Before coming to LA my sophomore year, I had previously attended The Bromfield School, the public high school in my hometown. At Bromfield, I always achieved straight A's, took rigorous honors courses (for a public school), and loved school and learning. One of my main hopes for LA was to be challenged further in an academic setting while still being able to involve myself in community life and extracurricular activities.

 

As a new sophomore at LA, I petitioned to be placed in Honors Chemistry and Honors Math 3 (Algebra II and Trigonometry) and thankfully the school accommodated my interests. After my first fall term at LA, I realized that I was in for a long ride. My classes challenged me with new ways of learning and pushed me to put in 110% of myself into my work. I received my first ever B in Honors Math 3, which made me realize there was room to grow here. With perfect grades, you sometimes wonder if you’re working hard enough, or if there’s more you can be doing; at LA, that answer is always yes.

 

 

My junior year was the first year I got the opportunity to choose all my classes, three of which were senior classes. I took Honors Math 4 (Precalculus), Honors English Composition, Honors Spanish 4, Honors Theatre Ensemble, Honors Nukes and Commies (History), and Honors Biology. Halfway through my junior fall, I realized that I needed to be in a higher Spanish class level. Switching was not particularly easy, especially since our “add-drop period” had already passed. However, with the help of my advisor and persistence in bothering the language department, I set up a remote meeting with the Honors Spanish 5 teacher and a fluent Spanish-speaker from Mexico named Maria. After the meeting, I was accepted into the Honors Spanish 5 class with open arms from the teacher and my new senior classmates.

 

 

As COVID-19 was in full swing my junior year, Lawrence Academy was in person except for “remote Mondays.” I despised remote Mondays; I discovered that as a learner I needed to be in class to be engaged. At the beginning of the winter term, LA went remote from Thanksgiving break to the third week of January. I now had to work even harder to maintain my grades. Despite the challenges that COVID-19 created, I received straight A’s and a 4.33 GPA my junior year all while serving as Class President. In the spring, I was inducted into the Cum Laude Society along with nine other students who made up the top 10 percent of our class. I also received the Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award and the Thomas B. Warner Memorial Prize for my “outstanding academics” and all-around involvement in the community.

 

• Self-advocacy. No one will know that you want to be challenged further unless you speak up.
• Use your resources. Use office hours and free periods (if you have any) to the fullest, and always ask your teachers for help.
• Find a reason why you want to achieve your goals. Without a distinct reason, you won’t have the right motivation to accomplish what you set out to do.