When I first came to ACLC, I was astounded with the amount of academic and social freedom this facility provided. I had never been in a setting that helped learners thrive so well. With the amount of clubs and extracurriculars I have facilitated and created, I have gained multitude of skills that will greatly help me into the world of higher education.
Personal Qualities, Work Habits and Attitudes:
During my time at ACLC, I helped start our school's fashion club partnered with The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) and curated two successful runway shows. In the club's second year, I took on the responsibility of becoming the Vice President and was given the opportunity to further explore my creative side. I am now considering a field in design once I enter college next year. Along with the fashion club, I had many other creative outlets supported by ACLC. For example, I interned at Alameda Youth Repertory, a theatre program in alameda, which was a huge learning experience that helped me develop my love of tech and theatre. Within this program, I grew my knowledge of construction, design and teamwork, which in turn grew my confidence. This would not have been an easy undertaking if I had attended any other public high school that did not provide the level of flexibility ACLC does.
New Basics:
ACLC has also allowed me to dive into science and learn within a college setting while being a full time high school student. In my past years, I have attended a handful of COA classes such as astronomy, sociology, and business class. With this unique opportunity for higher education, I was able to better grasp what I would be interested studying in college. After taking my astronomy class, I had a strong urge to explore other fields of science. I learned so much in each class and was pushed to write longer essays than I had ever had to before. The college courses I took not only improved my writing and reading skills, due to writing multiple essays, but also drastically boosted my confidence. The presentations I created in both Sociology and Astronomy class also helped to improve my public speaking skills.
Thinking and Reasoning Skills:
Out of all the extracurriculars I was a part of, the most informative and rewarding position I held was being a Judicial Committee Clerk. Within this role I started to appreciate the system of justice implemented by learners in our highly democratic academic setting. I developed the skill of complex reasoning and strengthened my ethical foundation. This was done by constantly making sure the consequences that were decided by the Jury were in line with the ethical core of ACLC’s Judicial system. Over the course of the past four years I have also served as an executive board member of Alameda Youth Committee. Within this role I have many responsibilities, such as problem solving whenever an issue arises. Take for example, our club in recent years has had trouble with enrollment numbers. To combat this issue I suggested we look, as a whole, at what other committees are doing to gain more members. That is how we came up with out advertising model, which resulted in higher retention and enrollment rates.
Interpersonal and Collaborative Ability:
As an active member of a community built around project-based learning, I have had the opportunity to strengthen my team-work skills over the many years I have spent at ACLC. When I first came to ACLC in 8th grade from Wood middle school it was because I was not happy with where I was in my educational experience . As a student at Wood I felt taken advantage of and resentful in group settings because I was not socially developed. The principles instilled at ACLC helped me grow socially. ACLC forced me to learn how to compromise and negotiate well with others. It taught me that having group projects does not mean one person must do all the work or make all the decisions. Putting in a team effort should truly mean a team effort that involves everyone. These are the kinds of skills I use everyday that have allowed me to grow as an individual and gain a handful of internships and job opportunities along the way.
Technology:
As a STEAM-powered facility, ACLC has taught me how to use/build countless technological programs and equipment, such as this website. As mentioned previously, I also learned how to troubleshoot technological problems while interning as tech support for the Alameda Youth Repertory theatre program. At this program I was able to work hands-on and become more familiar with the sound and light boards, speaker, spotlights, and microphone setups. As apart of our facility’s structure, ACLC’s classes have played a huge part in my knowlegde of technology. Enrolling into calculus has taught me how to be proficient in excel and use higher level graphing calculators to my avantage. Other classes, such as Digital media, has taught me how to edit music and photoshop images, as well as use a green screen and understand the inner workings of more complex manual cameras.
ACLC has taught me countless skills through its project-based learning curriculum and supportive team of facilitators. With the advantage of having such flexible schedules, I was able to further my higher education and complete multiple internships. ACLC forced me to develop good team-working skills and the art of time management through the countless team projects done over the years. I feel well-equipped going into to college knowing now how to use powerpoint, prezi, photoshop, imovie, Mathxl and other useful resources. With the honor of being elected as JC Clerk for two consecutive years, I was able to learn in depth about the importance of impartiality, consistency in judgement, and the Judicial system as a whole. This opportunity is just one of the many things ACLC, and only ACLC, is able to provide to its learners. Coming from ACLC and it academically supportive community, I feel ready for my future years to come in higher education.