Communications High School stands out to create students for the unique classes it offers, attracting hordes of Monmouth County applicants each year. From the photography workshops to the journalism courses, this set of electives is meant to prepare the students for a lifetime career in the industry of communications.

Senior Brooke Stark of Manasquan reflected on her experience in the different elective courses.

“Between junior and senior year I took electives including Illustration and Design, Java, AP Studio Art, Public Relations, and Advertising Design. I don’t think this put me in a specific field, because I mainly chose classes that I thought sounded interesting,” she said.

This does not include the preparatory classes given to freshmen and sophomores that introduce them to the basics within the field of communications.

For senior Brian Young of Neptune, the electives did not match up with his future career goals.

“I plan to study criminal justice and I want to be some sort of police officer. The electives don’t really go with what I want to do except forensics,” he said.

For Young, the electives did not change his targeted occupation, as he has always wanted to be involved in law enforcement.

This was not the case for Stark, who now plans to major in architecture while in college. “I plan to major in architecture in college and for my future, I hope to become some sort of architect,” Stark said. “I feel like my electives have definitely provided me with skills that can be useful in that field, while not directly relating to the field.”

Stark then stated that although the electives will help her in architecture, the courses she took have made her a more well rounded person, giving her many alternate opportunities if architecture does not happen.

As with many other students, Stark thoroughly enjoyed all of the classes she was able to take in the four short years as a student at CHS. She does advise students to take the classes they want to, not the ones they feel pressured to.

“I totally enjoyed taking every elective at CHS, mainly because I chose my electives based on things I wanted to learn about and not to push myself toward a career,” Stark said.