Matthew Dykema

Student

Matthew Dykema’s first semester as a full-time college student ended this past December, however, this was not the first time Matthew had taken classes at Bay College—he started studying there as a high schooler thanks to the college’s dual enrollment program.

“I’m doing the Early/Middle College program, so I’m taking classes for free. A lot of my friends are going here, too, and it’s allowed me to stay at home with my family,” he said.

According to Matthew, he signed up for Early/Middle College during his junior year of high school.

“This has been a great way to get some of my prerequisite classes out of the way for no cost,” he said.

Though he had to adjust his study habits after graduating from high school in 2023, Matthew has found life as a college student to be enjoyable.

“It’s been nice to have more time to myself, since classes aren’t back-to-back like they were in high school. It’s tougher to study on my own instead of having time in class to do that, but I definitely like it more than being stuck at high school for seven hours a day,” he said, noting that the study spaces on Bay’s campus have helped in this regard.

He has also appreciated the small class sizes Bay has to offer.

“I’ve enjoyed being able to talk to my professors and ask questions without having 100 other people in my class,” Matthew said.

In his spare time, Matthew has supported his friends on the Bay College Norse Basketball Team.

“I have a lot of friends who are in sports, so I’ve gone to a few basketball games,” he said.

As a Bay College student, Matthew is majoring in pre-dental.

“I knew I wanted to go into the medical field, but I didn’t know what I wanted to focus on. So I shadowed some dentists and orthodontists, and I really enjoyed that,” he said.

So far, Matthew hasn’t taken any classes directly related to his major—but he expects that to change soon.

“Next semester, I’ll be taking a biology class and a chemistry class. I’m excited for those,” he said.

Later in 2024, Matthew plans to transfer to a four-year university. There, he hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with a pre-dental minor before moving on to four years of dental school.

“After that, I’d like to get into an orthodontic residency, which is another two or three years of schooling,” he said.

Matthew thanked the people working at Bay for helping him get off to a strong start in the world of higher education.

“It’s a great place to go, especially if you live nearby and you don’t really know what you want to do,” he said.