By JUSTIN REESE – As a result of COVID-19 and school closures, IHS, along with many other educational institutions, has newly-altered educational and academic expectations. For many students it’s simply harder to learn with the limited resources that teachers, students, and parents have.

In light of this, some students have taken education into their own hands and have sought to expand academically through various resources like online classes, research, and a look into their futures.

Various Ivy League universities have released a selection of free online courses that follow a curriculum similar to that of a real college course. Classes vary in interest and career field, enough so that any student can find a class that interests them.

It’s a great way to pass time while expanding one’s personal education. Some of the courses even offer a certificate of completion signifying that students completed the required work. These certificates could be put on college applications or resumes.

IHS students have jumped on this opportunity to expand their coursework and sign up for these classes “…various Ivy League institutions released free courses, [which] has let me learn more about a variety of topics I am interested, such as career-focused things like Corporate Finance, and things that personally interest me like political philosophy.” said junior Hasan Ali.

Apart from formal education, students have had the time to delve into their passions and interests to more finely discover what they plan on doing after college. The extra time has allowed for reading, research, and self-discovery that otherwise may have been put off. “The pandemic has provided me with the opportunity to sit down and do the reading I simply did not have time for before” added Ali.

Some students are seizing the opportunity to look into career paths and post-secondary education, with many schools offering virtual tours. Junior Hannah Reilly has been doing just that, “I’ve been able to take more time to look into what I may want to study in college and schedule virtual visits to schools I’m interested in. Since I’ve been able to finish work at my own pace, I’ve had the time to get outside and workout a lot more too” stated Reilly.

Like Ali and Reilly, junior Anakin Leydic has taking advantage of the time, “I’ve had time to really focus on what I want to do after high school in terms of what degree I plan on pursuing and from what college. I’ve also had the time to enroll in an online course offered by an Ivy League university,” said Leydic.

The students of IHS are mixing up their academics and taking knowledge into their own hands. Along with traditional schooling from IHS, students are enrolling in online classes, researching, reading, and getting the time to focus on parts of their education that may otherwise have been put to the side.

[Photo by Justin Reese]