In the competitive landscape of college admissions, students feel the need to utilize every advantage they can to create their “spike.” At Oxford, many students feel pressured to commit to a career path immediately in their freshman year structuring their application, taking on a disingenuous interest in the field. To address this concern, Oxford should prioritize career exploration over hasty commitments, using career pathway resources to dismiss the unhealthy belief there is a limited time for career exploration.
Oxford students currently explore careers through Oxford’s CTE pathways, composed of biotechnology, business, computer science, and engineering, introduced through an “elective wheel” to students with quarter-long classes in 7th grade. Later, upon their freshman year registration, students choose a three-year long pathway to complete during high school. These pathways offer valuable career resources, but the limited exploration time can lead to rushed decisions, often influenced by peer or parental pressure. As a result, students may be less informed and select a career path hastily.
The California Department of Education states these pathways “prepare students for high-skill, high-wage jobs in emerging and growing industry sectors.” They fulfill the “G” requisite of the “A-G” academic requirements necessary for graduation and eligibility for California State University and University of California applications.
According to a survey conducted by The Gamut, 76% of 114 Oxford students rated the immediate pressure to pick a career as three or higher on a scale of one to five. Senior Kuhu Gupta felt “a lot of pressure to pick and stick with” a path.
While the pressure to make early career decisions appears as an inevitable product of Oxford’s competitive atmosphere, the school can promote students’ exploration of their passions throughout high school. Oxford can inform students about pathways beyond the elective-wheel; in-depth overviews of the curriculum and skills each pathway teaches can be focused on through a revisit to the wheel in 8th grade. Course selection time can embed upperclassman guest speakers to share their experiences and answer questions about the varying pathways, giving students additional opportunities to explore and understand the pathways before committing.
“I think just go out there and see what you have. It doesn’t have to be at school. You can research and dive more into it because that’s also what people [employers and colleges] are looking for,” senior Vinessa Luong said.
Oxford ultimately bears the burden of fostering an environment allowing students to find their passions by addressing the prevalent mentality that it’s “too late” to try new things. By centering pathway commitment on students’ passions, students can feel more assured in their choices. Oxford must implement initiatives that reinforce students’ freedom to explore career paths throughout high school before enforcing commitment, allowing them to find their passions before deciding on a career.
