Street-Smart Trumps Book-Smart by Keren

Street-Smart Trumps Book-Smart by Keren - March 2019 Scholarship Essay

I attended South Tech Academy, a vocation-based high school in Florida. The school requires every student to sign up for one of its 13 vocational programs. Examples of the programs offered include veterinary science, nursing, information technology, automotive technology, and business management. Once signed up, students will take general education courses in addition to courses specific to their vocational programs. In compensation for the extra classes, the courses are condensed into half a school year so that students can take all the required courses – vocational and general – and still graduate in four years. The amount of material in the general education courses is the same as in traditional high schools, making classes at South Tech more stressful than classes at traditional high schools. However, towards the end of their senior year, students are given vouchers that will allow them to take certification tests for their programs for free. If they pass, they will actually receive licenses to work in their fields of study!

I signed up for the information technology program. Having a career in information technology would have been a wise choice: the field offers substantial salaries; numerous opportunities to advance; and diverse, exciting environments. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to experience any of those benefits. Throughout high school, I focused more on the theory and neglected the practical aspects of all my classes - including, ironically, the vocational classes. In fact, I have always been more of a bookworm. I wish I had taken the vocational courses more seriously. I wish I had pushed myself to get out of my comfort zone and to learn by experience. The slack in applying myself towards the practical side of my education has haunted me to this day.

After high school, I attended Palm Beach State College while working in the retail industry, unsure of my plans for the future. To go to and from college and work, I had to do a combination of walking and riding the public bus. On my way to and from college, I occasionally encountered friends from high school who were also in the information technology program. They all were working in information technology fields. One had already obtained enough income to buy a car (he drove me home on one occasion). The encounters were uplifting: It was indeed possible for students in a certain vocational program to obtain a job related to that program. The encounters were also humiliating: I performed better academically than they, but they were more successful occupationally than I.

If I gave a tour of my high school to incoming freshmen, I would advise them to take the vocational programs offered seriously. They could, of course, enjoy the typical high school life. But if they want to enjoy life after high school, enjoying economic freedom from parents (at least partially), driving cars that they purchased with their own money instead of walking to the bus stop while their friends drive past (or stop to ask if you need a ride) – then they should apply themselves towards learning from the vocational program. The courses will be hard, but the independence and success that can be obtained from their hard work will definitely be worth it.