REFLECTIVE ESSAY

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Throughout all of my years at ACLC I’ve maintained straight As and a good attendance record, which demonstrates my ability to self-manage. I set high standards and expectations for myself and I do my best to live up to them. I use my planner to help me stay on track by writing down school work and projects for each class and noting my academic goals for the semester and school year. 

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I am a responsible person, which is demonstrated in the way I take ownership of my education at ACLC. I take advantage of educational opportunities like taking elective classes at ACLC and college classes at the Peralta community colleges. I also reach out to facilitators or peers when I need help. I’ll sometimes come in during lunch or a free period to get extra help with an assignment or to just finish a test or quiz. I use my free periods productively and get a considerable amount of work done, allowing me to have more free time at home and so I can complete my family responsibilities too.

NEW BASICS

I never liked history that much because it seemed like a dry subject to me. Then in middle school I had a history teacher who made history interesting and more than just memorizing facts and dates. I started to appreciate history more and I even took a political science class which explored America’s political system in a deeper level than the history classes offered in high school. I was well prepared for the government/economy class this year and I understood the material since I already took the political science class. However, I still expanded my understanding of how politics and the economy functions. Although history still isn’t my favorite subject, I have deepened my understanding of it throughout high school, and I can apply my knowledge to real life as I now know how to engage and participate in politics to voice my opinions and create positive change. 

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One of my favorite subjects is math. I enjoy solving math problems which strengthens my problem-solving skills and I apply the concepts I learn to real life situations, which is ultimately the point of math. I’ve taken math courses all the way up to calculus and I plan to continue as it is essential for my intended major, which is chemical engineering. My high math MAP test scores demonstrate my mastery of math as well as my strong problem solving skills.

THINKING AND REASONING SKILLS

I am a visual and tactile learner, and I use this knowledge about myself to help me learn more effectively. I use multiple ways to study and absorb the information I learn in my classes, whether it’s flashcards or watching videos to further reinforce the ideas I’ve recently learned. I have strategies in place that I use consistently to aid me in my learning journey, such as reviewing information periodically. I’ll go back and review content a day after I first learn it, and then a week later, and so on. This helps me retain the information and store it in my long term memory so that I won’t forget it easily. 

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Additionally, I use creative thinking at school to help myself and others. For example, when given multiple options for projects, I take advantage of the freedom of choice and make my projects my own. For chemistry class I made greeting cards with little math problems involving moles, a unit of measurement often used in chemistry, and I added pins with pictures of moles (the animal) to add some pizzazz to it. I also give others ideas to help them with their own projects, like when I suggested to a classmate that they make a poster where you have to search for hidden objects that are related to moles, and there would be chemistry problems related to moles on the back for each object found. As a result, I often take the position of the team mate who comes up with lots of ideas for group projects. This inspires my peers to get more creative too.

INTERPERSONAL ABILITIES

I have been in ACLC’s leadership class for 2 years now and I can say that it has really helped me develop my leadership skills. Some of the leadership activities I’ve been involved in are leading my small group in school bonding activities for our weekly CCCs and planning for and executing events like Con Con seminars and CCCs. These have all helped me improved my communication and decision-making skills, both of which are important for being a good leader. 

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I have not only been in leadership positions at my school, but in my community as a tutor, where I lead but also teach. I was the first ACLC representative for the organization Alameda Initiative. I helped expand the organization to other high schools in Alameda, including ours, in order to increase the number of tutors. Alameda Initiative is a student-led organization where high school students tutor elementary and middle school students at local schools for free after school. I have assisted younger students with learning how to solve math problems and how to analyze texts. It has been very rewarding to see them grow and learn, and find confidence in their developing academic skills.

TECHNOLOGY

At ACLC I’ve been more immersed in technology than I have in other schools I attended before. I have regularly used technology in order to get assignments done such as making presentations or podcasts. This has made me more experienced in effectively using technology to accomplish tasks, both in and outside of school. I’ve had to use a variety of technology like editing software for making videos or using applications such as Google slides, documents, and spreadsheets. 

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My experience with technology has also made me better at troubleshooting technological difficulties and problems. Distance learning has definitely pushed me to improve on this skill because we are doing school online. I can identify and solve problems like connection issues or getting necessary applications like NWEA for MAP testing to work. I’ve also used this skill to help my sibling with distance learning as he is very young and doesn’t have experience with technology, and my parents aren’t very experienced either.

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