Samuel Skinner remembered feeling shocked when he went searching for an alternative to chemistry and saw nanotechnology as an option.
“That’s something I never thought I would see at a community college,” said Skinner, a sophomore psychology major.
Nanotechnology is just one of the dozens of unique courses offered at Salt Lake Community College, including yoga, folklore, human nutrition, and rock climbing.
“I always had an interest in trying out rock climbing, but I didn’t know how or where to start,” Skinner explained. “The last thing I wanted to do was waste money trying to get into it without knowing anything about it. Thanks to the class I was able to discover a new hobby.”
The wide variety of college classes is a benefit of attending SLCC, where students are encouraged to branch out and try new subjects.
All students are required to take a total of 15 credits from general education distribution areas, including Fine Arts, Humanities, Lifetime Activities and more. One of these classes must also fulfill a diversity credit. Students seeking a degree from SLCC must meet these requirements.
“By requiring general education, students are exposed to ideas and topics they normally wouldn’t [be],” stated Gordon Storrs, an advisor at SLCC.
He continued, “education is meant to broaden our world. Most people think that general education is a waste of time, but what we learn in those classes helps us be more creative.”
By offering a large variety of classes, SLCC can also help undecided students discover their major. The college also offers classes focusing on Utah’s diverse heritage and another course where students can study human issues linked to immigration through literature and film.
One of the benefits of SLCC is the smaller class sizes allow for topics such as bowling, history of rock and roll, and welding.
“There’s a jewelry-making class where you use gold and silver to make jewelry,” Storrs mentioned. “There is a class where you make a wooden flute and learn to play it. There are a lot of interesting physical education classes like belly dancing and Brazilian martial arts.”
One of the missions and values of SLCC includes, “building an outstanding educational experience for students and by supporting faculty and staff in their professional development.”
With unique classes offered as general education credits, SLCC promotes learning and creates exciting opportunities for students. Through these classes, students can be more involved in their community.
“Any class pointed towards activism and getting involved are interesting to me,” Storrs said. “Most of us may not be comfortable influencing other people, and these classes give students the opportunity to do so.”
