Personal Habits, Work Habits and Attitudes Over the course of my time in Alameda Community Learning Center, one of the most valuable skills I learned was the ability to apply myself to challenges outside of the classroom and to find ways to participate in the opportunities of the Bay Area. In my second year of highschool I began my first job, at the San Fransisco Exploratorium. This was a big responsibility, as I was working long shifts on school days and I had to commute to San Fransisco. It was an incredible experience, which built my understanding of how to manage a job and move through the world on my own initiative. I believe that my year of work benefited both my personal responsibility and my career expirience and skill. Most importantly, however, it built my enthusiasm for participating in the workforce, particularly in science and education. I really enjoyed the feeling of helping others and teaching and demonstrating topics I am passionate about. This initial expirience inspired me to participate in tutoring related volunteer programs, including peer math tutoring at my school and reading buddies volunteeting with elementary school students at my local library. The combinations of serving my community and encouraging younger students to follow their passions for fields I enjoy was a fantastic expirience. New Basics My love of learning not only benefited my ability to engage with and teach others, it also bestowed me with a self-fueled determination to pursue my academic interests and seize opportunities. ACLC offered me a great chance in this area: dual enrollment at Peralta Community Colleges. With this resource available, I was able to move at my own pace to pursue the subjects I am most interested in. From the very start of high school, I knew that I wanted to explore challenging levels of math. By testing out of Geometry and Algebra II, I was able to finish Calculus II in by the end of my second year of high school, and I plan to complete Calculus III in my second semester of my third and final year. Advancing in math was a great opportunity for me to pursue a passion that I already had, but my high school experience with science sparked a new interest for me, which led me to my career goal. After a whim led me to sign up for several semesters of medical terminology classes at the community college, I realized how fascinating I find the subject of physiology and biology. I took a summer Anatomy and Physiology course to develop my understanding of the subject, and found that it was the most interesting material I had ever studied. I am currently taking a Coursera course for Medical Neuroscience and my high school’s Honors Biology class to further my understanding of the field of science. Aside from my interest in STEM, literature is one of my strongest passions. I have always enjoyed reading in my free tim. I found that the ACLC English curriculum perfectly suited this. I have taken all two offered years of Honors English at my high school, and they have been my favorite classes of my high school. Outside of class, I began applying the concepts and themes from Honors to the reading that I do for fun. I found that my reading and analysis skills have improved dramatically, and my love of reading has only deepened. Thinking and Reasoning Skills In my efforts to make the most of my three years of high school, I learned a skill that is most valuable to me. Although I have always had a love of learning, that is not the same as knowing the best way to do so. In taking online courses in the rise of COVID-19, I learned how to motivate myself to learn on my own schedule as well as how to do so efficiently and effectively. My online Anatomy class is the best example of a challenge that built my ability to memorize and intake information on my own time with my own methods. It also built my creating thinking skills, as I had to find new ways to teach myself things I was interesting in. I also learned new ways to get involved in my community, and search for ways to pursue my interests. I was able to get an online internship for a COVID health study, where I applied myself ro creative problem solving. Interpersonal Abilities When I started highschool at ACLC, I was nervous and shy. I had had a small, close group of friends that I felt confident around in middle school, and none of them had come to ACLC with me. However the small, unique and accepting ACLC community helped me apply that same confidence to my interactions with the greater school community, as I came to view it as a larger friend group. Part of the way that I applied this pride in my community and peers was to take a part in the school leadership at every opportunity. At the end of my first year, I ran for the school governing board. I am so glad that I did, because my first year as learner representative was an invaluable expirience of growing my leadership skills and interpersonal abilities. The ACLC leadership class similarly provided both an outlet for and a source of this interest and ability. As I became more confident in leadering, I furthered my teaching skills by tutoring fellow learners during my lunch and free periods. I loved this activity because it was a chance to act on my love of the community and my passion for mathematics at the same time. I hope to apply my teaching experience to all facets of my future life and career. Technology In middle school, I was very active in robotics club and in learning to program. Although I moved into knew interests in high school, I was able to apply this awareness of technology to new tasks. I noticed that there were some inefficiencies in the computer system at the public library where I volunteer, and I was able to make some changes in the system that improved them. My background experience also helped me in computer science class in ninth grade, and with several shifts for my job at the Exploratorium. My skills at the user interface side of technology has greatly improved through online school, although it remains the more challenging aspect.