Coming to ACLC freshman year was the best decision I have ever made. Moving from a school with facilitators leaving and a bad administration to a school with stability and passionate teachers made a huge difference in my educational experience. I came in with some friends from my old school but after freshman year I made friends with other ACLC learners and turned into the person I am today. I came to ACLC thinking that everything would come easy, as it did in middle school. ACLC was a reality check for the better because I really had to buckle down and focus on my academics. In my free periods I managed my time between socializing and doing homework. I learned the valuable lesson that if you get your work done at school you can get the help you need when you get confused. In addition, I have received many opportunities at ACLC that I might not have gotten if I hadn’t transferred, like improving my public speaking skills. Whether speaking in front of the entire school, a group of 200 teachers, students, and engineers, or in class, these opportunities at ACLC have made me a confident speaker.
Although ACLC has taught me lots of basic skills that will help me throughout my life, I cannot only give credit to my high school. In middle school I learned about teamwork when building a bridge for the Engineering Alliance for the Arts competition. I also developed leadership skills when I was Captain of the Alameda High School Sailing Team. I developed the skills required to make decisions about lineups and team goals. While teaching sailing this past summer, I had the experience of creating my own curriculum, making sailing entertaining and safe for 5-7 year olds. When at ACLC I learned about time management and realized my passion for learning and making a difference. ACLC has made me want to be the best person I can be by helping to community. For example, I have been a peer tutor, a teacher’s assistant, and an elected learner representative on the ACLC governing board. I have attained skills during my high school career that will help me in the future.
My time at ACLC has made me passionate in new subjects I didn't know I loved until I came here. I have gained an appreciation and ability to read complex texts at ACLC. I do not know whether it was the book selection or what we did with them but the more I read at ACLC, the more I enjoy reading. When I came to ACLC I was not a strong reader, and I wouldn't say I am as strong of a reader as I would like to be, but if I have learned anything with my time in High School, I know I can continue to practice and read so I can improve my skills. On the other end of the academic spectrum I also enjoy math. I have always liked math and figuring out problems. Whenever I have applied math skills, I become the most engaged. In Calculus class my group and I got to use math to analyze coal usage in the United States. This is one of the reasons I am passionate about math. An aspect of the project was presenting and speaking. Speaking is another skill that I believe I have grasped at ACLC. I have given speeches before throughout my life, but only twice in front of large groups of people I didn't know. When I ran to become a ACLC Governing Board I had to give a speech in front of the entire school. I was nervous but I knew that I had practiced, gotten opinions on my speech, and had confidence. Public speaking is the skill I grew the most in during high school.
As I matured, I improved my thinking and reasoning skills. I now know that I learn the best when I am doing something. This is why the project based learning aspect of ACLC was such a great match for me. This is best illustrated when I did a bioengineering project in Biology class. A little background, this was a group project where a group of learners in Biology HP did a research project on a bioengineering invention of our choice. We presented to the bioengineering honors society at UC Berkeley. I learned how to make critical decisions, whether it was finalizing a project idea or deciding how to divide the research roles, my group and I worked together to make decisions. During this same project I had to use my problem solving skills as well. As the deadline approached, we had a group member flake out on doing any of their work. Instead of blaming that group member for not completing the project, we came together as a group and got the job done. Life isn't always fair and it certainly wasn't in this case, but I realized that we had to step and finish the project.
When it comes to my ability to work with others, the group of learners and facilitators at ACLC have been great practice for the real world. I always participate when working in group project or class discussions. By no means am I someone who talks their head but if I want others to hear my opinion I share it in a respectful. I also have taught others new skills. The best examples of me doing this is when I taught sailing over the summer and when I did peer tutoring for a student in math. I helped develop skills for others. When teaching sailing I also learned to about professionalism. I had to wear a polo everyday and talk to parents, putting their needs first because a happy parent means their kid will come back to sailing camp. ACLC and teaching sailing have given me the skills to effectively communicate with others.
As today’s society continues to demand more of workers and their ability to use technology, I have tried my hardest to keep up with the curve. I know how to use microsoft office as well as google docs. I understand how to use computer hardware and how to connect it to other projectors. Even though coding and programing may not be in my repertoire of skills, I can use a computer for just about everything else.
I know that my time in high school at ACLC will only help me in the future. The thing that I want to keep in mind is that I am not growing and learning. There are more opportunities to learn and more things that I do not know anything about. My time at ACLC has taught me to take advantage of the opportunities that you have and pursue those that may not be so easy to reach. I will continue to learn and work hard, regardless of the environment, that is a skill that ACLC has helped me discover.
Although ACLC has taught me lots of basic skills that will help me throughout my life, I cannot only give credit to my high school. In middle school I learned about teamwork when building a bridge for the Engineering Alliance for the Arts competition. I also developed leadership skills when I was Captain of the Alameda High School Sailing Team. I developed the skills required to make decisions about lineups and team goals. While teaching sailing this past summer, I had the experience of creating my own curriculum, making sailing entertaining and safe for 5-7 year olds. When at ACLC I learned about time management and realized my passion for learning and making a difference. ACLC has made me want to be the best person I can be by helping to community. For example, I have been a peer tutor, a teacher’s assistant, and an elected learner representative on the ACLC governing board. I have attained skills during my high school career that will help me in the future.
My time at ACLC has made me passionate in new subjects I didn't know I loved until I came here. I have gained an appreciation and ability to read complex texts at ACLC. I do not know whether it was the book selection or what we did with them but the more I read at ACLC, the more I enjoy reading. When I came to ACLC I was not a strong reader, and I wouldn't say I am as strong of a reader as I would like to be, but if I have learned anything with my time in High School, I know I can continue to practice and read so I can improve my skills. On the other end of the academic spectrum I also enjoy math. I have always liked math and figuring out problems. Whenever I have applied math skills, I become the most engaged. In Calculus class my group and I got to use math to analyze coal usage in the United States. This is one of the reasons I am passionate about math. An aspect of the project was presenting and speaking. Speaking is another skill that I believe I have grasped at ACLC. I have given speeches before throughout my life, but only twice in front of large groups of people I didn't know. When I ran to become a ACLC Governing Board I had to give a speech in front of the entire school. I was nervous but I knew that I had practiced, gotten opinions on my speech, and had confidence. Public speaking is the skill I grew the most in during high school.
As I matured, I improved my thinking and reasoning skills. I now know that I learn the best when I am doing something. This is why the project based learning aspect of ACLC was such a great match for me. This is best illustrated when I did a bioengineering project in Biology class. A little background, this was a group project where a group of learners in Biology HP did a research project on a bioengineering invention of our choice. We presented to the bioengineering honors society at UC Berkeley. I learned how to make critical decisions, whether it was finalizing a project idea or deciding how to divide the research roles, my group and I worked together to make decisions. During this same project I had to use my problem solving skills as well. As the deadline approached, we had a group member flake out on doing any of their work. Instead of blaming that group member for not completing the project, we came together as a group and got the job done. Life isn't always fair and it certainly wasn't in this case, but I realized that we had to step and finish the project.
When it comes to my ability to work with others, the group of learners and facilitators at ACLC have been great practice for the real world. I always participate when working in group project or class discussions. By no means am I someone who talks their head but if I want others to hear my opinion I share it in a respectful. I also have taught others new skills. The best examples of me doing this is when I taught sailing over the summer and when I did peer tutoring for a student in math. I helped develop skills for others. When teaching sailing I also learned to about professionalism. I had to wear a polo everyday and talk to parents, putting their needs first because a happy parent means their kid will come back to sailing camp. ACLC and teaching sailing have given me the skills to effectively communicate with others.
As today’s society continues to demand more of workers and their ability to use technology, I have tried my hardest to keep up with the curve. I know how to use microsoft office as well as google docs. I understand how to use computer hardware and how to connect it to other projectors. Even though coding and programing may not be in my repertoire of skills, I can use a computer for just about everything else.
I know that my time in high school at ACLC will only help me in the future. The thing that I want to keep in mind is that I am not growing and learning. There are more opportunities to learn and more things that I do not know anything about. My time at ACLC has taught me to take advantage of the opportunities that you have and pursue those that may not be so easy to reach. I will continue to learn and work hard, regardless of the environment, that is a skill that ACLC has helped me discover.