By Alexis Carr
Indian Trail High School and Academy consists of four unique academy programs combined with a regular general studies high school program. The academy programs include: Medical Science, Business, Kenosha Military, and Communications. These programs are designed to offer a more focused course towards specific careers after high school.
Meantime, the mission of Indian Trail general studies program is to instill academic and personal excellence through innovative approaches by instruction and learning. Seniors at Indian Trail from both the general high school and the academies recently gave their input as to how these programs have helped them decide if the academy or general studies program has assisted them in deciding which career they wish to go into after high school.
“It helped me discover that I really do enjoy art,” said Kristin Holden of the Communications Academy. “It’s fun and very relaxing for me, but I’m not very good at it compared to other people’s art skills. So I decided to go into a science path because of the AP science classes I’ve been taking and I really like doing that. But I will probably do art in my free time just to unwind and help me de-stress and sleep,” she said.
Holden is one of the many students that have joined the academy who decided to switch their focus. She isn’t the only one that has changed her career interest from one area to another when it came to going into the programs.
Jeimmy Jaimes, from the Business Academy changed her career path interest through the course of attending IT.
“The Business Academy helped me learn certain things I didn’t know before such as managing different situations for when or if I want to become an entrepreneur and things of that sort,” she said.
“But some of the classes I didn’t find helpful because they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. Some of the classes that were offered such as marketing didn’t really benefit me for the exact thing I wished to do at the time,” Jaimes said. “In the end, I decided choosing something else instead of going down the business path. I would now like to focus on medical perspectives,” she said.
Although some students have changed their career choice, others have stayed with their career path interest up until senior year. Tyler Mortensen from the Kenosha Military Academy explains how he had a set plan of what he wanted to do and how the academy helped him reinforce his decision.
“When I first heard of the academy, I was already decided about going into the military. Joining the academy solidified that decision. It also introduced me to the United States Military Academy and that’s what I wish to pursue right now,” Mortenson said.
Some students join the academy and discover that the area they originally wanted to focus on has shifted and they switch academies or in some cases, drop out of the program altogether. Other students joined the program or general high school unsure of they are passionate about and what they want to do after graduation.
Michael Hertel, a senior from the Med-Sci Academy, explains how he found what he was passionate about through this academy.
“I wasn’t sure what area of the medical field I wanted to go into. But after seeing some of the classes and taking the more rigorous material I noticed research was definitely a field I wanted to go into,” Hetel said.
“I like studying topics so I narrowed down to medical research. I always liked science but after being able to take this course I began to develop and notice more of a passion for it,” he said.
“I realized that I really did like this and that this is what I wanted to do after high school, thanks to the academy.”