140 Things To Do Before You Graduate
While at UC Santa Cruz, take advantage of the 140 Things To Do Before You Graduate list! These are recommendations from your Orientation Staff. All activities are either free or of minimal price. These activities are a great way to make new friends and explore Santa Cruz. And most are just a short bus ride away!
1. Keep a journal, when you're older you'll get a huge kick out of seeing all the absurd things you were thinking about
2. Check out the Santa Cruz County’s Things To-Do List
3. Work for the Orientation Office!
4. Visit the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH)
5. Ride the holiday lights train to roaring camp
6. See Bands on the Beach at the Boardwalk
7. Visit the Garden of Eden
8. Go to First Friday!
9. Check out the Kinetic Poetics Spoken Word Festival in February, it's the largest collegiate poetry slam in the nation!
10. Go to the farmer's market in Downtown Santa Cruz on Wednesdays
11. Grab a bite to eat at Abbott Square
12. Attend the Clam Chowder Cook-Off at the Boardwalk!
13. Roller-skate or take a walk down West Cliff
14. Check out the student volunteer center
15. Teach an ESLP (education for sustainable living) class!
16. Volunteer for the Kresge Garden Co-op
17. Study abroad
18. Check out the Arboretum, it's got the largest collection of plants native to Australia and Africa outside of those continents!
19. Become a published author! Submit your work to TWANAS, Chinquapin, Matchbox Magazine, Leviathan, one of the newspapers, etc.
20. Get a new wardrobe from local thrift stores
21. Go to a dance church!
22. Watch a movie at the Santa Cruz Cinema
23. Become a KZSC DJ!
24. Visit the Monarch Butterflies at Natural Bridges
25. Go tide pooling at Natural Bridges
26. Take a class/go on a weekend adventure with the Office of Athletics and Recreation
27. Eat at Zoccoli's
28. Go roller-skating at Santa Cruz Roller Palladium
29. Volunteer! (Jacob's Heart, Seymour Center, etc.)
30. Go to the greenhouse on the roof of Thimann labs
31. Go to Marianne's and Penny Ice Creamery!
32. Visit the Mission (downtown Santa Cruz)
33. Study at Lulu Carpenter's
34. Go to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center
35. Go shopping downtown
36. Drive to the lookout point down by the boardwalk
37. Take a picture at the Porter Squiggle
38. Go to the Mystery Spot
39. Explore the forest on campus
40. Go to an A Cappella show on campus
41. Spend a day at the beach
42. Go to a concert at the Catalyst
43. Hike Upper Campus
44. Attend UCSC Pride
45. Visit the Capitola Village
46. Have a bonfire at Seabright Beach
47. Watch a surfing competition
48. Join an intramural sports team
49. Eat at Cafe Brasil
50. Go to the Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival
51. Watch the sunset from the Stevenson Knoll
52. Paint a Mural
53. Become friends with someone from another country
54. Attend the Multi-Cultural Festival (MCF)
55. Stay at the library past midnight during finals week
56. Go to a student production on campus
57. Go surfing
58. Go backpacking with the Office of Athletics and Recreation
59. Run a 10k in Santa Cruz
60. Walk every walking path on campus
61. Stargaze at Oakes Lower Lawn, The East Field, and the Porter Meadows
62. Try out for Sabrosura, a Latin Dance Troupe on campus
63. Take a massage therapy class through the recreation center
64. Get more in touch with EOP opportunities
65. Paint something at Petroglyph
66. Hang out at Natural Bridges for a day and explore
67. Go on the Giant Dipper at the Boardwalk
68. Do homework/studying at a coffee shop (11th Hour, Verve Coffee Roasters, or Roxa Hammock Cafe)
69. Rent a kayak at the pier
70. Go fishing at the pier
71. Visit the Tea House Spa
72. Get a bike and explore our campus and city
73. Check out the Nickelodeon Theater!
74. Check out awesome shopping opportunities that are cheap, like Crossroads
75. Watch the African American Theater Arts Troupe
76. Run the school's track that people have said sits "at the edge of the world"
77. Go to the Surf Museum on Westcliff
78. Go to the Boardwalk (rides and games)
79. Go to the Boardwalk when it is not in operation
80. Go to one of the many local delicatessens
81. Go to the Target at the Capitola Mall
82. Watch a Rainbow Theater show
83. Watch a spring show for Los Mejicas
84. Try a milkshake downtown
85. Go to the Antique Faire at Downtown Santa Cruz
86. Check out some cool glass sculptures at Made In Santa Cruz
87. Grocery shop at Staff of Life
88. Go to Seabright Beach
89. Eat at the Crepe Place
90. Go to a midnight movie at the Del Mar
91. Go to the Greek Festival
92. Watch and Participate in Random With A Purpose (or any other dance show!)
93. Volunteer in the Kresge Garden
94. Join a club or organization on campus
95. Go to an open mic night (some colleges do this!)
96. Take a class you're interested in that doesn't satisfy anything. FOR FUN!
97. Attend Rocky Horror
98. Eat at a fancy restaurant
99. Go to a drum circle in upper-campus on a full moon
100. Eat at Taqueria Santa Cruz
101. Eat at Betty Burgers
102. Try kava tea at the MeloMelo Kava Bar
103. Catch the sunrise from the East Field
104. Eat at Monster Pot
105. Explore the city of Santa Cruz
106. Eat at Pizza My Heart and buy one of their t-shirts for a free slice!
107. Bike down the bike path near the music center
108. Visit and spend time in every residential college
109. Find a Banana Slug on campus
110. Go to the World Famous Donnelly Chocolates Handmade on Mission St.
111. Visit one of the many beaches near Santa Cruz
112. Check out Streetlight Records
113. Get a fancy coffee drink at Lulu's or Verve
114. Go to a boardwalk concert in the summertime
115. Ride bikes to Wilder Ranch
116. Go to the lighthouse on Sunday nights to enjoy the awesome fire dancing and hula hooping and join in on the fun
117. Go to the Hidden Peak Tea House off of Pacific Ave and drink tea with friends (no technology allowed)
118. Visit the sea lions at the Boardwalk
119. Take a trip down to Big Sur for some awesome views! Also, look for sea otters!
120. Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium
121. Check out downtown on Halloween night (but be safe, it's hectic!)
122. Watch the sunset at the Santa Cruz Wharf
123. Go to Twins Lake State Beach (by Capitola Mall)
124. Volunteer at the Homeless Garden Project
125. Volunteer at Barrios Unidos on Soquel Ave (learn about the Prison Project)
126. Go to Freedom Meat Locker in Watsonville
127. Walk on Pacific Avenue
128. Take a Zumba class through the UCSC Recreation Department
129. Eat at every dining hall on campus
130. Go to the free movies on the beach during summer
131. Walk on the wharf and take pictures of the seals
132. Seek the infinite resources (Educational Opportunities Program, Ethnic Resource Centers, etc.) that we have at UCSC
133. Visit the Natural Reserves
134. $1.50 rides at the Boardwalk on Monday and Tuesday nights during the Summer
135. Run from the base of campus to the track
136. Walk to the beach
137. Go salsa dancing at the Beach Boardwalk on Sunday evenings
138. Participate in Alternative Spring Break
139. Do Research with a Professor
140. Eat at every Café on campus
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