Never in my life have I been so enthusiastic about reading an email. Yesterday, at 7:14 to be exact, I received an email from Purdue's Office of Admissions that informed me of my acceptance to their university. It took me a few seconds to process what I was reading, but it took me even longer to process the fact that I will attend college in less than a year, and even better, my dream college.
Two years ago, when I decided to join the Innovation Academy (IA) program, I had heard some rumors about IA students not being admitted to their dream universities and like any other 16-year-old, I was worried. But the only way to get rid of this worry was to have faith, and that is exactly what I was able to develop in order to stay motivated and ignore those rumors. What is this faith? I like to call it the freak faith. It is basically believing truly that the Innovation Academy is the right program, no matter what other people say or think. It means being 100% committed to the classes, the projects and to the cohort. But it also means that students and teachers challenge each other and the program at all times to keep improving it over time. And how did I develop this freak faith? I fell in love with the program. It all started when I realised that if I was going to commit to something--either a marriage or a program--I needed to know everything about it. That is when I contacted an IA teacher, Mr. Cotter, asking him for specific details about the program. After a long conversation, I learned that the Innovation Academy was a unique program, one that would prepare me for life like no other program could. One that would give me autonomy, would allow me to explore my passions and encourage me to experience in the real world way before most students my age. I also learned that I would be in a classroom with a small cohort, where I could develop a strong relationship with each and every one of the students. One of the things that I loved the most was that I would not have a teacher but rather a mentor that would guide me throughout my experiences and help me recognize my mistakes, while making sure that I get back on my feet and do not trip over the same stone twice. From my perspective, this was the ideal education and I wanted it. When it was time to choose a program, the IA was my #1 choice by far. I believed in it so much that I couldn’t picture myself working for two years in any other class that wasn’t either Bonnici’s, Cotter’s or Corey’s. I knew there were other programs in school that offered clear rubrics, challenging work and claimed to guarantee acceptance to our dream colleges. But my learning aspirations were beyond that. I strongly believe that it is far more important to receive a preparation for life, where there is an understanding that improvement and learning never stops. So yes, I chose the Innovation Academy. I chose to put the quality of my education on top of rankings and acceptance rates. I chose to be a risk taker with the only aim of pursuing my passions and growing as a learner. I also chose to work harder and push myself every day in order to make my not-very-known-internationally program stand out for other students, schools and universities. Now that I have seen the results of my commitment and dedication, I am proud to say that those rumors and misconceptions are completely false. I believe that the program chosen is not the most important aspect of an application, but rather how the student takes advantage of it to grow as a person and to take their learning outside classroom walls.
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March 2017
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