The annual Catalina trip for seniors has gone underway! The class of 2025, with about 218 students, voyaged to Catalina Island, about 29 miles from the shores of the Pacific Coast as they took their first senior trip to Catalina Island on September 21st.
This year, ASB Catalina tickets were sold out, and some students were
placed on the waiting list with the probability of not being able to attend. “I was one of the students on the waitlist, so I immediately started looking on the Catalina Express to figure out what I could do. I was on the website looking for tickets in 4th period, and not even 5 minutes later, there was a change in available tickets on their website, so ASB jumped on it to give those 20 students on the waiting list the chance to go,” senior and ASB activities director Lia Khodaverdi said.
With the sky pitch black, students in hoodies huddled together to escape the chilly air at 5:50 AM as they waited for their bus numbers to be announced with their supervisors; Mr. Ghavam, Mr. Abisaab, Mrs. Tatevosian, Mrs. Ohanian, Mrs. Shahverdian, Dr. Hairapetian and Mr. Rubio.
The buses reached Catalina Express around 7:15 AM, with students standing in line waiting for the boat to arrive to take them away to commence their activity-filled day. With the amount of students that were on the trip this year, students were split up into two groups and different ports. Four of the five buses went to Long Beach while the 5th bus was at San Pedro with Mr. Ghavam and Dr. Hairapetian. “We weren’t all together the entire time but fortunately it didn’t seem to have a big impact on the amount of fun people had. I’ve attended the trip almost every year for the last decade and this trip was the best weather I’d ever seen at Catalina! I’m glad Ms. Wilson and admin worked to make this a September event,” ASB and Publications advisor Mrs. Tatevosian said.
Upon reaching Catalina island, students and supervisors were greeted with clear blue water, the Catalina festival of Art, and numerous shops presenting original crafted goods in little tents on the streets. Since students had free time to spend eight hours on the island, they split into their friend groups and started exploring the moment they set foot on the island. The city of Avalon offered many activities ranging from parasailing, to biking, and escape rooms. “We went parasailing, ate ice cream, hiked up the mountain to a beautiful garden, and got a ride from strangers on golf carts. I remember playing games with the teachers on the way back- it was so much fun,” senior Gayane Ayvazyan said.
Students visited the Catalina Casino and to their surprise, the Catalina Casino was not filled with slot machines and gambling connoisseurs, but instead, an intricately decorated theater and ballroom, surrounded by a beautiful balcony overlooking the blue waters. The Casino featured numerous powder rooms from the 1920s as well as a supposed ghost floating around the hat-check room and ladies bathroom. The Casino housed historic filming equipment and autographs of several Hollywood stars on the walls, leaving students astonished yet educated on the history of the historic island.
With all these exciting activities that were available, many people were
looking for cafes and restaurants to enjoy time with friends and food. “At some point of the trip it was the hottest time of the day so my friends and I wanted to get ice cream. I remember how much the ice cream cooled us down, and how delicious it was.” senior Natalia Andriassian said. As the trip was coming to an end, seniors and supervisors took a big group photo in front of Hotel Mac Rae with students cramming and squeezing together to make sure everyone was shown. On the ride back to school, students shared an intimate moment together while looking at the purplish sky fading in the horizon, the sun dipping behind the clouds, as the tired and exhausted travelers took a nap in the bus until they got home.
The Catalina trip was one of the most unique senior trips in Clark history, with many more memories to come with the future senior class of 2025.
