Hartnell College

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Hallmarks and Quirks

Things I'm Good At:

I'm pretty proud of my STEM programs. Just sayin'. Again.
Helping out minorities. I have all kinds of resources to help fund and guide the good people of Salinas towards higher education.
Agricultural studies. Um, have you had a look around? Salinas has crop fields for days.
Biomedical and health programs. Because med school is expensive enough; you don't need to drop all of your cash on an undergraduate program.
I offer a world-class "Wellness Through Walking" course.

My Top 5 Must-Haves:

A CatCard. It's your ID card, library card, and debit card all in one.
Those cheap, delicious cafeteria tacos.
Quarters to buy scantrons for your finals. Ugh, right?
A plan. Lots of people come here...and never transfer out. Womp womp. So while you're here to explore, make sure you do get around to hashing out specific goals for, and a schedule for, achieving your degree.
Open-mindedness. You'll encounter people from all different walks of life here.

Why You Might Have Heard of Me:

I'll be real. If you've heard of me, it's probably because you've heard of Salinas, and you've probably heard of Salinas because:

Lettuce. Seriously. Salinas Valley is the Salad Bowl of the World, y'all.
John Steinbeck. He went to Salinas High School, after all. The National Steinbeck Center is also pretty nearby, so take a tour and get edu-ma-cated.

Gang violence. I'm not exactly proud of this one, but truth be told, Monterey County has California's highest homicide rate per capita. Pretty sure Salinas has a lot to do with that…

In-N-Out. Salinas is pretty much a rest stop along Highway 101, where there's an In-N-Out Burger. As you may know, all Californians stop for In-N-Out, so you've probably stopped in Salinas on your way to some other place.

On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...

I'm probably chillin' with the homies at their places. Like I said, this isn't really a college town and most people live in the area. If you're up for a drive, Monterey and the world's most beautiful beaches are only twenty minutes west, Big Sur is a little over an hour south, and Santa Cruz is about an hour up the coast. If you want a longer drive, San Francisco is a little less than three hours up the coast.

Around town, Main Street is where it's at. I might go on a burrito date or watch a movie at the Maya in Oldtown Salinas. Oldtown is also home to a lot of great coffee shops (like Rollick's and the Cherry Bean) and local restaurants that are usually gone within a year (sadly). I'd like to give a personal shoutout to Eagle, the best Chinese food restaurant in Salinas. (They know me by name there.)

I might also be at Northridge Mall or Tapioca Delight in North Salinas. There's nothing quite like boba on a mild-yet-sunny Salinas day.

Now, where not to go? Well, most people generally stay out of East Salinas and only venture past the bridge for The Crown Jewel: In-N-Out. (Yeah, it's not Steinbeck or the lettuce fields, but a burger chain that's our prize possession.) North Salinas also isn't the best place to wander around at night. Locals under eighteen actually have a curfew of 11:00PM. Stay inside, kiddos.

Speaking of locals, they like to complain that there's nothing to do in Salinas. Hey, maybe they're right. But if you ask me, it's a pretty sweet setup. There are plenty of opportunities for coastal adventures, quality friend time, and...studying. Quiet is great for book-learning.

Favorite Hangouts:

Inside the cafeteria. All of the students and their moms hang out there.
Out in front in the quad area, weather permitting.
Merrill Hall is where the party's at if you're a STEM student.
Anywhere around South Salinas. Places like the Bagel Corner, Circle Park, and MYO Frozen Yogurt are pretty bumpin'.

Quirks:

We all know that one student who brings their loud-mouthed baby to class, don't we? No? Well, I have an on-site daycare center so you never have to. Just remember to pick them up after class.
Though quite the characters across the board, many of my instructors here studied or worked at top-drawer institutions before retiring from their lives of glamor to pursue their true passion: teaching at Hartnell. As a result, they tend to make great mentors.
There are no weird graduation requirements, but you can sometimes find an occasional hooligan biking down the halls.
Since I'm not an enormous college, social clubs are actually very active and often host events in the quad. (Math Club does PI Day, Physics Club does public physics demos, Psychology Club sells pizza pretty often…you get the idea.)

Famous Alumni:

Ray Griffin. He transferred to CSU Chico and is now the general manager at Foodsource.
Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award-winning screenwriter for Milk and LGBT rights activist. He transferred from Hartnell to UCLA.
Dr. Eugene Dong, heart transplant doctor who transferred from Hartnell to UC Berkeley.
Gary Tanimura, of Tanimura and Antle Produce
Calvin Harrison, Olympic gold medalist in track and field