HoC: Jacob Foote
Humans of Chaffey
Jacob Foote. Photo by Melaina Ramos.
To prepare students for higher education, high schools offer advanced placement classes to students interested in earning college credit in core subjects, such as English or mathematics. Schools also offer dual-enrollment programs for those interested in attending courses on a college campus, while also attending high school. Jacob Foote, now a high school graduate and dedicated Chaffey College student, was involved in such a program.
Foote took his first college course, Career and Life Planning, during his freshman year of high school. He found the experience nerve-wracking, but enjoyed it because he had a great professor. Santiago Canyon College is mainly where he took classes, but upon graduation, he transferred to Chaffey— a decision he feels has familiarized him with college overall.
The idea of college can be daunting to young adults, because, ultimately, it is the beginning of the rest of their lives. College is also where students must decide their educational pathway, as it determines which careers are possible for them in the future.
"I'm not completely sure what I want to do yet, but I feel that going to college at such a young age kind of helped me discover more," Foote explained.
Foote says taking courses in a wide array of subjects was what made him so unsure, because he saw that there were so many opportunities beyond the horizons of his original plan to major in business.
On top of attending school, Foote works two jobs. Both jobs are part-time, but he often commutes to both locations on the same days. Not including driving time, he sometimes ends up working twelve-hour days. In addition, he volunteers with his younger brother’s little league team, when he has free time.
Foote remains optimistic, despite leading such a busy life, boasting that he is excellent at memorizing things and is able to learn fairly quickly, which he finds helpful. He has also learned that allocating time for studying and sticking to a strict schedule makes the tasks of each week more manageable.
Before college, his education was earned through an independent study private school. These schools make it possible for students to finish high school curriculum at a more accelerated pace and sometimes graduate early.
Although he was already an exceptional student and graduated ahead of his class, Foote feels that the simultaneous college experience benefited him in multiple ways. "It definitely helped me conquer that nervousness... that it isn't that different than high school," said Foote.
He also feels that the experience prepared him for the heavier academic workload associated with college.
Public high schools were where the dual-enrollment program first originated, however the program is beginning to gain momentum in alternative educational systems, such as charter schools or even homeschool. Seeing as Foote attended one of the latter, he is glad the opportunity was available to him.
“It’s beneficial for all students,” he explained. “It’s definitely harder for kids in a traditional school because they’re [in school] at the times when we have the majority of our main classes [at Chaffey], but I definitely think it’s beneficial for everyone.”
He does advise that high school students take it easy on the amount of college courses they attempt each semester, due to the amount of extra work and responsibility it requires. Otherwise, he fully encourages the idea of taking advantage of dual-enrollment, no matter what type of school they attend.
Jacob is looking forward to life after college, working diligently to achieve his goals. The goal at the top of his list is simply to earn a higher education. “I’m looking forward to the fact that there will be a lot more doors open to me after that," he said. "And hopefully it’ll instill a deeper love of learning in me.”