Shoal Creek
Elementary School
Elementary School
Padres Organization Invites Over 500 5th Graders To An Exclusive Private Tour Of Petco Park
Apr 26, 2024
“The tour of Petco Park was definitely a home-run!” The remarkable event occurred on April 23, when the Padres Organization invited over hundreds of 5th graders to Petco Park for an exclusive tour. Only a few schools came, but the ones that did, came by bus and learned valuable lessons about future careers.
The special trip is quite popular, and the students that came had a great experience. Many were very excited from the moment they walked in through the gates, ready to get to the tour. Some felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of the park, but that only made them like it more. One of the visitors, Andrew Nyugen, stated, “I felt so small.” Everyone was impressed by the presentation, and loved coming.
The purpose of the tour was to teach a lesson about possible future careers, and many said that it helped. There were a variety of jobs that the 5th graders thought they might do later in their lives. As stated by 5th grader, Zara Snyder, “I would choose journalism because I like doing sports journalism a lot.” She also stated that she writes a lot and would like to continue.
The tour served its purpose, but the students felt there could be some more elements added to get the full extent of the one in a lifetime event. "I think they should add more details to the tours, because I know that there is a lot more history behind the Padres”, announced Zara.
Her statement was concurred with by many other 5th graders, because they all wished they could learn more about their favorite team. The detail a lot of the students wished they got more information about was the seats. One big supporter of this idea, Nolan Stralla, absolutely aggreed, and declared, “Letting us go on the seats more.”
“I would return to a Padres game, because I saw the behind the scenes, and it would be cool to see it all placed together”, commented Navika Ghai. Being brought to the park brought attention to the 5th graders on just how important each position was to the great game watched by thousands on this field.
Author: Shauray Arora
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April 27, 2024 ~ 9:37 AM PT
“It was a really fun experience,” declared Sophia Villarroel O’Meara. “The tour was definitely a home run!”
On 4/23/2024, you could hear the excited chatter of hundreds of fifth grade PUSD children from all around the stadium. But why were all these ten-and-eleven year olds even at this ballpark?
The Padres organization staged an tour for all these fifth graders. Even though only a handful of San Diegan schools attended this remarkably informative tour, the ones that did reaped benefits.
All of the eight schools that attended were required to do multiple pre-event worksheets, slideshow presentations, and projects. But the hard work of all these students paid off.
The purpose of this tour was to introduce these students to new job possibilities. Using their personalized RIASEC¹ score, which they had been assessed for at the beginning of the program, they were introduced to jobs at the ballpark that they could see themselves pursuing.
“I could visualize myself being a player one day,” announced Nolan Stralla after the tour. “Being on the field just feels right.”
When entering the ballpark, the students were greeted by a panel of employees and the towering stadium, along with chattering and laughing of other students. “I felt so small!” exclaimed Sophia Villarroel O’Meara.
All students were seated in front of the stage. Excited to be there, they listened keenly to the Panel-a group of employees who were asked questions about their jobs and provided quick answers.
Some special students were selected to participate in the Panel and ask some of their pre-prepared questions to the employees! Shauray Arora was one of these students. “It was scary with all those eyes watching me, but it felt good to stand up and talk,” Shauray stated. “I was excited that my questions were selected.”
While the Panel was an enjoyable experience, all the students were most excited for the part that came next-the behind the scenes tour of the park!
The tour was an exciting experience. Students were taken to places most people would have never visited, such as special seats, private suites, and the VIP section. The students were definitely fascinated by the VIP section-the majority of students who were interviewed were confident that they would love to live in the VIP room!
“As a native San Diegan who had never been to Petco Park, I would enjoy a game so much more now that I know what goes on behind the scenes.” Sophia Villarroel O’Meara explained to me during our exclusive one-on-one interview.
All these students had a phenomenal time at this once in a lifetime experience. And this field trip showed all these students how hard people work just to prepare their favorite game.
¹ The RIASEC means the six personality types: Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Artistic (A), Social (S), Enterprising (E) and Conventional (C).
Authored by Navika Ghai
"It is not my first time attending a Padres game or attending the Padres stadium, but what caught my attention is the view from the Western Metal Supply," - explains Parker Spillane during an interview, and I definitely agree with Parker about the breathtaking view from the Western Metal supply.
"Some of the highlights from my visit was the shocking views from all of the sweet spots. I would want to come back because the stadium is filled with all sorts of fun like baseball games, concerts, and kid fests," adds Harper Erndt. She is right! The Padres stadium is filled with adventures and fun events!
On the 23rd of April the classroom was filled with excitement, the day finally came. Every single place you would look in the classroom was chatter everywhere. The bus was filled with fifth graders. So many poay unified school buses on the freeway. Once the kids got off the bus all you could hear was "Wow!" kids were filled with awe.
"I found conventional interesting because I find it fun how you get too educated while doing something fun. I could see myself doing conventional, because I find it interesting and fun."- described Tiffany Nguyen.
"I would recommend the visit because we got to see places that we wouldn't normally get to see because they cost thousands of dollars to watch a game or to see the views from the suites." -stated Emily Castaneda. What Emily said is absolutely a true fact, because to visit suites it could cost more than $5,000 dollars to rent a suite depending on which one you're staying in.
The question panel which was one of the highlights from my visit was unbelievably incredible! All three workers on the stage were amazing and so helpful! It's safe to say most fifth graders are more confident of what they want to do, thanks to RIASEC. Our question and answer session was epic. We got three students from out school to participate in the question and answer session.
"This is definitely going to be a core memory of my elementary school adventure," -adds Tiffany Nguyen, and I couldn't agree less that this was one of the best times ever.
Millions of people play baseball around the world, but the Padres... They are the most fun people I could possibly think of! Why? Because all the hard work the players and staff put in to make our visit a grand slam! They don't only host baseball games, they host concerts as well! I've lived here my whole life and know that the stadium has us waiting for an adventure ahead.
This trip benefited me as well because I have always wanted to become a journalist! Doing this helped me figure out that I love writing and it is my favorite subject at chool . Knowing that this benefited many people in my school, I could tell you that this visit was definitely a marvelous trip.
Thanks to the Padres organization we got to have this awesome experience. It's for sure that this trip was a success too all fifth graders. I'm so grateful that our school got to participate in this visit that benefits all of us. Now that I have explained to you I'm glad to say this field trip was a home-run!
published by Mia Zacarias