Although the high school year is coming to an end, Brevard Community College students are in their second week for the summer terms that started May 14.

West Shore freshman Emma Kalvan said she has already started to settle into the college environment and is enjoying her class.

“College is way more laid back than high school, and my astronomy professor is really cool,” she said. “I’m hoping to have a lot of fun because I’m interested in the subject of the class. I’m also going to take humanities starting June 11.”

Junior Shelbë Spurlock said taking BCC classes are useful, but doesn’t recommend them for younger students.

“It seems pretty difficult depending on the classes you take,” she said. “I wouldn’t suggest it to the them.”

Spurlock started classes between her sophomore and junior years.

“I thought that psych with Dr. [Edward] Lyle was easy,” she said. “World Religions, though, with Mrs. [Ashley] Spring was seriously the best class.”

Dr. Janet Rubin, a speech professor at BCC’s Palm Bay campus, said taking classes while still in high school has its pros and cons.

“I have mixed feelings about high-school students taking classes,” she said. “Some of my brightest students have been in high school, while others struggle with maturity and balancing the school work.”

Spurlock, Rubin and Kalvan all said it’s better to get the classes out of the way and that they can give students an advantage later on in life, but that students need to be able to handle the workload.

“It gives students a leg up, and they can get their AA degrees,” Rubin said. “It also introduces them to the rigor of college classes, and it saves them money.”

Said Spurlock: “Get it done while you can.”

By Brianna Silvestre