Running Start Students Voice Perspectives
By: Steven Astere
Staff Writer
How do high schoolers feel about Running Start before they enroll? Are they overwhelmed? Nervous? Excited?
The campus is home to many people from faculty to students. Even students from different continents and countries attend this college. Most of the college population is at least the age of 18. However, there are a few students that are still enrolled in a high school. These students are referred to as Running Start students.
Some high schools have a program that gives students an opportunity to be enrolled dually and graduate with college credits and completion of high school credits. Through this program, students can be both enrolled in a high school and a certain community college at the same time.
Depending on what the students choose, they can be a part-time student or a full-time student. If they choose to be a part-time student, they will have classes in both their high school and college. This is a large struggle for some because arranging their schedule to fit for both can become a mess without the help of counselors.
However, these students can choose what to do in the community college. They can work towards their general AA, use the credits to transfer to a four-year university, among other things that provide them academic advantages. It might a little strange to see high schoolers attending college classes, but it is becoming more and more common. With high schoolers getting their first college experience while enrolled in a high school comes with a pool of emotions.
Finding out what it is like to be a high schooler enrolled in a community college at the same time is interesting. Some of these high schoolers participate in the program out of inquisitive interest, while others enroll to better themselves and get a head start on others. Some Running Start students will even go the further step and enroll into summer quarter, when the program does not pay for their tuition fees.
One student attending her first year of Running Start, Sydney Wate, commented that she was “really excited to enroll” because she “was outgrowing the high school environment and needed a change.”
Two full-time Running Start students, Maison Turner and Megan Peacor, were also excited when they first started.
“I was also nervous about taking classing and not having any friends in them,” Turner said, after commenting on her ambition to take harder classes while spending less time at school through the program.
Peacor stated that she was also, “a little nervous just because of [the] new environment, bigger responsibilities, and newer faces all over.”
Another Running Start first year, Emily Lombard, mentioned that she was also nervous and she did not know what to expect. “The big thing I was worried about was missing out on the high experience, but I feel like I’m still getting that.,” she said.
A majority of the Running Start students interviewed had many varying experiences when it came to their initial encounters here at Green River College. Some felt nervous, excited, or challenged, but saw that it was a great opportunity. Those are just some of the words these students used.
One thing they all had in common was that they benefited from the program and some even recommended it to their underclassmen in their high school.
