With the spring quarter soon upon us, receiving a recommendation or hearing thoughts from fellow students about their previous class experiences is highly beneficial for choosing which classes to enroll in. With this in mind, three Bellevue College students were able to share the class that has positively impacted them the most during their time here.
“Sometimes it’s good to just pick a class at random,” Carly Sax shared. “Trying something new — as scary as it is sometimes — is super important.” After needing to add an additional class to her schedule, Sax enrolled in Introduction to Women’s Studies (CES 109) with Dr. Dellyssa Edinboro without much thought. However, after completing the class this past fall quarter, it is now her favorite course she has taken thus far. Sax is a current senior Running Start student obtaining her Associate in Arts and Science. “I think the thing that made this class my favorite was the atmosphere,” she shared. “It was such a safe-feeling environment. It made class discussions so much easier to have, especially considering some of the heavier subject matter.” When asked how it positively impacted her, Sax said, “Because we were talking a lot about feminism and human rights, it really opened up a world for me that was previously closed. I learned so much about the things that not only affect me but also my peers.” After discussing if she would recommend it to all Bellevue College students, she confirmed she would: “I don’t think many people realize it, but many of the topics you go over in the class are extremely important. The more people who learn about it, the better.”
Lily Sanders, a current Running Start junior, shared that her favorite class so far is General Chemistry I (CHEM& 161) with Dr. Sonya Doucette. “I loved my high school chemistry classes before, but I was a little hesitant about taking a college-level chemistry course. Dr. Doucette made the transition as easy as she could, as she provided a multitude of resources for concepts that should have been learned in earlier chemistry courses,” Sanders shared. When asked about the aspects that made the class her favorite, Sanders highlighted Dr. Doucette’s teaching manner: “Dr. Doucette is such an amazing teacher with not only endless amounts of enthusiasm for chemistry but also helpful resources to provide better comprehension on the challenging topics in the curriculum. The pace of the course load is very fast, but she is very understanding and supplies ‘late passes’ to turn in late work for full credit. She is also easily accessible when it comes to her office hours, and is very accommodating to other people’s schedules. The research projects we conduct mainly center around climate change, as we apply what we learn in the class to real-world scenarios. The class is very centered on what is happening to the world around us, and how it is impacting others, which I think is necessary information to learn about.” Additionally, Sanders stated that “Dr. Doucette’s passion for chemistry is extremely contagious. We are learning so many new things every day. It’s amazing to see the progress and how much we have learned over such a short period of time. She also really tries to do the best she can, which motivates the class to perform the best we can on labs and quizzes.” Although Sanders has enjoyed her time in this course during this winter quarter, she would primarily recommend it to those highly interested in pursuing an area in the STEM field.
Pursuing her AA in Integrated Studies, Jessica Duling found Intro to Forensic Science (CJ& 240) with Professor Anthony Tessandori very enjoyable. “Professor Tessandori’s lectures, often punctuated with sarcasm and fun informational tidbits, have been super engaging,” Duling shared. “We’ve done a lot of amazing labs in class, such as fingerprinting, evidence analysis, fiber collection and more. One day, he brought in these microscopes that attach to your phone camera, so we got to study our own hair strands.” When asked about her thoughts going into the class, Duling replied, “I was previously interested in Forensics, so I had high hopes for the class, but I wasn’t actually sure what to expect going in. The hands-on labs have been a blast, so it has definitely exceeded my expectations!” Duling relayed that the course has impacted her positively, as she has developed an appreciation for investigative work and the evolution of its methods: “So much of forensics is in details that might be easy to glide over, so I feel it’s given me a greater appreciation for the people that put in the painstaking work to sort out the puzzle pieces and bring closure and justice to others. I’m not sure what I want to do for a career yet, but something in the field of forensics would be quite rewarding.”
While these are only a few of the favored classes offered at Bellevue College, I hope they provide some clarity and helpful class recommendations for students planning their future quarters.
