By Hanson Han, Sports Editor
This year, Mills is reintroducing in-person dual enrollment Skyline college courses. In the years leading up to the pandemic, Mills had just started a partnership with Skyline college. However, once the pandemic hit, these classes went online, robbing Mills students of an excellent in-person learning opportunity. Since things are going back to normal now, with many Covid-19 restrictions being tapered down, Skyline courses have returned to Mills in-person.
The two courses that Mills is currently offering are: HSCI 180 Gateway to Health Careers and BUS 100 Introduction to Business. For the Health class, Mills students get a chance to get hands-on learning, working with laboratory equipment and gaining insight as to what careers they can pursue in the healthcare field. For the Business class, Mills students get a quick and brief overview of what getting into the business area would be like. Both of these classes are taught by reputable and successful professors from Skyline College itself. Jack Chen, the Health instructor, and Grace Beltran, the Business instructor, come once a week to give Mills students an exclusive learning opportunity.
The best part about these classes is that they are completely free. Mills students can get the same college credit and the same college learning experience, all without having to sign up for AP classes and taking the expensive $101 exam at the end of the school year. For the Health class, these credits will directly transfer to any California State University (CSU) college. For the Business class, it’s an even sweeter deal. Those credits will directly transfer to any CSU as well as any University of California (UC) college.
A few Mills students can testify as to how beneficial and effective these in-person dual enrollment classes are. Two sophomores, Phoebe Piserchio (10) and Abigail Chai (10), have taken advantage of this opportunity.
Piserchio is currently taking the Gateway to Health Careers course, and is learning a lot from the experience. On top of researching subjects that will further her knowledge in the healthcare field, she is also getting hands-on experience by working with laboratory equipment and interacting with other students with the same learning mindset as her. She describes this course as an experience that she cannot get in your regular Mills class.
Chai is currently taking the Introduction to Business course, and is enjoying the newfound information that she is learning. As of right now, the class is doing research on the CEO of Kylie Cosmetics, Kylie Jenner. They are researching her upbringing and business tactics, and studying how and why those factors have propelled her into the success and stardom she is currently receiving.
On top of these two courses that Ms. Duszynski has brought to Mills, she is looking for more course ideas that could be incorporated into the 2023-2024 school year. She currently has her eye on a Coding course that could act as an extension of Mills’ current Computer Science courses, as well as a first response EMT course that would act as an extension of the current Gateway to Health Careers course. However, she is still looking for student feedback, and would love to hear ideas from Mills students as to what courses could be added. Ms. Duszynski has worked really hard over the past couple of years, partnering with Skyline College to make her dream for Mills students come to life. Recently, her business partner at Skyline College has moved to the College of San Mateo (CSM), opening up doors for potential CSM courses to be brought into Mills as well.
All in all, the benefits of these dual enrollment programs far outweigh the time commitment that the courses ask for. Both classes meet once a week in Room 251 from 6 PM to 9 PM, with the Health class taking place on Wednesday and the Business class taking place on Thursday. According to Piserchio, the homework load for the Health class is easygoing, with a weekly assignment that would take anywhere from half an hour to an hour. According to Chai, the Business class has about the same amount of homework as your regular class, except the instructor is extremely lenient on due dates, making it a relatively stress-free environment.
While it is too late to sign up for these courses for the fall semester, the spring semester and next school year will be offering similar courses for the same benefits. Any Mills student can register themselves and get a headstart on their college and career goals.
