Excited chatter can be heard in the Bowie halls this 2025-2026 school year as students walk to their new classes for a fresh year. While some students enrolled in the same classes that have been around for a while, some students decided to take a gamble and try something different. 

This year, Bowie administration has decided to introduce a few new classes to its students. Students now have the opportunity to take Advanced Pathophysiology, Women’s Literature, and Literary Genres, Mythology, Folklore, and Culture. Stacie Feen is one of the teachers who has opened this opportunity to students by teaching her Advanced Pathophysiology class. 

“Patho is about the study of disease, disease processes and how they impact healthy humans,” Feen said. “The class is really for anyone with an interest in the human body. It’s a great intro or primer for college level courses related to pathophysiology.” 

Students at Bowie have stated their happiness about these new opportunities to take courses that fascinate them and can contribute to their future careers and overall knowledge. One of the students taking these classes is senior Penelope Durbin, who is taking Advanced Pathophysiology. 

“I think the class is really interesting and fun so far,” Durbin said. “We just finished learning about anatomical positions and I’m really excited to learn about disease next.” 

Students having the opportunity to learn more about future careers they have interest in is important to many people at Bowie. It gives students the opportunity to test out potential careers, to dip their feet into the water instead of jumping all the way in once they get to college. 

“In the future I hope to become a nurse,” Durbin said. “I think it’s important to have these opportunities in high school to broaden the types of classes a student can take depending on their interests.” 

This school year students could also enroll in Literary Genres, Mythology, Folklore, and Culture. English teacher Scott Dennis teaches this new class and is excited about the impact it can make on students. 

“We will understand what starts and makes a culture,” Dennis said. “And we will learn about and appreciate the cultures studied to learn what these cultures have contributed to other cultural aspects such as art, literature, music, cooking, etc.”

In current society, literature is a large part of most careers and communication, so more options for literature classes is greatly appreciated by many students at Bowie. Another one of these English classes being offered is Women’s Literature which is taught by Chrissy Hejny. The course will cover highly regarded women’s literature, both fiction and non-fiction works from the late 18th century up until the present day. Some featured authors will be Jane Austen, Amalia Ortiz, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Taylor Swift, and Malala Yousafzai.

“A lot of the course curriculum stems from things I’ve taught in my English classes in the past, so it’s fun to teach that to students who haven’t seen it,” Hejny said. “I also love the idea of bringing in pop culture and mythical elements that we don’t necessarily have time to dig into in our core English classes.”

While classes like these go over different curriculums than what would be typically be seen in an English class, Hejny explains how they fill an important need here on the bowie campus and provide more to show what bowie has to offer.

“A women’s literature course would be an excellent addition to our curriculum as women make up half the population across racial and ethnic boundaries,” Hejny said. “Their contributions to literature have been strategically overlooked and undervalued.” 

From studying disease to celebrating women’s voices in literature, these new courses give students the chance to grow academically and personally.

“It’s extremely valuable for students to have classes that are specific to their interests,” Durbin said. “It allows them to take classes that they enjoy with people who like the same things as them. These new classes at Bowie allow students to find potential career paths and opportunities, helping students to figure out what they want to do in the future.