Located next to the Dos Pueblos High School library, the College and Career Center is the hub for student community service forms, work permits, and college applications. The center hosts workshops on applications and financial aid, as well as visits from college representatives.
Natalie Douglas, the College and Career Readiness counselor, said the center’s most important job is preparing students for college and beyond.
“The thing I try to do the most is to make sure students feel as ready as they can be to leave high school,” Douglas said. “[Students] have really been on a train track of where [they] go, … and as soon as graduation happens, the tracks are gone.”
Inspired by the success of Santa Barbara High School’s program and replacing the previous Career Center, the College and Career Center is one of three similar centers in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
“There are College and Career centers at all three schools now, which is great,” Douglas said. “For a while, it was just at [Santa Barbara High School], but there are [centers] at all three high schools.”
While the main goal of the College and Career Center is to “prepare students for education and life” after graduation, many students see it as a welcoming space to ask questions and find support.
“I like how helpful everyone is,” Ollie McGrath (12) said. “The counselors themselves are really, really nice, and are able to help you with whatever it is, even if it’s not college or career related.”
Despite its mission to help students, the College and Career Center has been at risk of closure due to recent district budget cuts.
“Every year that I have been here, our jobs, in our role as College and Career Readiness counselors, have been on the chopping block,” Douglas said. “They see this as a superfluous role, when we know it’s not.”
Although it has faced challenges, the College and Career Center continues to serve as a valuable resource for DPHS students, both for their current needs and future plans.
“Every success is a success,” Douglas said. “If we leave students with a plan for what they’re going to do next, then I’ve done my job.”
