again this year.

“In this day and age, waiting until your senior year is really pushing it,” Sparks said. “You really have to plan this out. If you don’t start your junior year, when school starts in September it’s almost too late.”

Over the past couple of months, college recruiters have come from all over to cast their nets. Representatives from UCLA, UC Berkeley and USC pitched their schools. So did recruiters from Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins and Brown University.

The competition is stiff. The most popular schools in the University of California system, for instance, receive between 20,000 and 25,000 applications for fall admission.

UCLA and UC Berkeley admit about one-third of those who apply.

“I know it’s going to be competitive,” said senior Nadim Kneizeh, who applied to about half a dozen schools, including four in the UC system. “I’ve applied to enough that I think I’ll at least be accepted by a few. But maybe when those first few letters come I’ll have somebody else open them for me.”

About 30% to 40% of graduating seniors at Thousand Oaks High go on to four-year schools, officials report. Another 50% go to community colleges. The UC campuses are the most popular of the four-year schools, drawing about 60 graduates a year.

It’s not cheap. The average annual cost for a UC school is more than $13,000. California state universities average between $10,000 and $12,000, while private schools can run upward of $23,000 a year.

Nearly all seniors apply for financial aid. Leila Jirari is an exception. Her parents have been saving since she was in grade school to send their eldest daughter to college.

This year, they even hired a private counselor to help her wade through the application process.

At $40 a pop, Leila has applied to University of California campuses in Irvine, Davis, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. She also applied to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State Sonoma.

For Leila, there was never a question of whether she would go to college. Her mom was so excited when she got her first letter of acceptance that she read it before Leila arrived home from school.

“It was just a given. I was going to college. That’s it,” said Leila, who plans to visit some of the schools that accept her before deciding where to go. “My parents have high expectations of me. Really high. But don’t all parents?”

It was her parents who drove her last month to file her applications for the UC schools well before the Nov. 30 deadline. But at the same time they have given her the freedom to find her own way, allowing her to decide where she wants to go to school and what she wants to study.

“As far as Leila goes, she sort of made her own choices and we trust her judgment,” said Ellen Jirari, Leila’s mother. “I want her to be happy. I want her to get to a place where she doesn’t have to depend on another person to survive. She’s the best. And even though I’m going to cry when she leaves, I’m not sad to see her getting her wings.”

Still others who are getting their wings aren’t quite ready to leave the nest, choosing to stay close to home for now.

“It’s kind of intimidating,” said 18-year-old Alicia Morales, who will probably head to Moorpark College next year. “I have everything here, so I guess I’m in no hurry to leave. And my parents want me to stay around for as long as possible.”

*

Already, many of the senior year milestones have come and gone.

Football season has cycled to an end, giving way to basketball, soccer and the first girls’ water polo season.

The Lancer Band has achieved unprecedented success, taking sweepstakes awards at parades in Camarillo, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks. And the school’s choral groups staged an inspiring Winter Concert earlier this month, flanked by a towering Christmas tree at Ascension Lutheran Church.

But while the school year is nearly half over, much of the road to graduation remains unexplored.

The Senior Ball will arrive in February, drawing the bulk of the upperclassmen. College acceptance letters will start flooding mailboxes in March. And inevitably, some of the would-be graduates will do battle with senioritis, a condition of laziness and lethargy that often plagues those in the last semester of their last year in high school.

“Our job will be to keep them on track, keep them chugging along,” Principal Yoos said. “Whether they are going on to college, whether they are going into the workplace, our job is keep all the doors open for them.”

For Sarah Choi, those doors appear wide open. She scored a perfect 1600 on her SAT, adding to an impressive list of accomplishments that include being a National Merit scholar semifinalist and acing about half a dozen advanced placement tests to earn college credit.

A concert pianist who is thinking of becoming a doctor, Sarah has applied to a list of schools that include Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Johns Hopkins. At this point, she has no preference.

“I don’t want to get too excited before everything is settled,” she said. “I’ll wait to see where I’m accepted before I make a decision about where I want to go.”

For 17-year-old Edgar Escobar, those doors are just starting to swing open. The son of Mexican immigrants, Edgar initially had his sights set on Moorpark College until school counselor Elizabeth Dee came along and told him to aim higher.

He wants to be a bilingual school teacher, just like his dad.

“I like helping people so that’s a good way to do it,” said Edgar, who has applied to state universities in San Jose, Fresno, San Luis Obispo and Northridge. “Your senior year is sad in a way, but at the same time it’s exciting. Next year you’re going to be an adult. It’s the start of your life, really.”

On a Saturday earlier this month, Edgar joined hundreds of students from high schools across Ventura County in taking a big step toward college. Thousand Oaks High served as a regional testing site for the SAT, a three-hour exam necessary to get into UC schools and other colleges.

Dread and anxiety ruled the day. It was Edgar’s first shot at the test and he believes he scored well. It was Colton Smith’s second try, an effort to boost his score of last year.

“It’s all in your head that it’s the hardest test in the world,” said Colton, who sings bass in the school’s elite Madrigal Singers choral group. “It’s not that bad. It’s just another one of those things you’ve got to do when you’re a senior.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

About This Series

“The Final Lessons: The Last Year of High School” is an occasional series chronicling a year in the life of the senior class at Thousand Oaks High. Over the past two years, similar series have explored the final year of elementary school and life in the classroom during the the halfway point of middle school. The second installment of this year’s series focuses on seniors in the critical stage of deciding where to go to college.