The reasons for taking dual-enrolled classes varied among a group of students from John Handley High School, but all agreed they were worthwhile. Some saw them as an opportunity to explore a career interest, while others were looking for a challenge.
Kimberly Jimenez, a 2025 Handley graduate, is headed to Shenandoah University this fall and hopes to become a physician assistant. She and Julie Omwansa, who is a rising senior, took two Medical Laboratory Technician classes at Handley’s Emil and Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center. They earned certificates in Phlebotomy.
“I wanted to know how to be better at drawing blood and handling patients because I’m interested in the medical field, so I wanted to practice before I go to college,” Jimenez said. “It’s fun. It’s really interesting learning about blood.”
Like her classmate, Omwansa is interested in medicine.
“My mom is a nurse, and she told me her first thing to be scared about was drawing blood,” she said. “I read the class description and found it interesting. It offered me a chance to learn how to interact with patients and to learn medical terminology and stuff like that.”
Omwansa has already earned a uniform certificate of general studies, which is the equivalent of one year of college credits. Among her favorite classes are AP Biology and Advanced Computer Information Systems.
Handley career coach Jonathan Landaverde said the majority of advanced-placement classes at the high school are also dual-enrolled classes.
Medical Laboratory Technology teacher Bobbi Rosenberger has been Omwansa’s favorite teacher.
“It’s a challenging course, but she makes it really fun and easy to understand,” said Omwansa. “I feel like she understands high schoolers. She just keeps us engaged any type of way she can.”
Omwansa, who hopes to become a pediatrician after initially being interested in cardiology, interned at Winchester Medical Center through her Medical Laboratory Technician courses. The internship is 140 hours long, she said.
“It seemed like a really good opportunity for me as a high schooler, having an internship in a hospital setting,” Omwansa said.
Her fellow Handley students agreed dual-enrollment courses were too good to pass up.
Aaron Franco is going to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps and possibly become a mechanic; he has taken Electricity, Electrical Systems and Cybersecurity. He especially enjoyed his Cybersecurity class.
“It’s pretty good,” said Franco, a 2025 graduate. “I like to work with the physical parts of the computer and how it works and how it comes together. I like more the hardware than the software.”
Christian Trujillo said his dual-enrollment credits have included AP English, AP World History, AP U.S. History and AP Cybersecurity, the latter of which was his favorite.
“When I found out Cybersecurity was dual enrolled, I wanted to take it,” said Trujillo, a rising senior. “It provides a chance not only to get your high school credits, but also college credits. While people may think they don’t want to take the courses because they might be too hard, actually they turned out to be more enjoyable. You get challenged.”
Career coach Landaverde said he often encourages Handley students to sign up for dual enrollment.
“It’s cost-effective – that’s a huge thing, it saves you money – and it gets you ahead of the ballgame,” he said. “It’s not just for going to a four-year college. It’s for everybody, especially with our Innovation Center. We have dual-enrollment classes that are vocational.”
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.