By Nicholas Serpico

The Class of 2020 is about to graduate at some point over the summer, and the next wave of freshmen are about to experience high school. This is the end of a chapter in many seniors’ lives. 

With graduation on the horizon, I asked a handful of seniors on what classes they would recommend taking. Here are some of the classes they shared. 

Art Fundamentals

In this course, students will have the opportunity to learn different types of approaches in art. These approaches, both in two-dimensional and three-dimensional, consist of drawing, painting, ceramics, and sculpting. Students do not need any art experience to take this course. Students are told to express and share their inner voice by creating art. The goal for the students is to understand why we create art, and why art plays such an important role in our culture. Liv Shouse recommended anyone interested in art to take this class. She also described how “It includes all aspects of art along with different media. It also mixes classes so they’ll meet upperclassmen.” This class is recommended to be taken freshman or sophomore year if the student wants to pursue other art classes in the future. 

Psychology

This class covers the basics in psychology, while also discussing significant people and theories. This course aims to go into the science of the mind and behavior. “It is a super fun class to learn about and it only is for a term,” said Heather Howard. While this class can be very difficult at times, counselors have recommended taking this class if they plan on going to college.

Culinary Arts

Culinary Arts gives students the opportunity to learn about the basics of food preparation and nutrition. The class teaches students how to plan and make decisions when preparing food and providing service, as well as making sure health, sanitation, and safety requirements are being met. The teacher uses demonstrations and hands-on experiences to show the students how to cook and act appropriately while in a kitchen. Alex Gruner said that the class was “easy” and enjoyed the fact that he can “eat food at least once a week outside of lunch.” The course goes over the preparations and procedures of making a wide variety of food. 

Graphics

Graphics takes students ideas and incorporates art and technology. This class is very useful if you are looking into working in the graphic arts industry. Students will learn the process of using computer software to design, illustrate, and produce a variety of artwork. “I would recommend taking graphics even if you aren’t talented with art,” Steven Rodriguez said “Graphics only requires your imagination and all the projects are fun to do. I’m not talented when it comes to art at all, but I was still able to create some cool looking projects.” Kamil Lebowa also said the class “allows students to gain a greater amount of media literacy.” Students can also earn three articulated college credit hours at Waubonsee Community College if they complete the course.

Intro. To Computer Science

This course is designed for students who have never done anything with programming. Students will learn the fundamentals in programming by utilizing a variety of programming languages. Aidan Failing believes “It is a great class to start off high school and you do a lot of fun projects that you can do in groups.” If you enjoy computer science and want to learn more, this would be an excellent class to take.

Anatomy & Physiology

Anatomy and physiology provides an in-depth study of the human body. This course gives a detailed study on many human body systems, by looking into the structure, function, and disease for each system. Students who are interested in studying medicine, nursing, physical therapy, athletic training, and personal training, should definitely take this course. Keeley Sebold said the class was “Super fun and you only need to put in as much effort as you want and you can still get a good grade.” This class is a semester-long, college-preparatory elective science course that has tons of laboratory activities including multiple dissections for each unit.

AP Environmental Science

This course is the same as taking a semester of an introductory college course in environmental science. It prepares students to take the Advanced Placement – Environmental Science test at the end of the year. Addie Connell believes that “Environmental Science gives you a new perspective in the world. The class is extremely relevant and gives you hands-on experiences in solving environmental issues.” Johnny Karwoski also said that the class “taught me a lot about how the ecosystem is affected by humans and how we can change it. It also exemplifies the problems earth has and how we can fix it.”  The course moves quickly and students will solve real-world problems by doing assignments and labs.

This is only a portion of the classes that were recommended by seniors. As seniors say their final goodbyes to high school, they try and give just a little more advice to the next wave of students.