In most classes, your curriculum is chosen for you, but in the elective Independent Study and Mentorship, you can choose what you learn.

“In this class, you are your own boss and I think it really prepares you for college,” ISM Advisor Manalas Petty said.

This course gives you a chance to decide on what career you would like to do research on.

“It is a program for people who want to explore jobs and fields they’re interested in,” senior Rishika Kolluri said.

This elective allows students to study and do research on a specific career that the student wants to pursue in the future.

“I picked music production and I wanted to see how music can impact humans for medical purposes,” senior Jeffrey Liew said.

“Last year I chose pediatrics, so this year I decided to do pediatric surgery,” Kolluri said.

“I have a journalist right now who gets to be part of these journalism meetings that they have and what stories they’re gonna run,” Petty said.

This includes being able to gain knowledge from a mentor who is a professional in the student’s chosen field and learn from their techniques.

“I am able to help others as well and if in the future someone asks me to be their mentor I know what to do and what to expect,” Liew said.

ISM allows students to prepare for what’s to come, with a variety of jobs available to study in this program.

“It is a class that most prepares them for college just because when things are due, they’re due. They leave campus and come back and they have to be professional with meeting different people. It just prepares them for the next level,” Petty said.