College Tour in Tallahassee, Florida

On July 24^th 2011 twenty-seven Dreamers left Miami, Florida at 10:30AM and embarked on an eight-hour bus ride to Tallahassee, our state’s capital, on an enormous blue coach bus. The purpose of the trip was to visit two universities (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and Florida State University) and the Old and New Florida Capitol buildings.

Having to sit for eight hours isn’t the most pleasing thing in the world, but the bus ride to Tallahassee was very fun. It was like a huge slumber party!! We all had our pillows, P-Jays, and blankets. Whether we slept, watched endless amounts of DVDs, or listened to music, there was never a dull a moment!! For most of the Dreamers, this was their first time going to the state’s capital. Therefore, the constant greenery, hills, and brick buildings were a nice contrast to what is normally seen in Miami. We finally reached Tallahassee at 6:30PM and our first night there was spent eating dinner at Applebee’s and spending FOREVER in the indoor swimming pools at the Courtyard Marriot Hotel.

Our Monday morning started with a tour of the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) campus, the home of the infamous Rattlesnakes and the Marching 100 marching band. After a very informative session with an Admissions representative, which the Dreamers took copious notes, the FAMU tour began! We saw the football arena, the bookstore, residential, chemistry and the performing arts buildings. Members of a fraternity were also kind enough to perform for us!! Our tour guide, Brandon, ended the tour with an interesting history fact: FAMU was built on the Duval property, a prominent slave plantation.

Our next stop was Florida State University (FSU). We were amazed at the size of FAMU, but FSU was ENORMOUS!! According to our guide, Jacqueline, the university was built with over 15 million bricks and started as women’s college. Similar to the admissions’ session at FAMU, the Dreamers also learned about the minimum requirements for admission into FSU. Many of the Dreamers were also happy to know that double majoring is an option for them if they decided to attend FSU. Overall, most of the Dreamers seemed to favor FSU over FAMU, but FAMU was more appealing to the students who wanted to major in fields associated with engineering, while those interested in law and the performing arts wished to attend FSU. Whichever they decide, the Dreamers will do GREAT!

The trip to Tallahassee ended on Tuesday after our visit to the Old and New Florida Capitol buildings. This is the building were Florida senators and representatives come to make decisions that affect the entire state. The Dreamers actually sat in the rooms where the senators and representatives meet to deliberate! We then traveled to the 22^nd floor where we had a beautiful view of the entire downtown Tallahassee area. Like the day prior, again we learned an interesting fact: the capitol building is the tallest building in Tallahassee!

The college tour was awesome! Although none of the Dreamers were ready for it to end, they left Tallahassee with a clearer idea of the possibilities offered to them in higher education.

Group picture before we begin the college tour

Hearing from a FAMU representative the requirements for admissions into the university

Walking across FAMU's campus

Fact of the Day: FSU was built with over 15 million bricks!!

Sitting on the steps of the Old Capitol building...the tallest building in Tallahassee!