STEM Program Reflection

Growing up reading was not my favorite subject . In the beginning of first grade I was placed in a reading program for students that were below the reading level . I began to observe and noticed that many kids in this program didn’t even know their ABC’s and I was embarrassed because every day for at least an hour they took us to a separate room and practice with us more than the average kid. Teachers never understood why I was never interested in writing, reading or any school activities. Many of my peers and teenagers in my community never took education very serious and I began to notice that this was a neighborhood of “cultural poverty”. I heard many of my friends talking about their parents being jobless and their families getting …show more content…
I wrote an essay in school for a contest about Oprah Winfrey and I won the chance to model in Castronovas Bridal Shop and a chance to win a expensive prom dress which helped me out a lot because I couldn’t afford it. My Advancement placement English teacher really liked how I interacted in the socratic seminar and our short excerpts and ask me if I would like to participate in a STEM program that focuses on science, technology,engineering and math. I accepted the offer and went to chicago where I got a chance to be featured on Com ED solar spotlight commercial for blach histoty month and a chance to enter the COM ED program for women’s history. Becomig so comfortable and getting pushed out my comfort zone at times English seemed as if it was testing my limits and began shining light on me. Growing up in Rockford, Ellis Heights; the “ghetto” many people say trifling things in front of me not knowing that I started from humble beginings and this area which many people judged a book by its cover and the fact that I had assimiliated a lot to not be identified with where I am from. With this “ghetto” I had opened my eyes and I saw how I did not not want to live in this enviroment and how I had to take education seriously in order to make it. Many of these negative comments made me malicious because of certain commentary like “ many people in low iincome areas do not want to work” or “ many people that live there are minorities that want things handed to them”. Many of these comments were false illusions dwelling off media outlook. To escape this negative I read a book called gang leader for a day a sociologist perspective of living in these areas and this read helped me experience a new way of thinking. Identifying that many people are not born with a silver spoon but a wood one which we have to carve out to feed ourselves. Everyone has to write out their own