Throughout my four years in high school, I have experienced unforgettable events that have shaped the way I am today. Since freshman year I have grown not only physically but I matured about the way I look at things such as all the global issues that are a huge part of ISA’s curriculum. The projects, the presentations, and all the worked the students of ISA have done does not compare to the work other high school students do through their four years in high school. Make a Difference, GEP, Story Telling, Heifer, MUNSA, Zacatecas, Alabama documentary, Internship, community service, Washington trip and all the other work we have done has taught us useful material that will help us branch out to the real world we will embark after June 10.
As a student of ISA I am proud to say I have made it through all the levels of hell just like in Dante’s Inferno. Everything that has been thrown at me has not been an obstacle till this point, although I have to admit that many of us at point during the ISA journey struggled to get through. Opposed to Dante who had little to none help through the nine level of hell we are fortunate to have such a wonderful class and staff that help us get through those rough moments of our lives. As I look back at who I was freshman year I see all that I have changed. I see a little immature kid, unaware of global issues and unable to speak in front of people. I picture myself like a runner preparing to begin a race.
The travel experiences and projects we have done have accumulated to a sack of memories that I’ve later bring out. I see my parents and I can tell how proud they are of me as I tell them stories of what I do on a daily basis in ISA. The amount of work the students of ISA have done for the community is incredible, no other school requires having 120 hours of service; no other school requires graduating with an internship. When our school talks about making a difference I look back and see all those people that I’ve helped. We have impacted many lives such as our family members and peers that admire the hard work we have done.
Today, I feel mature and capable to handle more work. I am ready for college and see what it has prepared for me. ISA experiences make me feel a pro of many things such as procrastination, public speaking, evaluating peers, debating, delegating and more. Today I can celebrate that I am a graduate of ISA and would not change one bit of my high school experience.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Global Awareness
Being globally aware and recognizing the difference between cultures is something that ISA has worked since its’ creation. Through our school we have learned to understand the unique culture in San Antonio and how to be aware of global issues that affect us globally and locally. We’ve studied the dynamics of global issues and try to come up with possible solutions such as in Model United Nations of San Antonio (MUNSA) or Global Environmental Problems (GEP). Sharing thoughts about these issues is something that we do in a regular basis. Since my freshman year at ISA I’ve learned so much about our planet and of issues that not only affect me but the whole world.
Last year I embarked in a journey across the world to a place so rich in nature, culture and history. I traveled to Germany! After having taken three years of German language I believed I was ready to sprung to action and burst out with my German talk. A small group of students form ISA and Lee wanted to experience different tastes, sounds, locations, weather and other feelings that we don’t regularly get. Through our journey across Deutschland and the Swiss Alps we stopped by Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Munich and Rothenburg and discovered all kinds of fun activates and learned much about their culture. The most memorable places we visited during our trip were the concentration camp Dachau in Munich. Such a place filled with angered souls and the smell and taste of death in the air swirled my emotions. It was such an emotional place to be, full of history that damaged and changed the lives of people we might now today. The mist and cold air of the winter day made the place look dark and saddened between all the watchful eyes of visitors who came to honor the lives of those who died so cruel.
During the whole tour our guide talked much about the Holocaust and about how shameful all the Germans are till this day. “The feeling of sorrow and guilt,” he said, “will never go away.”
The day after I arrived in San Antonio, the Ok tour busses were parked in our school parking lot, again. I was ready for yet another long, long, long journey. The Alabama experience was designed so that we could learn and understand more in depth about the civil rights movement. We traveled a bunch of hours to see tons of civil right museums and memorials and we got to talk to people who lived during the time of segregation and of racial discrimination. Once we were back in school after two weeks of traveling my German teacher asked me if can make a video that could relate to both my trips and what came in mind was racial discrimination. The video and the image attached show the racial discrimination suffered by millions of people across the globe.
Both trips were such a neat experience because I got to set foot on places that contain so much history that culture that is now part of lives and it is going to stick for generations and generations
Video wasn't able to load, click link to watch
Collaboration and Leadership
Helping and making others feel appreciated and loved is useful in everyone’s lives. Through PALs (Peer Assistance and Leadership) I discovered companionship and admiration. PALs are like a student helping student program in which we (PALs) tutor or help elementary students that are struggling with either school or personal problems. We are there to be like an older sibling and serve as role models for the younger generation. As a PAL my goal was to make my PALee raise his grades. We would visit one of our two PALees once or twice a week and either help them with homework or be a social friend.
This program has thought me how to love and appreciate what I do and it also made me understand the struggles some of these kids go through. The love these kids show you is immense and is untradeable by anything in the world. As a PAL I feel I have impacted my PALees’ lives and made a change to our community.
In many ways I can show how good of a PAL I am, not to brag, but I’ve been upon several experiences where the PAL in me just comes out. Such as in the Washington trip were some things got out of control. During our festive trip while shopping and cruising around town some unnecessary drama broke out right outside the White House. As a PAL I had to do something to stop the yelling and crying that was embarrassing and ridicules. The PAL in me just came out and I helped the group members facilitate the discussion thanks to a little therapy and love. This shows how a little collaboration among team members and love can solve any problem.
The Images above are my group members from this year’s PAL team and my Washington team.
Personal Wellness
Being involved and having something to do at all time is essential for me. I have to be busy or else I feel lost, I feel useless and lazy. Being active and doing something that I enjoy doing boosts myself esteem and my happiness level. For that main reason I enjoy doing what I do best helping others and being on the spot light.
Since sophomore year I have been involved with the Lee Theater Department and it has become very important to me throughout the course of the years. I have been in involved in many shows and musicals and that is something I really enjoy doing. Many of my best friends are also involved in theater and that is how we started our bonds. The theater teacher have become like our second parents and the black box our second home. If I ever have to give up theater for some odd reason I would feel like a fish without oxygen. It is vital for my life.
The latest show I was involved in was “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.” The show involved a lot of dancing and a massive amount of signing. The amount of time spent working on this show were probably more than the amount spent home. Being involved in a school play isn’t hard, sometimes it was really hard with all the demands of school and the directors that I had to prioritize. Although it was sometimes stressful I will be doing drama for years to come. The image above was taken during my last high school musical.
Another program I was involved with this year was RYLA or Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. We are a group of juniors and senior who celebrate the leaders of tomorrow. This year I was TL or a team leader and I was assigned with another partner a group of juniors to guide them along through a set of activities throughout a three day weekend.
All the TL and RYLArians all had a fantastic time with all the activities and we all bonded so well that we still keep in touch till this day. We all enjoyed dancing together, playing together and even shared very personal stories. We all made instant best friends in a matter of three days. All these high school experiences I will always remember and will eventually shape who I am.
Problem Solving Proficiency
Analyzing data and understanding the complexity of things is something we learn as we grow. At ISA we have been involved in many projects and activities that involved thinking and analyzing complicated tasks and that is why I would consider myself a pro at problem solving. Something I do very well is overanalyzing thing. Being aware of my opportunities and outcomes give me the knowledge to be creative.
From my artistic point of view, I always ask. What else can I do to make it better? What can I change? Solving a problem is sometimes more than just thinking about possible solutions because it is necessary to sometimes jump to action and that is how MUNSA and GEP were created.
I have participated in Model United Nations for four years. MUNSA is a simulation of a UN conference with similar topics and organizations with a delegate representing a country. Our big project sophomore year was being a delegate. During that time we researched our topic and country that varied for person to person. I represented Niger and the World Health Organization or WHO. My topics were Malaria and HIV/ Aids and how to stop or prevent the spread of these deadly diseases. As a delegate I analyzed data, read book, UN papers, read articles and used all kinds of media that would help me come up with a possible solution to my topic. During the MUNSA conference we debated about solutions and the purpose was to agree of what would be the best solution and what actions to take. Such an intense moment full of anxiety and nervousness would roam my body when a proposal was getting written. The artifact I have chosen to represent MUNSA is my name tag and flap pin I used when delegating possible solutions.
A different situation happened during Global Environmental Problems or GEP, I was part of the court. GEP is like a mini MUNSA were groups come up with possible solutions to global problems around the world. The purpose of the court was to research every group’s topics and come up with analytical questions that would put the groups’ knowledge at the spot light. My court consisted of 5 members, each member had to do its’ own research and have at least two questions per group. Before the group’s presentation started the court was supposed to come up with a strategy on who would ask the first question and so on. I was put on a tough situation when my court was lacking passion and nothing was getting accomplished. My initial reaction was to take control, think on ways I would benefit if I help out others, so what I did is sketch out possible rough draft of what was going to be the plan for the court. My second artifact are my GEP notes and articles i printed out for my resarch.
Effective Communication
Ever since I moved to the U.S. my communication skills haven’t been the same. Learning a different language is like learning how to walk, thankfully I moved here at a young age which facilitated my skills to learn. For ISA students communicating is necessary do to all the presentations we have throughout the course of our four years there. We’ve learn how to communicate in different such as in projects we have been given like the Alabama documentary and the other projects that require communicating information through the media, essays, and art.
Sophomore year the class of 2010 was very fortunate to be the last class to ever visit the land of Zacatecas, Mexico. It was such an amazing experience to travel to a place so beautiful like Mexico especially with an awesome group like Somos 7 headed by Ms. Moore. Although I speak Spanish the type of communication among our team was different. I was the only Spanish speaker among our group and only a few were able to understand several words. My group treated me as the translator the money converter and the guide. I had to communicate questions and responses back and forward, tell them how much money they had and tell them where to go and where they were at. I didn’t mind because I was being helpful but it was just felt weird. It was the first time in my life that I had to do that in home country. I had never traveled with a group of American friends before.
The idea behind traveling to Mexico was to explore and relate to the cultural differences and similarities. The project I created for this trip was a scrap book with pictures and drawings I had created. I expressed my thoughts and opinions through art. The scrap book had a collection of essays that explained more in depth the meaning to the pictures and drawings. The picture located above includes all my group members. The picture is symbolic to the affection and love we all showed towards each other.
Another time when communicating is critical was when I was stage manager. Being a stage manager requires much communicating between the cast, crew and directors. I have to understand the needs of the actors and lead the crew through the show. I have to call lights and sound whenever it was necessary. I have to be aware of how the people were reacting so I can communicate with the cast and give feedback on how did the performance went. I have to be organized and call rehearsal hours and breaks. Sometimes I had to act tough and show anger or frustration to communicate that something was wrong. Theater is all about physical communication that is why my last artifact for this category is the picture I took of my cast “Steel Magnolias” during a dinner to PF Chains in charter.
Technological Proficiency
During my Newton’s Law of Motion video technology was even harder to maneuver. This project was preparing us for our big Alabama documentary and gave us a firsthand idea on what was to come. For the project we had to partner up and create a video demonstrating Newton’s Laws. My partner and I met up at my house to start filming; we used a digital camera to record our scenes which was the worst idea ever. Once we were done shooting we started working on Movie Maker but had a horrible time trying to view our videos. The videos we had recorded weren’t compatible with Movie Maker and we had to nearly do magic to make it work. We ended up finish it but since the quality of the video was bad we weren’t satisfied.
What really satisfied my ego was the Alabama documentary. Throughout the whole trip we recorded, filmed and took so many pictures. For our video we used Addison’s fancy equipment that I was very afraid to use because I had not one clue what each button was for. We recorded ourselves and our voices and mashed them all together to make a legit documentary which is posted above.
Click Link to view Newton's Law of Motion video
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
