My high school was considered the "dumb" school. It was where people that couldn't make it in normal school went. The "dumbos," the "idiots," the "people who didn't test well." I even had to convince my parents that vocational school was acceptable for someone going to college. But, once I arrived at Bay Path and chose electronics as my trade, they realized that this school gave me a leg up on my colleagues when applying for college.
I spoke with a recent graduate of my schools electronics program and learned from him that everything in his freshman class and half of his sophomore class, he already knew most of the material and passed with flying colors. Naturally, my parents were excited to hear that. On top of me getting a heads up on my college career, I would learn about applying to college and jobs, as well as earning me quality time at several internships. On top of being able to carry my skills into a successful college career, I could also use what I learned and my certifications from school to go into my field straight out of high school, like many of my peers did. My school had dozens of trades, from automotive, carpentry and electrical to culinary, drafting and programming. All of these fields allowed for the students to continue directly into a well paying and enjoyable full time job. Many of my friends from high school are currently enjoying that benefit, making comfortable salaries and doing very well for themselves.
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Using my skills that I learned at Bay Path, I knew a majority of my beginning engineering courses. Though I did not stay in engineering (not the field for me,) I did appreciate the knowledge I had gained in high school. My fellow electronics graduates from BP all went on into engineering courses and are extremely thankful for their time at the school, and how much it has furthered their higher education, by not only giving them a leg up in the first few semesters, but allowing for a head start in the following years. To this day, I am sometimes met with disdain at the revelation that I went to a vocational school, but I can sit back and be comforted by the fact that I not only received an excellent high school education (Bay Path beat the town high school in SAT scores all four years I was there), I also gained valuable career knowledge, useful job skills and four years of training in a trade I truly enjoy. So, no matter what life throws at me, I will always have a Plan B. I've said it before, thank you Bay Path, for starting me on the right path.
