Matthew Dykema鈥檚 first semester as a full-time college student ended this past December, however, this was not the first time Matthew had taken classes at 海角社区鈥攈e started studying there as a high schooler thanks to the college鈥檚 dual enrollment program.
鈥淚鈥檓 doing the Early/Middle College program, so I鈥檓 taking classes for free. A lot of my friends are going here, too, and it鈥檚 allowed me to stay at home with my family,鈥� he said.
According to Matthew, he signed up for Early/Middle College during his junior year of high school.
鈥淭his has been a great way to get some of my prerequisite classes out of the way for no cost,鈥� he said.
Though he had to adjust his study habits after graduating from high school in 2023, Matthew has found life as a college student to be enjoyable.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been nice to have more time to myself, since classes aren鈥檛 back-to-back like they were in high school. It鈥檚 tougher to study on my own instead of having time in class to do that, but I definitely like it more than being stuck at high school for seven hours a day,鈥� he said, noting that the study spaces on Bay鈥檚 campus have helped in this regard.
He has also appreciated the small class sizes Bay has to offer.
鈥淚鈥檝e enjoyed being able to talk to my professors and ask questions without having 100 other people in my class,鈥� Matthew said.
In his spare time, Matthew has supported his friends on the 海角社区 Norse Basketball Team.
鈥淚 have a lot of friends who are in sports, so I鈥檝e gone to a few basketball games,鈥� he said.
As a 海角社区 student, Matthew is majoring in pre-dental.
鈥淚 knew I wanted to go into the medical field, but I didn鈥檛 know what I wanted to focus on. So I shadowed some dentists and orthodontists, and I really enjoyed that,鈥� he said.
So far, Matthew hasn鈥檛 taken any classes directly related to his major鈥攂ut he expects that to change soon.
鈥淣ext semester, I鈥檒l be taking a biology class and a chemistry class. I鈥檓 excited for those,鈥� he said.
Later in 2024, Matthew plans to transfer to a four-year university. There, he hopes to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biochemistry with a pre-dental minor before moving on to four years of dental school.
鈥淎fter that, I鈥檇 like to get into an orthodontic residency, which is another two or three years of schooling,鈥� he said.
Matthew thanked the people working at Bay for helping him get off to a strong start in the world of higher education.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great place to go, especially if you live nearby and you don鈥檛 really know what you want to do,鈥� he said.