I was motivated to join the community at Knox College because I’ve always craved an intimate learning environment. Despite pressure from external sources to seek a college that would directly correlate to a career, liberal arts colleges have always interested me. When I think about the opportunity that I have been given to strive for a well-rounded education, I could never trade that in for the promise of a job. Knowledge excites me. When we work together as a community to share what we’ve learned we not only grow as individuals, but we contribute to something larger than ourselves.
Growing up in a private charter school, the teachers really fixated on telling you when and how you were wrong. We were expected to know anything and everything that prevailed to our current grade. Being in that environment really made it hard for me to try. Because trying was leaving possibilities for error and mistakes and that wasn 't acceptable. So, for any difficult problem, I wouldn 't even try.
After leaving Jewish day school in the sixth grade and moving to a public school, I struggled to maintain my connection to my faith. It was difficult for me to return to synagogue on Saturdays, as there was a social pressure to make connections with new friends, and manage the new workload. Slowly but surely, I saw the parts of made me Jewish fade into the background. In the seventh grade, I had an enlightening conversation with my grandmother, who suggested I take part in the Ivry Prozdor program at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where my grandfather had received his rabbinical degree. On Sunday mornings, I engaged in fascinating classes on Jewish law, heritage, history as well as conversation Hebrew language.
“I don’t want to go there!” I yelled. “You should go! With me!” My dad said, “And no more rejection!”
Growing up in the small town of Clarksville, TN my whole life, I never had to be the new girl at school. I went to high school with the same kids I went to pre-k with, up until my junior year. One afternoon, I heard about a new opportunity for me- Middle College at Austin Peay State University. Getting into Middle College was no easy task, but I took the chance.
Throughout my life, in moving around from state to state, I 've come to the realization that it has negatively impacted my social life more than I would have assumed. Moving around continuously while still in grade school, promisingly makes it suck to have no choice but to be the new kid every year. Going from school to school has gradually made me socially awkward/picky in making friends because, I become hesitant in making friendships that just may only last for a year rather than it be long-lasting. Consequently, I’ve always thought to myself that I would never gain a lifelong friend that I’d grow to visit often and have a great relationship with after graduating. Though I thought that way often, in my junior year of high school, I seemed
Exploring the vast landscape of universities across the country was a thrilling and informative journey; although choosing the university involved much discernment. The decision of where I wanted to continue my education was difficult until I discovered Colorado State. From the philosophy of the school to the hundreds extracurriculars that Colorado State provides, it was evident that this is the only school that would allow me to expand on my passions. After being accepted into Colorado State, I felt compelled to apply to the Honors Program. This ambition to strive for more stemmed from the education and experienced I gained from my high school, Creighton Preparatory.
The Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities is a school devoted to bettering the education of its students. In a poorer and smaller town, a public high school fueled by taxpayer’s money cannot help all of its students reach their absolute potential. Unlike public schools, the Indiana Academy also helps to better prepare its scholars for real college life. They get a glimpse at what it is to be a more well-rounded person and what it is like to live away from home. I feel that the academy is the best method to give me a bigger push toward college.
One of the most important decisions I’ve made was choosing which high school to go to. It started out as a whim, but it ended up becoming my last hope. When I was 13, I moved to Colorado the summer before starting 8th grade. Shortly after, I happened to overhear some kids in my new neighborhood talking about how they were going to Frederick High School, so I assumed that was the only school nearby, and that was where I would end up too. It wasn’t exactly a concrete decision, but it was something that I had readily accepted as a fact.
I grew up in a diverse town and had a sizable high school class of 330, with course sizes being 20-25. Yet, I had always wondered what my life would be like if I went to a bigger high school where the sports teams were top-ranked and the number of courses offered were endless. However, after some visits to large universities, I realized my dreams were misguided. While
As Venita VanCaspel Harris once said, “We are to seek success in everything we do, always acting with honor and treating others with respect.” I always try my best to help my classmates when they are struggling with school assignments. For example, many of my friends are currently taking Calculus and, even though I took this course last year, I try my best to always clarify the information and explain to them how to do the problems rather than doing the problems for them. In addition, I never help my classmates with the thought of receiving anything in return. Furthermore, my primary life goal is to finish high school and to be the first of my family to attend and complete college so that I may be a rolemodel for my cousins and sisters.
Throughout my entire life, school has been a confrontation. Some days wanting to stay home during the spelling test because my spelling was so atrocious. School had become a burden to me the only thing I wanted to do was play basketball. I had gone through countless sikova meetings to help me use tools and find ways around my reading and spelling problem.
Starting a new school is hard for most but I have it down to a science. Now, that might just be me being narcissistic but I do have a lot of experience. I’ve been to a lot of schools already so for me it 's just another drop in the bucket. I’m guided to my classroom. I scan the classroom judging on irrelevant things such as appearance, a cynical move I know.
I was born and raised in the city of Napa, California. At the age of five, just as I had started 1st grade, my parents made a change and decided to move my family and I to the city American Canyon. Our lives did not change dramatically, my parents continued to work in Napa and my siblings and I continued to attend the same school. After my fifth grade promotion, my parents decided it was time for me to transfer schools to American Canyon. They believed it was a great opportunity for me to get to know the people who I live around and make a fresh start.
Can you imagine going to a new school and feel like you don’t belong there? I know a lot of people moved to United States without knowing English but I felt like I was the only girl in my new school who didn’t speak the language, it’s hard to get used to a school when you don’t comprehend what people surround you are saying. I was 10 years old in 5th grade feeling like I did not belong here. It feels horrible to leave everything you did for 10 years, your family, friends and everything you had.
