Life at ACLC started for me back in seventh grade, and the school became a safe haven for me. Coming from schools that didn’t work for me, ACLC felt like a perfect fit for my learning style, and I quickly adapted to the community. My education developed immensely, as I was able to focus in on one subject that I have been dedicated to, EECS, or Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. If you looked at my grades throughout the years, the improvement is quite evident. I went from an A-C student to a straight A, 4.0 student, thanks to the amazing learning style I adopted while I have attended this school.
My time at ACLC has improved my personal qualities as well. I was a very solitary student with a small group of friends, and had very little social skills. After only a year at ACLC, I had already greatly increased my social circle, improved my self-management, and developed my integrity. Even though I improved outright, I still had more to improve on throughout the rest of my time here. I finally joined leadership in Junior Year, and it was the most significant change that I went through in my time at this school. My sociability improved by leading small groups and participating in leadership discussions, which pushed me to lead discussions in certain areas that I wasn't completely comfortable in. My self-management also improved thanks to the qualities I experienced when learning from those in grades higher than me in our combined classes of English and leadership. I was able to develop my integrity by taking part in the Judicial Committee every year with the community, letting me see a different side of the justice system. The qualities I fostered here at ACLC will likely carry with me for the rest of my school career, and most likely for the rest of my life.
Along with my personal qualities, I also developed many new basics throughout the years, such as improvements in speaking, writing, and mathematics. ACLC assisted me in this process with facilitators that truly believe in their learners. Improvements in public speaking came from small group discussions, school wide events, and class presentations. My writing improved thanks to rigorous work that increased my knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, which in turn improved my speaking concurrently. Lastly, my mathematics saw a large development, thanks to a very dedicated and encouraging mathematics teacher in my high school years, who helped me find passion in logic. From this passion, I was able to convert it to more education, by taking several college classes involving computer science. Introduction to Programming and C# Programming are classes that I pushed through, preparing myself for a career in computer programming.
On the same topic of improving abilities, my thinking and reasoning skills have shown through the duration of my stay at ACLC. Skills like creative thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning have all improved, from classes like leadership and English. My creative thinking improved from my time in creative classes, like Digital Video Studio and Digital Music, which encouraged me to explore new options. Problem-solving was improved in classes like physics and calculus, where my brain was tested to the point of new ideas and thoughts. College classes like astronomy also helped increase my knowledge on the scientific method, which surrounds problem solving. Lastly my reasoning was greatly improved from Socratic seminars and English discussions that brought different opinions to light. In these discussions, I had to look at things from other perspectives and consider all options when talking in a discussion.
Along with the multitude of abilities I improved, I also developed new interpersonal skills thanks to ACLC’s assistance. I was able to learn how to teach others new skills, exercise leadership, and work with diversity thanks to multiple ACLC classes and activities. Through PiE Robotics and joint class projects, I have been given the opportunity to talk with younger learners and pass on knowledge that I have gathered throughout my ACLC and college life. When it comes to leadership, I am currently in my second year of the school's leadership, and that gives me opportunities every week to help lead the school in activities that we plan during class. Lastly, diversity is a key aspect of ACLC, so it comes naturally to us after years of this practice. Every single learner at ACLC is able to work with another of any grade, race, or gender, for a common goal of benefiting the community.
Lastly, my technology knowledge has greatly improved in my time here, thanks in full part to ACLC and its encouraging environment. We learned how to select technology for projects, I learned my awareness of technology, and I maintain and troubleshoot equipment often. Since the beginning of 7th grade here at ACLC, I was constantly encouraged to use the equipment we had to from projects and homework assignments that were a step above the rest thanks to technology. In regards to awareness, I have taken a selection of college classes dedicated to computer programming, giving me deep knowledge of how technology works and how to use it. Finally, in terms of maintaining technology, I tend to be the first to assist any substitute or facilitator with technical problems, and I co-run the flatscreen news, which needs to be updated daily.
Overall, ACLC has truly helped develop my skills and my personality. My qualities, basics, reasoning skills, interpersonal abilities, and technology use have all shone here at school, as was evident from the arguments I provided. In general, the most success came from joining leadership, facilitator support, and PiE leadership. These pillars of support set me up to become who I am today, and I don’t know where I would be without this school. I hope to one day return to the community, in some sort of capacity.