|
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” — William Butler Yeats
|
Elizabeth Enelcruz
I've been accepted to the Talent Search program at Rhode Island College so I'll be going there for the next four years. I've always thought that I was interested in psychology, but I've been thinking of changing that. Maybe I'll do political science. I think I'm more interested in that. I'm in a bunch of leadership programs, and people tell me they think I'd be good at it. They say that I should be a politician or something, with the way I speak. I have leadership opportunities at Central, but then I've branched out. I sit on the district-wide Student Government, which I've liked a lot. I get to know people in the city and learn more about things that impact me and everyone who lives here in Providence. We have the chance to go to other schools and talk to students. We call it the Road Show, when five or six of us make a presentation at a school and talk with students and teachers about what they think. We tell them about the program, what we do, and we try to get them involved for the next year.
I'm the first person in my family to go to college. I have two older brothers and a younger sister. For me, college was always there, in the back of my mind. I always had a lot of people in my life who would tell me that I had a potential for it, who really encouraged me. I applied to schools on my own, did all the research and gathered materials for my application. I talked to people about going to RIC, found out what they thought about it. RIC was my first choice, I didn't think about applying anywhere else. Doing research about schools on the Internet, you don't have the opportunity to go visit them like you would want to.
I think Central's main strength is its diversity. There are a variety of teachers and faculty—if you don't get along with one of them, you'll definitely be able to find another that you connect with. One weakness is that I've learned a lot at Central, but not in every aspect, not in every corner that I could. Sometimes I feel I'm not as well prepared as I should be, but I don't doubt that I'm smart.
Most of my high points happened last year. My freshman year I didn't really feel that involved, or that connected, to this school. As soon as I was done with school I just went home. It was the same my sophomore year. My junior year I left and experienced a whole different school district, then I came back and was able to observe my school, how we do things here in Providence—it made me want to get more involved. That's when I started with the Book Club, and the meetings, and the Student Government. My high points were when I felt like being a part of Central. When I went out for district-wide Student Government, the kind of thing that I would never have done two years ago. I was definitely encouraged by teachers to join into those kinds of groups.
I was going to school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin my junior year. I was just tired of Providence so I decided to leave. I packed everything up and told my mom that I'd see her in a year and went out there to stay with my older cousin, all by myself. I was really glad that I did it, I learned a lot about myself. But I was also really glad that I came back when I did, because so much started happening back here when I returned. If I hadn't come back, I would never have accomplished so much that I did this year.
Eduardo Hopp>>
Return to Introduction>>
|
Central High School | 70 Fricker St., Providence, RI 02903 | 401.456.9111
What Kids Can Do, Inc. | PO Box 603252, Providence, RI 02906 | 401.247.7665
Copyright © 2005
|
