Selecting electives can be the hardest decision for a student, especially when considering what peaks their interest. 

Near the end of third quarter, counselors began sending out Google Forms to current underclassmen to choose their electives . 

“When students are in school, we can just send a pass for them to come to our office.  During distance learning, we are relying on students to remember the Google Meets,” Lead Counselor Elizabeth Hare said. “Some students don’t check their emails. I still have students from every grade level that have not signed up for their meeting yet. This makes things extremely difficult.  On the positive side, some parents have joined the course selection meetings.  It is amazing getting to work with the entire family. Parents ask great questions.”

Normally counselors are able to go to students’ classrooms in order to present various facts about the upcoming school year. However, counselors are sending videos that include information, such as suggested courses to take depending on the grade level.  

“If students are planning on going out of state to college, they might need to reach out to see if/how dual credit courses would be taken, what courses are required for admission, what dual credit/AP classes could be taken to help them advance in their degree, etc,” Hare said. “When students meet with their counselor, these things come up.  We understand that picking courses is important.  This is why students have the remainder of the year to change their mind, but after the last day of school, everything is locked.”

Depending what program the student is in, after freshman year, many students have the ability to choose up to three electives.

“I have gravitated towards selecting courses that interest me and would be useful in my college studies. This is why I am planning to choose courses like Internship and Art II,” junior Ruth Shiferaw said. “I’ve always found art to be an interesting and soothing course amid all of my other content-heavy courses. Additionally, I think having an internship period for my senior year would be useful for gaining experience in the field of dentistry.”

Even with the busy schedule, Hare has been happy to help students prepare for their future. 

“I thought I was busy during a typical year, but now I have an average of 19 Google Meets a day, so every 15 minutes,” Hare said. “I still have weekly Google Meets with students for other reasons and the other components of my job that still need to get done. I am not complaining though. This is my absolute favorite time of the year. It takes a lot of prep work and time, but I love helping students plan for their future.”