Personal Statement

4. Describe how you have taken advantages of a significant educational opportunity or worked to
overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

There are many advantages here at El Capitan High School. The Advantages I have taken are
the clubs and the extra periods that are given to get extra help. One specific club that I have
taken Advantage of would be CAC which stands for Community Action Club. This club goes to
different places in which we volunteer to visit people and spent time with them as we also gain
community hours for the time that we give. We participate and help out in parades. We will get
recognized at graduation if we get a certain amount of hours with a purple cord. Another
Advantage I have taken would be my fifth period in which this period is given to every student to
get help with keeping your grades good. The extra time is given to help me with my homework
or just anything I do not get in a particular subject. There have also been Educational barriers I
have overcome in which I have faced, For Example, one of the barriers would be Math in
general. This subject has always been the hardest for me and I can never get it right. I have
overcome this subject during my Junior year with my math teacher Mrs.Poe which helped me
and the extra time after school, in the mornings and fifth period. Asking questions is one of the
ways I overcame this barrier, I asked questions until I got what I am learning. The patience that
my teacher had towards me and did not show any attitude that she was giving up on me and kept
showing me different ways to learn is something I appreciated the most. I passed my math class,
Math three with the help of my classmates and my teacher. With the help of all the resources
around me and my teachers, I can overcome anything in my future as well as in the present.

5. Describe your most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to
overcome this challenge?

One of the most significant challenges I have faced would be with my math class. I struggled so
much in my freshman and sophomore year. I just did not get anything that was taught during
class. I would get extra help but nothing ever worked for me. Junior year was when I finally
passed my first math class. To overcome my struggles I reached out to my teacher whenever I
could; whether it was lunch or a period I had no period. My teacher was patient and helped me
work out the problem until I got it. I would ask questions and get help from my classmates. For
example, I would have study buddies for each class, In my math class, I had two in which would
help me with my homework and study before a test. I would get so happy when I got the
problem and the next and the next. This affected my academic achievement in a way that I am
more confident in asking for help and not being afraid. I have always been shy and I would
never like to ask questions because of the thought that others would make fun of me for not
knowing the easiest answers. For example, multiplication, adding or even subtraction is not just
something I see and know the answer to. I take my time counting my fingers just to find the
answer. It is something I have struggled with since fifth grade. I passed my math 3 class with an
A and plan to keep doing good in my pre-calculus class this senior year. The teachers are really
there for us and there are many instructors on that one subject which can help you out when
another can not. This has inspired me to become a teacher and always have patience with my
future students.

6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this
interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

The academic subject that inspires me would be English. As a little girl, I loved reading and
writing. I read for hours without stop the books were so interesting I felt like I was there in the
life of the characters and what they were going through. I would check out book after book and
tried to read them as fast as I could just to go back the next day and check out another. I would
take home three books at a time and finished them in a week. My mother would get mad at me
for reading day and night. I would read in between classes, lunch, and on my way home. I
enjoyed writing stories for the fun of it, I had diaries full of silly stories. I have furthered this
interest inside and outside the classroom, by encouraging my younger sister to love reading. She
would always see me reading and I think the thought of always seeing me with books in my hand
affected her in the way that she loves it as much as I once did. Seeing the love she has to read
and write inspired me to teach little kids to appreciate books and learn from them as much as I
did. I plan to become a preschool or elementary teacher. I want to be a part of the children's
lives as a teacher to teach them to read and write and to be someone they can count on. For
example, when preschool comes around the corner children have to write their names letter by
letter and I have seen children cry when they can not get it right it makes me feel bad and I want
to make sure they can learn that and much more. I know this is the job for me. I love children
and the thought of being around to help them learn new things and be around to support their
dreams and what they want to become in their future career, what they wish to be when they
grow up.

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

One thing I have done to make my school a better place, as well as my community would be not
that much but with the little help that I have done, I believe it has been something compared to
nothing. When I was younger I joined a group in which we helped to clean the community as
well as the animals around. We made plans to save animals or clean up the community by
picking up trash. I do not remember the groups' name as it was taken off the next year. This
program made me look at things differently to help our community out. The trash that is around,
the picking up after yourself is a must. I look at the trash and cannot walk by it without picking it
up. I pick up the trash around at school and it doesn't matter if I get recognized by the staff
around me do it for myself and how it makes me feel after doing it. I clean the classrooms and
help the teachers pick up after others to be presentable for the next class. I have also helped the
kids around me by being there for them and making them feel safe when no one else is there to
support them. For example, from time to time I see someone coming out of the restroom crying
and trying to keep his or her tears. I talk to them and make them feel safe around me I ask them
if they are okay. It makes me feel good that maybe someday I will be in their shoes and hope
that someone will be there for me. The teachers and staff at El Capitan High school are there for
each and every one of them. The staff is always there to talk to us when something is wrong. I
think because of the way the teachers treat everyone around them and show them they care
makes this school such a better place.