While the start of the school year typically always excites students to see their friends again, a problem many of them face is choosing what classes to take. Incoming freshman often have to try and figure out what electives they want. On the other hand, sophomores, juniors, and seniors are deciding what AP classes to take or what courses they need to graduate.

With budget and teacher cuts this year, there are now even fewer classes for students to choose from. For science electives, there is already a small amount of them, such as Anatomy and Astronomy. However, for the first time in four years, AP Environmental is now back as an option. 

The class is being taught by Joseph Hernandez, who also teaches environmental honors. Hernandez graduated from Rider University, got his masters from Rutgers University, and has been teaching at Hillsborough High School for 12 years. 

 So far the class has learned about ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles (carbon cycle, phosphorus cycle, etc). Many seniors who are taking the class have found it very intriguing, and are excited for the rest of the topics they are going to learn this year. 

Hernandez is also very excited to have the class back and being able to teach it again. With a lot of dedicated students who want to learn, the classroom this year is going to be very interesting. 

“I think it’s really important for students and people to know about the environment,” Hernandez said. “We all see what’s going on in the news, and people need to know how hazardous all the problems really are. If students know more, they can help fix these issues and do something impactful.” 

With its wide variety of topics and labs, students as well have found themselves very excited for this period each day.

Senior Jake Ford, who chose to take AP environmental this year, believes that this class can be very useful for him. 

“I’m very interested in science and biology as a career choice, so taking environmental science was a natural choice,” Ford said. “The class was made interesting by the people in it which I’m grateful for.”

Aside from just the benefits of taking an AP class over CP class, students can also earn college credit if they earn a 4 or 5 on the AP Exam in May. The new class has already made a big impact on students at Hillsborough High School and is a solid option for students to incorporate into their schedules.