Students are finishing up their class schedules for next year, and many have to think about what elective courses they want to take. Students must take 65 credits of elective classes, and there are many different classes to choose from such as animation, oral composition, drawing, and more. Seniors give insight into their favorite elective classes and talk about the different experiences they had in their elective classes.
Senior Angelina Hoang enjoyed her time in Korean, a world language elective, she said.
“Taking this class was my favorite because I got to learn a new language and also learn about the culture and history of Korea,” Hoang said. “Learning specifically about Korean holidays and how they are different compared to American holidays was interesting.”
Assignments and projects in this class were very fun and collaborative, she said.
“For our Korean final, we got to pick a song, memorize it, and sing it in front of everyone,” Hoang said. “Also, I liked the projects that we have to do and the skits we create because we got to dress up and write our own lines.”
Having Ms. Park as her teacher was also very enjoyable, Hoang said.
“The teacher is very sweet, and she takes time to get to know you as a person and helps you with your work and projects,” Hoang said.
Senior Giselle Morales’s favorite electives, her two dual enrollment classes, have had a huge impact on her, she said. Taking college and life success as well as child development has helped her learn more about her future after high school, she said.
“I’d say college and life success is a very good class, it helps you prepare, so I definitely recommend it, especially for any upcoming seniors,” Morales said. “As for child development, I’d say only pursue it if you want to deal with children in the future.”
Learning about future necessities such as dealing with taxes and finances, as well as general and important college plans has helped me a lot, especially with Professor Long because he is very inclusive, she said.
“I like these classes because for me, it taught me a lot about my future, and it helped me decide what I wanted to do (sonography) and how to deal with college,” Morales said. “Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about it (College and Life Success). It was pretty good and with a good professor. However, with child development, I wish it was more hands-on and not just lectures.”
Senior Cassidy Rudolph likes ethnic studies with Ms. Zea and enjoys learning about different ethnicities, genders, and cultures, she said.
“Taking this class lets me learn more about other ethnicities and cultures while researching and reading into different studies,” Rudolph said. “For example, we have learned about the Black Student Union at Berkeley and how they fought to teach ethnic studies in schools.”
Having Ms. Zea as her teacher for Ethnic Studies makes this class more enjoyable, she said.
“My teacher is wonderful,” Rudolph said. “She is very collaborative, helpful, and super understanding.”
As students pick their elective classes for the year of ‘25-’26, they should keep their options open and pick classes they enjoy, Morales said.
“Taking college and life success really helped me with my academics and will help me with my future as I am going to college after this year,” Morales said. “Picking an elective helped me and was one of the best decisions I made.”
