January at Neuqua Valley means course selection. Every returning student will have their high school future in mind as they go through teacher recommendations, peer discussions and finally solidifying their schedules for their next year. This is an important, yet stressful decision for many students, but hearing from seniors who’ve been through many of Neuqua’s courses can offer some different perspectives to many of the upcoming class choices. Here are The Echo’s seniors favorite classes they’ve taken:

Ben LeGrand – AP English III

AP English III is my favorite class (other than newspaper) from my years at Neuqua because of how it changed my view on the possibilities of an English class. English III is a big change from freshman and sophomore English, but it’s certainly a change for the better. The topics taught in English III go beyond just books, and extend into any form of media. Using my favorite TV shows and movies to build an essay changed the way I watch TV, and helped me identify themes in any media I consume. Mr. Rossi also taught Shakespeare in such an enjoyable, comprehensible way, actually making the tough language of Shakespeare enjoyable. I highly encourage any sophomore currently on the fence about taking the AP class, or any interested in English to push themselves to take the “tougher” class. I’ll carry the lessons from English III through my journey as a writer and while the quirks of the class change for each teacher, Mr. Rossi’s class was my favorite Junior year. 

Jake Panek – AP Art History

In every work of art, there’s cultural and historical value that can be found, and there’s no better class to take for those interested in the intersection between those two values than AP Art History. Open to all students at the main campus and not requiring any art prerequisites, AP Art History is by far the most fun class I’ve ever taken at Neuqua both in the content discussed in it and the way it is taught to students. The curriculum covers 250 artworks, spanning prehistoric slabs dating all the way back to 30,000 B.C.E. to contemporary multimedia installments from as recent as 2010, all of which come from diverse regions. Through a healthy mix of lectures, individual homework assignments and even a couple projects, Mrs. Sammit taught this knowledgeable class in a way that was always greatly fun, and it’s one that I’ll immensely cherish looking back on my years at Neuqua.

Logan Brown- Genetics

Genetics was probably my favorite class that I have taken at Neuqua Valley because of the intriguing course material and lab-oriented learning environment. The course, as the name suggests, covers anything you might want to know about genetics, bio-technology, human inheritance, molecular genetics, etc. In this class, students will also learn about various lab-techniques and perform numerous labs over the course of the year. The pacing of the class itself is somewhat relaxed, and I felt like I was given more than enough time to complete my work. My Genetics teacher, Mrs. Burns, made every lesson interesting, and provided very well made visuals and presentations to help us learn the course material effectively. This class is for those who are interested in life-science, and it is an excellent course to take either before AP Biology, or concurrently.

Adam Hristov- Photography II 

Photography II is my personal favorite class because it was the turning point for me from just doing photography for a school class, to implementing it into my personal hobbies. Even though I took that class during the covid year, I still always loved going to the class to learn new features of photography. I always loved when we would have critique days because it was a way for me to show off my work and get to see other peoples work. The class changed my perception of photography. Going into the class I thought that photography was just something people did because the finished pictures looked cool, but after taking Photography II I realized photography is really a way of seeing the world from a different perspective. I am now constantly imagining different compositions and scenes for a photo. Seeing the world through a photographic point of view really helps you pick out the beauty of certain scenes in your everyday life that most people wouldn’t see or think about. Photography II is a good class for people that have already done Photography I and want to step up their photography skills and realize the true meaning of photography.

Sean Kirchner – Business Law

I have always had lofty dreams of becoming a lawyer, so this class was right up my alley. It was taught by probably my favorite teacher I’ve ever had, Mr Gregor, and he made the class so enjoyable. It was filled with fun projects and learning about topics like our constitutional rights and how they’ll affect you further down your professional life. We learned about contract, criminal and civil law. The learning was made fun by doing more things than just lectures; We learned many court procedures and rules of court by doing mock trials and contract negotiations. The work you put into this class will pay off. As long as you put a little bit of effort into it you will have a good time and I highly recommend you add it to your schedule.

Ayel Kikama – Creative Writing II

Although I already had a passion for writing, this class made me enjoy writing 5 times more. It provides a perfect environment for anyone that likes writing. In the class we learned about things like poetry and short stories and even got to write some ourselves. The class is also filled with other writers so there’s no need to worry about making connections. The chill environment combined with the genuinely interesting subject matter, as well as the fact that it’s always second period makes this a great class to add to your schedule. 

Jack RS – AP European History

During my freshman year I took World Geography, (when it was first offered), and I wanted to explore my interest in humanities with a harder course. AP Euro was a strange choice given that it’s an elective and wouldn’t fill any requirements for three years of social studies credits, yet it still nurtured my interest in politics and history even during the covid year when it was all online. My teacher, Mr. Walz, made lessons exciting and fun through his humor and charisma. Sometimes, he’d bring in props such as a German Pickelhaube and wear it while teaching about Kaiser Wilhelm II and World War I. We also did fun projects throughout the year and a final debate about which modern issue in Europe was the most important. I was assigned to argue for Cybersecurity and I won the entire competition. The cool thing about AP Euro being an elective is that you can take it during any time in your sophomore, junior, or senior year along with any required social studies courses. That’s why, if you have an interest in history and room in your schedule, I recommend that you take AP European History.

Neuqua Valley has so many interesting courses and paths for their students to follow. Enjoy the classes you find interesting, power through the ones you don’t, but overall enjoy the different subject matter in all of them.