Destiney Melchor

P.2
5/6/19
AVID
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to
overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
The most significant problem I've faced was when I was in elementary school, I
was around 11 years old and problems started happening in my family that I really didn't
understand. I was the second oldest child between my 4 siblings. My older sister was
into bad things so she wasn't really around the house so that basically made me in
charge of my two younger siblings that I had. My parents were going through problems
between them and my mom had ended up leaving us alone so it was just my dad, me and
my younger siblings because my older sister was rarely home, we had no electricity, hot
water, and barely enough food. I had to become in charge by then because my dad would
start to leave sometimes and it was just us kids so it was really hard at the age 11 to
understand what was going on and take charge to help my younger siblings. By this time
we had stopped going to school because we didn't have clothes or a car to take us to
school and back. I will always remember this struggle that happened to me because I've
grown to a totally different person now, the way I view things and people, the way I talk to
people, and how I show my emotions is all different because of what had happened. I act
more grown and I act like an adult than most kids my age. I take everything seriously and
nothing ever for granted because it can all be taken away from you within an blink of an
eye. In school, I've become quieter in class because I don't like speaking my mind to
others or giving my opinion out loud. This challenge has affected my achievement
because I don't involve myself in other activities on schools like clubs or social classes
because how quiet I am, and I try to push myself every day to become a better me.

Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered
this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom?
An academic subject that inspires me in a way is AVID. I say AVID because there
are so many tools and skills that every person needs in their everyday life. AVID teaches
you how to speak publicly to others, teaches you about job interviews that no other class
would help you in, AVID teaches you how to prepare for an interview and prepare for the
questions that the interviewers ask. That is a very helpful skill to learn in life because
when it comes to a job not a lot of people know how to approach an interview or know
the steps needed to take before the interview. I have furthered my interest in AVID by
taking Cornell notes in every class that I have, this type of note taking benefits me with
studying, keeping my notes organized, and especially neat to where you can see what
my notes are about and could read them. I also furthered my interest in AVID by looking
at numerous colleges and searching for information about various types of colleges that
intrigue me. AVID is extremely helpful when it comes to your future because in AVID they
always help the students find colleges and help them learn more about colleges to see
what the students like. They help us learn more about types of majors in college, and
how to sign up for scholarships, I think it’s really cool how they show us to sign up for
scholarships because not a lot of people can afford to go to college so, AVID really helps
those kids that want to go to college get somewhat paid for. I thank AVID a lot for helping
me through high school and middle school, I really suggest AVID to every single student
out there, they should all be apart of this program.