Mater Dei, with its location in Santa Ana, is an epicenter of Orange County, which can present some challenges from students who may have to travel a great distance to get to and from school. Combine this with the large number of activities most students are involved in on and off campus, and coordinating rides can become even more complicated.

In the interest of making the morning and afternoon commute easier for its students and their families, the Mater Dei administration has a key resource available: carpools. While the school itself does not organize the individual carpools, it does provide a large database of families who live in similar areas and facilitates communication between them.

Carpools can be a convenient way to ensure safe transportation home for all students, especially those who participate in school activities.

Sophomore Remington Vagana explains how her carpool consists of other classmates who have similar schedules, and the ease that that brings.

“We don’t have too much [difficulty] coordinating carpool because we all live close to each other and have the exact same block schedule,” Vagana said. “All three of us also do the same sport and train at the same time, so carpooling is very convenient for us.”

While being on the same schedule has helped Vagana and her friends coordinate when they carpool, she acknowledges that there are difficulties to ensuring that it works for everyone.

“Carpools can be difficult because occasionally our schedules aren’t completely set at a certain time, so we get confused when we are supposed to be meeting to carpool,” Vagana said.

Ultimately, Vagana expresses how convenient and helpful carpooling with her peers has been for her and her family, and gives advice to others looking to do the same.

“Carpooling helps save a lot of time and even saves gas for the parents who aren’t driving us,” Vagana said. “My advice for other individuals looking to carpool is to find people with a very similar schedule. It is ten times easier for everyone to help that way.”

Vagana carpools with fellow sophomore Wailana Whitford, who also addresses the ease that a carpool brings to her family.

“Carpooling has made getting from school to sports much easier for our parents,” Whitford said. “They’re able to get more done at work rather than worrying about picking us up.”

Carpools can bring peace of mind and convenience to the lives of Mater Dei students and their families, and can help make the sometimes difficult commute to and from school just a little bit easier.

Whitford offers advice to anyone looking to carpool to or from school and how to make it work best for each individual.

“I would say figure out a schedule that works for everyone since in the end it can make several things more efficient,” Whitford said.