Growing up in the San Luis Obispo area, with a renowned educational institution so close by, one may grow to feel—if they didn’t immediately go from high school into a four-year university but instead opted to attend community college—that they have failed because they don’t have everything figured out yet. The truth of the matter, however, is that actually having everything figured out at any age, really, is a lot rarer than it sounds. 

Even the people who know early on what career goals they are destined for need to endure the process of actually following through, if they even know how. Community college exists to offer as many people as possible the tools they might not otherwise have for success; not merely to get a job, but even to simply grow into a more self-sufficient person. 

On Tuesday, Sept. 15, Cuesta College’s San Luis Obispo campus will present its Student Success Festival from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Center Courtyard as well as room 5401, the Associated Student Center, which adjoins the courtyard. The festival is one of many large-scale attempts made by the campus to try and highlight as many of its services and resources in one place as possible, such that any student drawn over by the commotion of music, food, and prizes might be able to discover something that could help them conquer this stage of their life. Cleverly, this festival often offers free food to any student provided they take the time to talk to a majority of the booths on hand and show proof of having done so. What better way to force at least a moment of attention from a student than the promise of a meal? 

There will be booths for counseling, tutoring, financial aid, Career Connections, services for mental health, for students attempting to re-enter after time off, for veterans, and of course a handful of Cuesta’s official clubs, which range from architecture to gaming. One generally walks away from the event with a goodie bag or two. Cuesta’s successful festivals are an excellent reminder that, in the end, the college is there to help and understands how vastly different and numerous each student’s needs may be from another’s. If you can, be sure to stop by and see not what you can do for your college, but what your college can do for you!

Contributor Chris White-Sanborn, as a proud, God-fearing American, believes that all food should be free. Send her your collegiate news via [email protected].