College In Schools (CIS) is a program through the University of Minnesota that is designed to bring college classes to high school campuses. At BSM, CIS: Introduction to Literature, is a popular English class open to seniors. Students are able to get a glimpse of what college education is like and go on field trips through CIS. On Thursday, March 28th, CIS teacher, Tiffany Joseph, took her class on a field trip to the University of Minnesota.
One of the requirements of every CIS class is field day. A field day is when all the CIS classes go to the University of Minnesota and listen to a speaker. At the recent field trip, the class was able to hear Amina Ahmad talk about writing The Return of Faraz Ali, a novel she released in 2023. Ahmad also elaborated on her journey and the decisions leading up to the composition of the novel and some of its themes. “I love hearing how writers come up with their ideas, their process, and why they write because I teach so many books, but I don’t really get to hear the authors very much,” Joseph said.
I love hearing how writers come up with their ideas, their process, and why they write because I teach so many books, but I don’t really get to hear the authors very much
— Tiffany Joseph
The main benefit of any CIS class is getting exposure to the college environment. On the field trip to the University of Minnesota, students had time to explore the campus and experience what it is like to be on a college campus in a more authentic way rather than on a tour. They also gain direct access to information that they would not normally have access to, such as pieces of literature that aren’t taught about at BSM. “Students get to hear professors speak, or hear professionals in the field speak, which is not something that they often get to do in high school,” Joseph said.
Senior Grace Ortizcazarin is a member of the CIS: Introduction to Literature class. On the recent field trip to the U of M, she and the other CIS students were able to ask Ahmad questions after Ahmad presented about her novel. This was an opportunity for the students to learn from a published writer. “CIS is a great class to take, in my opinion. It’s a lot of individually pacing yourself to learn the material, but then on these field trips, with authors, you get the chance to have a lot of conversations and ask open-ended questions,” Ortizcazarin said.