Gateway or Gated Way? by Rebekah

Gateway or Gated Way? by Rebekah - November 2020 Scholarship Essay

Academics have always been a very large part of my life. I was a part of a gifted program, named Gateway, all of my middle school and junior high school years. This program was designed to give a more individualized, challenging, and engaging education to a small number of “gifted” students.

Heading into my freshman year of high school, I almost felt free, as though I had been limiting myself within this small group of peers, and that I now had the freedom to expand myself both in my interests and with the people I came to know. From what I could see, all of my new peers in high school had the same experience in academics as I had, but within a larger social environment. I generally have a very introverted personality; I felt as though a program with a small amount of people had not prepared me for bigger social situations that I would come to see throughout high school.

However, as the years of high school went by, I came to realize the value that this program had on my academic abilities. My first indication was freshman year, in my English 9 course. As the class read their essays in front of the class, I could tell, just by listening, the greater confidence in writing abilities and speaking for those that had come out of the gifted program with me.

I feel as though the gifted program had given me a slight edge over my peers in high school. I may have had the same number of high school credits as I entered high school, but I had a greater confidence in my academic abilities. Once I realized this, I did everything I could to use this to the best of my abilities. I began taking college level courses freshman year, another opportunity within my educational journey that I am very thankful for.

Now a senior in high school, I can look back at my educational experiences, both the good and the bad, and confidently say that I am proud of where I am today. The opportunities that I have had within my academics, beginning all the way back in fifth grade, have shaped my determination and drive for being successful, traits that I will carry with me into my upcoming journey in college.