High School by Haley

High School by Haley - December 2019 Scholarship Essay

This year I changed high schools and started in a dual enrollment program. Prior to that I went to Damonte Ranch High School in Reno, Nevada. Damonte Ranch is a typical high school. it has all the drama associated with high school, all the drugs, vaping, smoking, and alcohol consumption associated with high school. You could not go to the bathroom without being exposed to one of the above. Damonte Ranch also has bullying. I was a victim and struggled to go to school every day. The teachers are helpless to deal with it. They send kids to the principle just to have them come right back with nothing more than a discussion. I highly doubt that I would have been able to complete my senior year there due to the stress and anxiety I dealt with every single day. The change to the dual enrollment program was a lifesaver. I now take classes at the community college and am treated with respect and dignity, like an adult. The kids in my classes now are there because they want to be there and the professors have the ability to control the environment. This change has given me a much better opportunity to be successful in my classes as well as to obtain college credit while in high school, and although this has been my first semester, my grades are higher than they have ever been. There is no doubt in my mind that I would not have been able to complete high school had I stayed at Damonte Ranch, and I am very grateful for the existence of my current program. I am saddened as well that out educational system is such that many kids fail not because of lack of ability or motivation, but because of the untenable environment in most schools today.