Central invited freshmen to its annual pathways night on Nov. 11, allowing them to explore the different options for pathways at Central. The night aims to help students identify what path they see themselves going on and take aligned classes. 

Created four years ago, the goal of the night was to guide students towards the classes that would suit them best in their future.  Central has a total of 16 pathways, each falling into one of three categories:leadership and global studies, global arts or STEM. Teachers and upperclassmen presented their pathways in hopes of recruiting newer students. 

A large handful of those who attended already had an idea of what they wanted. Freshman Grey Hoult said they’d like to go into a medical career after high school but went to the event to take a look at the other options and opportunities.  

“You can see all of the interesting stuff they have out and what they have that they wouldn’t regularly teach about,” Hoult said. 

A number of the students attending were planning on doing the International Baccalaureate pathway, which is less focused on a specific field or career, and more on broader academic pursuits for developing learning skills. Among those, a few said they didn’t have a plan for what they wanted to do after high school.  

This could lend itself to the idea that pathways help with building a student’s mindset and motivating them to follow their passions by learning about them. According to the Central website, “With multiple different pathway options available, students will be able to find/enhance their passions. Even if students may not be interested in a particular career field, our pathways are focused on building transferable skills in the areas of writing, reading, problem solving, and the creative arts.” 

There are a lot of mixed feelings about the idea of students choosing one field and sticking with it for the entirety of high school. Some feel that it can be restricting, while others believe it is more beneficial, however most teachers and students fall somewhere in the middle. Pathways can be changed, but it is limited to one time.  

To many students, this aspect makes the decision seem even more daunting.  Science teacher, Kristoff Berzins agrees with the sentiment of pathways being somewhat restricting. “I totally get it. I mean, these guys are freshmen. I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I was 32.” Berzins said.