I attended DeWitt Clinton High School in Bronx, New York. At first, attending an inner city school and seeing so many students’ education interrupted was very discouraging to me. I began to feel like this would inevitably happen to me also. I came to school every day, but did not have any goals or expectations of myself.
Then one day I realized there was a reason why so many people with discouraging situations still came to every single day. Even with all the obstacles that stood in the way and resources taken away, there was hope that if I put in the work, it has to happen for me somehow. After recognizing this, I really began to push, and stopped allowing the negative experiences to lower my goals and expectations. I realized how much more-positive things were all around me.
Primarily, I was fortunate to have a strong female Principal, Mrs. McCabe. From our freshman year she pushed us with the constant reminder that we have to work hard so we can have college acceptance letters to choose from rather than praying at least one of them chooses us. She had impossible expectations of us, but when we reached those expectations, it showed us that we did not even know our own potential. It inspired us to push and strive with our everything and make sure we could be proud of ourselves when it was finished.
I had an amazing counselor, Mrs. Parra who gave us each individual attention and encouraged personal growth to ensure success. Unfortunately my college advisor was a cynical atheist, who thought it was his job to prepare us for the real world. So he would not remind us of deadlines, help us find applications, or show any kind of personal care because no one would do that for us in the real world. In addition, my plan, of almost six years, to go to a religious college was shot down, and the meetings after that did not seem to go so well. Thankfully I had already learned to have high expectations and challenge myself. So when he would announce deadlines I would make sure to meet them without asking twice.
When I needed help looking for applications or any online tools, I learned to figure it out myself. After sometime, I realized that he appreciated students who showed initiative and received more advice from him towards the end of the process. Overall I am grateful for my high school experience, mostly the lesson to learn for myself. This was especially helpful going in to college because there was no way I would know exactly what the experience would be like. Still, I am able to take care of myself and pick up quickly when I have to learn on my own, even if it is trial and error.
Kariel Beckford
Then one day I realized there was a reason why so many people with discouraging situations still came to every single day. Even with all the obstacles that stood in the way and resources taken away, there was hope that if I put in the work, it has to happen for me somehow. After recognizing this, I really began to push, and stopped allowing the negative experiences to lower my goals and expectations. I realized how much more-positive things were all around me.
Primarily, I was fortunate to have a strong female Principal, Mrs. McCabe. From our freshman year she pushed us with the constant reminder that we have to work hard so we can have college acceptance letters to choose from rather than praying at least one of them chooses us. She had impossible expectations of us, but when we reached those expectations, it showed us that we did not even know our own potential. It inspired us to push and strive with our everything and make sure we could be proud of ourselves when it was finished.
I had an amazing counselor, Mrs. Parra who gave us each individual attention and encouraged personal growth to ensure success. Unfortunately my college advisor was a cynical atheist, who thought it was his job to prepare us for the real world. So he would not remind us of deadlines, help us find applications, or show any kind of personal care because no one would do that for us in the real world. In addition, my plan, of almost six years, to go to a religious college was shot down, and the meetings after that did not seem to go so well. Thankfully I had already learned to have high expectations and challenge myself. So when he would announce deadlines I would make sure to meet them without asking twice.
When I needed help looking for applications or any online tools, I learned to figure it out myself. After sometime, I realized that he appreciated students who showed initiative and received more advice from him towards the end of the process. Overall I am grateful for my high school experience, mostly the lesson to learn for myself. This was especially helpful going in to college because there was no way I would know exactly what the experience would be like. Still, I am able to take care of myself and pick up quickly when I have to learn on my own, even if it is trial and error.
Kariel Beckford
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