Counselor Teem Osborn has started a new tradition at UC High by introducing the golden ticket, a reminder to his seniors that they need to meet with Osborn to discuss their college plans.
According to Osborn, the golden ticket stands out from the rest of the passes and carries the notoriety of being a special pass from Osborn regarding his students’ plans after high school.
Osborn explained that he got the idea from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, hoping to gain his student’s attention when receiving the pass. He believes it will get students into the mentality to think about what they would like to say and what questions they would like to have answered when meeting with Osborn to discuss their plans for the future.
Osborn said, “During this period of time when college applications are due, I want to talk to my seniors individually about college and help them in any way I can. With these golden tickets, it prompts the idea that I’d like to see them about college, giving them time to accumulate their thoughts and questions to ask me before our meeting. The cute thing is when the students ask me, ‘When will I be getting my golden ticket?’ and I’ll tell them ‘Oh, soon! You’re on the list.’”
Senior Jackie Tran is a counselee of Osborn, and has recently received her golden ticket. “I was so excited when I got the golden ticket; I even wanted to keep it!” Tran gushed. “After I met with Mr. Osborn and discussed my plans for college, I felt a better connection with him.”
So far, the golden tickets seem to have worked in Osborn’s favor, as the distinctive passes have captured the students’ attention and have become beneficial to both Osborn and the students. He explained, “I have a hundred seniors, and I really want to talk to them individually and have as much time with them as possible. But when I send out all the passes at once, students will have to be waiting on one another and it all just feels rushed. When I send out just one pass at a time, and the student doesn’t show up, then I’m waiting on the student for an hour. But with these golden tickets, students take them very seriously, and when students receive their golden ticket, almost all the time, they’ve shown up, and it allows me to get through the seniors really quickly.”
The golden ticket passes are only for UC High seniors, as Osborn wants this to be exclusively for students who will be graduating this school year. Osborn said, “I save as many of the golden tickets as I can, and in the future I plan on listing the colleges that the students intend to apply to and other different information on the back of the ticket as well. So far these tickets have been a success and I assume I will continue to do this for the years to come.”