Seniors reflect on their favorite classes at Catlin

By Erin Chow ‘25

As seniors approach their final classes before graduation, they will leave Catlin Gabel School (CGS) having taken many classes whether it be mandatory or elective. But which classes stand out among the crowd? To find out, I talked to a handful of seniors and surveyed them to try to find which classes were favored the most among the senior class.

At CGS, students have access to a multitude of classes ranging in subjects for students to explore their interests further.

Most of the students spend their freshman and sophomore years taking mandatory classes (except for one elective class) to fulfill their graduation requirements while also meeting the prerequisites for elective courses.

These elective classes are commonly taken in junior and senior years when students have more flexibility to start curating their schedules to fit their passions.

First, I sent out a survey to the entire senior class (87 students) and was met with 25 responses who each shared their thoughts on which mandatory and elective course was their favorite.

Many seniors highlighted a history class as their favorite mandatory class.

10 respondents selected US History, a junior-year history class, as one of two mandatory options to fulfill the history graduation requirement. 2 seniors chose American Studies, the other option for junior history and 4 picked Modern World, a sophomore mandatory history class.

Senior Owen Jones is one of these students who enjoyed US History during his junior year. He found the whole process rewarding in gaining research skills in addition to becoming a “better writer.”

Jones enjoyed the research writing projects where he could pick a topic he was interested in and pursue it. One of the most intriguing topics Jones pursued during these research opportunities was about Japanese immigrant farmers in the early 1900s and how California played a role in taking their land and resources.

Meanwhile, senior Milo Stout highly enjoyed his junior American Studies History class. The longer-term projects, especially the building of the exhibit with his group, was Stout’s favorite memory from the class. Stout specifically remembers “having fun trying to get a bunch of props from the theater [Cabell].”

“I learned how to work in a group better, how I can distribute work among group members and communicate with the teacher if I’m having issues,” Stout reflected.

Senior Eliza Robinson found her sophomore Modern World class to be her favorite. One highlight for Robinson was learning more history from all around the world since up to that point she had only learned about US History and Europe. Robinson added that she enjoyed the class since she had “big creative projects that weren’t essays.”

“It was the class that I figured out I really liked history,” she said.

In terms of favorite elective classes, the survey responses varied quite a bit.

Modern Middle East was the most popular with 4 responses. However, 6 students favored the science electives from Body Systems to Honors Physics with Calculus. Additionally, some students highlighted art classes like Woodshop as their favorite elective.

Campbell Swaim is a senior who took the Woodshop class twice: once in her junior spring semester and then again in her senior fall semester. Her favorite aspects of the class were the ability to get to know other students from different grades and the individual choice projects.

“You can basically make anything you want in the shop so it is really individualized,” said Swaim who also highlighted the varying success with projects.

Swaim successfully created a big salad bowl but tried to make a fork that “might’ve had one too many tines.”

Jones recalls taking Honors Molecular Biology as his science elective during his junior year, in which he enjoyed the class for many reasons: one being his interest in biology. He felt like he was able to gain a strong understanding of basic biology which would lay a foundation for future science classes.

“Even though it was a tough class, it was very interesting. I liked the mix of being interested in the material and being challenged,” Jones added. Part of the challenge was the tests which weren’t straightforward, making students “think outside the box” and “really understand the material” to succeed.

These classes have left a significant impact on seniors in various ways. Whether it's honing in on basic essay writing skills, establishing a foundation of knowledge for future courses, strengthening communication, or fostering cross-grade friendships, Catlin’s diverse and extensive curriculum ensures that seniors are well-prepared for the next phase of their academic career.