A lot of people have a lot of questions about South Technical High School before they feel like they can sign up. They may wonder what South Tech even is, what classes are offered, and if it’s worth being there half the day your junior and senior year of high school instead of being at Brentwood. All of these are very valid questions and are important things to consider, so as a South Tech student myself, I hope I can answer those questions and help show you why tech is such a great opportunity to take advantage of.

So let’s start off with the basics, what is tech?

Well, South Technical High School  is a technical high school that offers 26 different CTE majors. CTE stands for Career and Technical Education and simply means personalized education for different career paths that offers much more hands-on and practical experience and education than standard high school classes. Essentially these classes allow you to not only learn important information needed for certain careers but also allow you to apply them directly to a vocation you’re interested in. This can give you a huge jump-start in your career and expand your options post high school by a considerable amount.

With many courses at tech offering industry certifications, it is even possible to get entry level positions for your desired career right after graduation. Don’t get me wrong though, going to tech also gives you advantages when continuing on to post secondary education (and yes attending South Tech looks good on college applications).

So what about missing half the day at Brentwood?

Senior Stella Semelsberger, who is enrolled in the culinary arts program at SouthTtech, said, “It’s kind of refreshing getting to be in 2 different areas, it really provides a new experience.” She went on to explain how at tech you get to meet new friends from different schools, which can be especially rewarding when going to a small school like Brentwood.

Senior Jamal Isaac, who is enrolled in Veterinary Tech, said, “It’s school but more fun and more hands-on.”

Personally, I would have to agree with both of them. I attend South Tech for electronics and robotics engineering (ERE) and even though junior year I was worried about missing Brentwood and not seeing my friends for half of the day, I eventually got past that fear and really started to enjoy my experience at South Tech. And it’s not like I spend my time at tech not interacting with anyone, I’ve made new friends at tech, and I get to do fun things such as playing with high voltages and making robots as well.

How does South Tech education stack up to Brentwood and other normal high schools?

Well the difference is night and day really. Many of the courses at Tech offer education that you can’t get anything close to at other schools. For me, there are classes offered at Brentwood that provide similar curriculum such as Principles of Engineering or Computer Science Programing, but having taken those classes freshman and sophomore year, I can say that they aren’t nearly as comprehensive as Tech. I’ve learned a lot of useful things at Tech and have actually been able to pick up skills associated with that knowledge. This isn’t just the case for ERE though, as all classes give that valuable hands on information and skills. In the Veterinary Assistant program, Jamal Isaac thinks the same thing, explaining how he learns about veterinary science and medicine which is far beyond what you’ll learn in Biology and other classes at Brentwood.

So should you join South Tech?

In the end it all comes down to you. It’s a big decision to make, and it isn’t for everyone. My recommendation would be to look into the classes offered and consider how valuable one of them might be for you. There’s really a lot to gain from tech and you aren’t losing all that much. In the end you should be making a choice that you feel benefits yourself the most so there really isn’t a simple yes or no answer when considering whether or not to attend South Tech.