Endorsements. The question that all freshman come into the first day of school with and the question that all seniors leave graduation with. What are endorsements, and why do high schools care so much about them? Bowie requires for students to earn one endorsement or more in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, business and industry, arts and humanities, public services or multi-disciplinary.

To be quite honest, even though I know deep down that endorsements are not that important, I am motivated to get as many as I can by the end of high school. And as many of you know, each endorsement has specific requirements. For each endorsement you have to complete a foundation plan and general endorsement requirements.

Endorsements is a way that high school’s can motivate their students to strive to do their best, and a brief outlook for colleges to see what students are interested in. Although I am in the STEM endorsement, I am able to take classes outsides of that field. Which is amazing because I am able to experience what I would enjoy doing the most in the future, because who really knows what they’re doing with at 15. However, the endorsements are meant for students to stay focused in that field, which can cause many students to restrain from classes they would have liked to take.

When students graduate, they graduate with a title in the endorsements they have accomplished, now this is extremely beneficial for students who are overachievers and like to accomplish a set of requirement. However, this can be a struggle for students who find it hard to concentrate in specific classes due to their interests. This is when the multidisciplinary endorsement comes into play, the multidisciplinary endorsement allows students to experience what they like without being restricted to a set of classes.

So, I don’t think endorsements are bad, but I still don’t know exactly what role they play. I’m glad Bowie offers endorsements because it is an opportunity to get students to experience classes that they could see themselves attending in college. Although endorsements are designed to help students experience their interests, there are many students who aren’t interested in attending college, or have other plans for college, for these students the endorsements are practically useless.