Being a member of the Middle School’s Student Council has many perks: free doughnuts, tons of community service opportunities, and the occasional trip to visit a college. On March 24, the Student Council took its annual trip to the University of Central Florida to tour the campus and learn more about UCF. This trip was coordinated by Mrs. Loretta Corey, the middle school’s student council advisor and member of the UCF Board and Alumni Association.

“The trip was a wonderful opportunity for the students to see the largest university in Florida and one of the premiere schools in the state,” she said.

For Benjamin students who are accustomed to being around a small middle school population of about 300, being at UCF was quite a change as the university enrolls 60,000 students!

However, the student council members enjoyed the experience and appreciated the opportunity to be exposed to college life. “It is great that our school offers us opportunities like this to enhance our interest in a wide field of topics,” said seventh grader Camilo Saiz. “It was a great experience because we got to hear a lot about these amazing students’ lives and the advice they had for us.”“The UCF trio was a great experience because it gave you a sneak peak of the amount of opportunities and different lifestyles in college,” said eighth grader Crystal Pauldo. “I would like to thank Mrs. Corey for putting this whole trip together and giving us this great opportunity.”

While on campus, the student council members toured Spectrum Stadium which is where the university’s football team, the Knights, play their games. The student council also treated to a lunch provided by UCF during which several college students spoke to them about campus life and admissions.

“A young man who is a male cheerleader at UCF gave an amazing speech that really spoke to me,” said Mrs. Crisafi, one of the Middle School’s permanent substitute teachers who also chaperoned the trip. “He said, ‘Don’t worry about what you’re going to be, worry about who you are going to be.’ This really spoke to me and I hope it spoke to the kids,” said Crisafi.

“The people in charge were very informational and nice, and the students were just happy in general by the end of the trip,” added Crisafi’s daughter, Briley, who also attended the trip and is this year’s student council president.

After this year’s Career Day, the trip to UCF provided students even more information about their future college careers, arming them with important information that will help them choose their career paths in the next few years.