Eighth grader Eliazar Jimenez has dreamed of being an actor his whole life.

“I like theater and I want to be somebody” Jimenez said.

Next year, Jimenez will take another step toward that dream, as incoming 9th graders are given the opportunity to chose endorsements based on their interests.

Endorsements are a commitment to follow a career track to get you ready for the real world.

Students are given the option to choose from five different endorsements that focus on five different career pathways. The endorsements include: Arts & Humanities, Business & Industry, Public Services, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), and Multidisciplinary Studies.

Counselor Alzada Benton thinks the endorsements benefit 8th graders.

“I think it helps to guide students so they can start thinking about careers because they probably don’t think about it very often,” Benton said. “However, I know it does make students nervous. They might feel like they might lose interest in this topic as they grow up. We try to make them understand that you can always change your mind.”

Some of the careers included within the endorsements are cosmetology, counseling, business management and architecture.

Benton encourages students to choose an endorsement based on the field in which they are interested.

“Students should always choose what makes them happy, not what makes more money,” Benton said. “Think long term.”

8th grader Eman Habash is going to be a doctor when she grows up.

“I want to help people,” Habash said. “It was hard to pick an endorsement because I also wanted to be a teacher”

Habash has to take several classes such as principles of health.

“Mythology and stuff like that are additional classes are included in the health endorsement,” Habash said.

Teachers such as Angela Codd think endorsements are beneficial to students.

“I think since eighth graders get to chose the endorsement when they go into high school ,it will better them for when they want to go into college because they will have the career they really enjoy,” Codd said.

Codd thinks endorsements are a great opportunity.

“When I went to high school, we didn’t have an endorsement,” Codd said. “It was just you take every class that you need to take.”

ELAR teacher also Tanisha Edwards thinks endorsements are a good idea. She recommends that students should relax and figure out if they like what they chose; the idea is to find a passion that you’re interested in, she said.

“I think it’s a good idea in order for individuals to get prepared for whatever career they want,” Edwards said. “Not everybody is college bound. Everybody needs a path for their future.”