Young students looking to fit in
By Stacey Andrews
High-school aged students taking classes at Las Positas College
represent a significant percentage of the student body. But you
might never know it—many keep their age a secret.
"It can be really trying at times to get people to take
you seriously when they find out how young you are," said
one student, who wished to remain anonymous. "Sometimes
they treat you like a prodigy, and sometimes like a leech."
Called "concurrent students" these young teens are
dealing with gaining the acceptance of their peers at Las Positas
while their high school relationships are fading.
"It can get lonely," said the female student. "My
old friends stopped asking me to do things with them, and everyone
at Las Positas is much older than I am."
Concurrently enrolled students may disguise themselves to fit
in and feel more accepted but it is obvious they are highly motivated
and have the self-confidence to take on social and academic pressures.
Most of these students are looking for a greater challenge than
they were getting at their high school, and hope to be inspired
by the more mature college environment.
Easy admission
Las Positas offers concurrent enrollment courses for qualifying
high school students and acceptance is rather simple. Admission
for high school graduates and existing high school students are
similar, but enrolled high school students do not have to pay
college fees. They must meet with and obtain signatures from
a parent, school counselor and their principal for approval to
pursue specific courses at Las Positas.
Until they graduate from high school they must also meet at their
high school for one hour a week—to turn in completed homework
and receive new assignments. Most units earned at Las Positas
can be used both towards high school credits and college credits.
Not Slackers
The program may sound like the perfect opportunity to leave
behind the cliques, hassles and stresses of high school, but
it also brings with it serious responsibility, according to Stefani
Pellinen—Chavez, a concurrent Las Positas student from Vineyard
high.
"This program is not for everyone, not everyone can handle
the workload," she said. Concurrent enrollment may be seen
as an opportunity to get away from the restrictions of high school,
but, as we are all experiencing, college demands more than just
showing up to class. Concurrent enrolled students at Las Positas
shouldn't be perceived as the troublemakers or slackers most
of us left behind in high school. Just the opposite is true,
in fact. Many students who were interviewed for this article
were actively involved on campus, with such clubs as GLASS, the
writers' guild, and ASLPC.
Gen Xers and Boomers
There are currently about 310 students at Las Positas of high
school age, and another handful who are even younger, according
to Karen Halliday, Vice President of Student Services. The unchallenging
environment of high school for bright students has encouraged
Halliday to recruit young faces to Las Positas for six years
now. It seems an alternative to high school is not a hard sell
for most candidates.
The idea of high school as a rollicking good time—portrayed
by our baby boomin' parents—just didn't pan out for us Generation
Xers. As pressures have risen to both fit in and get good grades,
high school has become decidedly less fun over the past forty
years. This might provide a clue why many local high school students
are choosing to give up their four years of pep rally's, proms
and peer pressure, to attend Las Positas College.
Copyright
© 2000 by Las Positas College Express