Roughly a year ago, I decided that Running Start would be the best fit for me. I thought of it as a two-for-one deal where I could get my high school diploma and my AA in two years and set myself up for success in my future career. I first heard about this program during my freshman year; it wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year that I began to seriously consider enrolling. I decided to enroll imagining that the worst thing that could happen was that I didn’t like it at all. Today, I’m happy that I stuck with my choice through the thick and thin.
Running Start is a program that is available to high school juniors and seniors. Typically, a full-time Running Start student will take between three to four classes per quarter. My junior year, as a running start student, I took a total of ten classes at Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) and one class through Cascade High School.
Each class has an average of one to three hours of contact time. The most common courses that Running Start students enroll in are English 101, English 201, a math credit, a science credit, History 146, History 147, another history class to stand in for CWCW, and a lab credit.
In the fall quarter at WVC, I registered for English 101, Philosophy 120, and Art 110. I purposely scheduled two mandatory courses and one fun or exciting class for each quarter. I also maintained my connection with CHS and worked to build my college resume by taking Advanced Publications and serving as one of the co-editors for the high school yearbook/newspaper.
For spring quarter, I am taking ASL 122, History 147, Fitness Lab 161, and Figure Drawing 1 (Art 111) as a student at WVC and am continuing my Publications career at CHS.
Three of my current WVC classes are being taught exclusively online and one class is taught in-person. I was disappointed that about 90% of my classes so far have been on Zoom or pre-recorded lecture videos. For me, the only benefits of online classes are increased freedom and the lack of a commute.
However, some running start students, like junior Hunter Stutzman, prefer learning remotely. “I work a lot better when I can work at my pace and working online through WVC allows me to do just that,” explained Stutzman.
College courses are different from the high school courses I experienced in my freshman and sophomore years: there is an increased workload, there is an expectation for higher quality of products, and professors expect students to be on time and prepared for anything.
I spend between 60-90 minutes daily being either physically or digitally present in each of my classes. In addition, I study (like the average Running Start student) 1-3 hours per class per day. I spend about six hours total on homework each day. The time depends on how hard the class is and the amount of information I am expected to memorize. On Tuesday and Thursday, I also commute to Wenatchee and have a 3-hour, in-person class for Figure Drawing I. The workload for my classes is similar on Tuesday/Thursday; but Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the workload tends to vary a lot.
Here is what a typical day looks like for me:
7 a.m. I wake up and get ready for school.
8:00-9:30 a.m. I attend Advanced Publications at Cascade High School.
10-11 a.m. I am at home walking with my dad and logging an hour of walking for my Fitness Lab class and/or doing homework/studying.
11 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. I attend my ASL class online.
Lunch
1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. I listen to a prerecorded lecture and take notes for History 147.
30 minutes I commute to WVC.
2-3 p.m. I arrive on campus and exercise for an hour as part of my Fitness Lab class at the Recreation Center.
4:30 p.m. I walk to the art building.
5 p.m. - 7:50 p.m. I attend my Figure Drawing I class.
30 minutes I commute to WVC.
8:30-10:30 p.m. I arrive at home and look up any assignments that I may need to finish and study for classes. More time is required if assignments are essays.
Not only does my daily schedule look much different than a traditional high school student’s schedule, but the annual schedule is also different. Where high school students started back to school on August 31 this year, I started classes at WVC on September 27. Both WVC and CHS have winter breaks; this year WVC’s break was longer by two days. Spring break was a week long at both schools, but the week started at different times. CHS has one break that is not present at WVC: midwinter break. My final day at WVC this year will be between June 15-17 and CHS will finish June 16. The school year at WVC is slightly shorter, but they tend to compact a lot of schooling in a short time frame.
Wenatchee Valley College has many student-led clubs. Ag & Natural Resources, AutoTech Club, Culture Club, Cyber Knight, MECHA are just some of the clubs offered through WVC. The sport that is most well-known at WVC is the soccer team, however they also offer baseball, softball, basketball, and other traditional sports. WVC also hosts events where students can come and socialize: outside movies, laser tag, and roller skating are some examples. Students participating in sports can plan on spending 2-3 hours practicing daily in addition to games. Clubs last around 1-2 hours and they may go on tour and put on events.
I decided before enrolling for WVC that I wouldn’t be involved with clubs or sports and instead I would focus on my extra class at the high school. However, I did attend a few events hosted by WVC. The first event I went to was roller skating. The event wasn’t as well attended as I thought it would be, but it was still a fun experience.
Another event that I recently participated in was Deaf Game Night at Abby’s Pizza in East Wenatchee. At first, I was nervous, because at the event there was no talking verbally allowed, only signing. But ten minutes in I felt much more comfortable and began making friends who are good at signing.
College can be difficult for some people but can open opportunities when handled in the right way. “If you want to survive college, you'll need to learn more than just the material. You'll need to learn more about yourself and how you can mentally grow. And don't expect college to be anything like high school. Trust me, college is nothing like high school, in both good and bad ways,” said junior Malaki Taub.
Do you have any plans that might involve Running Start? Please leave a comment below
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