At the Applied Technology center there are four pathways to choose from. it could be a daunting choice for all you indecisive freshman out there. We asked an administrator and student from each pathway about the benefits of their individual pathways and what their favorite part is. This article is to help you better understand what pathway you may want to choose.

PALS

Mr. Hinson, the lead facilitator for the Public and Legal Services (PALS) pathway, said that his favorite things about the PALS pathway are the various topics he covers in his class, including Criminal justice, forensic science and court laws. The benefits of joining PALS can vary from student to student based on their future career choices and desired high school experience. Additionally, the PALS pathway does offer extracurricular activities like the Drone club, The Skills USA competition, and the Police exploration program.

A junior student from the Public and Legal Services (PALS)  pathways stated their favorite thing about their pathway is learning about the criminal justice system and doing mock trials. They also like the teamwork that takes place when creating their projects. They claim that their projects are interactive and interesting if you like learning about Crimes and the Law.

HEALTH SCIENCES

Solorio is the CTE teacher for Health Sciences pathway. Their favorite thing about the Health Sciences pathway is working with students, and the community that works with the pathway including;  doctors, residents, Cedar Sinai, FNL and HOSA. The goal of the Health sciences pathway is to ultimately get students to go to college. A benefit of being in the pathway is having teachers that are college orientated which further pushes students into deciding the right choice for them. Health also provides  extra curricular activities like listed previously (HOSA, FNL, community services. ECT.) 

Yuan Divine Ibasan, a junior student from the Health Sciences pathway, states that she knows that choosing the Health Sciences Pathway, will be a good benefit by getting to learn through hands-on activities and visiting hospitals, working with doctors, and meeting individuals who worked in the medicine field to give you the full experience. 

ACE

Mr. Wilson, the CTE teacher for the ACE Pathway, answered how his favorite part ACE is working with his hands and teaching students. He says he's been working in architecture for a very long time so he loves sharing his knowledge with students. When asked what the benefits of choosing his pathway he said that he likes to leave it up to the students and that ACE is great with learning entry level skills and preparing students at a college and career level.

Brianna Perez, a junior ACE pathway student, said that she loves all of the hands-on activities that they do as a pathway during class. She says the benefits to this pathway over the others is “all the amazing variety of activities that we do that broaden our horizons on what we would experience in the future. Stuff like making Halloween decorations and household items.”

CHEF

Mrs. Padilla is the lead of the CHEF pathway and her favorite thing about CHEF is all of the students, she says that they are always the most active and most willing to participate, she also said that all the free food was great too. When asked about the benefits of her pathway she said that her Pathway probably has some of the most hands-on activities in their field, such as managing the Bistro, where you can buy food from CHEF seniors, and catering events, these things give students lots of opportunities and experience to work in a team and learn first hand.

Jesus Cazares, a junior CHEF pathway student and the representative for ASB, said his favorite thing about his pathway is that he is able to make delicious food with his peers. He says the thing that sets his pathway apart from others is how they force students to collaborate with each other in the kitchen and says it is a very rewarding experience and they get to reap the rewards after.

Hopefully learning from the pathways respective teachers and from upperclassmen students about their opinion on their own pathways, helps any indecisive freshman reading this in choosing which of the four you would want to commit to for your time at the ATC!