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Education Reflection

The document is a reflection by Isabelle Ruesch on her education journey. She attended three different high schools, finding the first and third to be warmer and more welcoming than the second. She decided to do a student exchange in Chile which she enjoyed. Upon returning to the US, she enrolled in Gateway at Massasoit Community College. There, she found challenges she enjoyed and discovered a passion for science, deciding to pursue molecular biology in top universities. Gateway provided a warm, supportive environment that helped her find success and enjoyment in her education after struggling previously.

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44 views4 pages

Education Reflection

The document is a reflection by Isabelle Ruesch on her education journey. She attended three different high schools, finding the first and third to be warmer and more welcoming than the second. She decided to do a student exchange in Chile which she enjoyed. Upon returning to the US, she enrolled in Gateway at Massasoit Community College. There, she found challenges she enjoyed and discovered a passion for science, deciding to pursue molecular biology in top universities. Gateway provided a warm, supportive environment that helped her find success and enjoyment in her education after struggling previously.

Uploaded by

api-350614618
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ISABELLE RUESCH

Education Reflection



Where did I go to high school? Well, thats a loaded question.

I went to my first year of high school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I knew I was leaving

from the start, as my dad had wanted to move out a year before us to setup, but I didnt act

like it. I totally ignored the fact that I only got to spend one year there. To the point that I got

into a relationship, and made a bunch of great friendships, and I crushed myself when I left

like I knew I was always going to.

In the end, moving did make me and my brothers closer, as in it made us friends to

begin with. So Id say it was ultimately for the best, but it also meant another new high

school. And I was not in the mood.

The new school was in Milton, Massachusetts. I mainly just remember it as cold.

Probably because our house didn't have heat for most of winter, but I think part of it was my

perception of my new surroundings. I didnt like school. No one really talks to the people

they dont know, and I was that person.

I think that's why I decided to leave for student exchange of to be an exchange

student. I didnt like the thought of being in that place for three years. The people were cold,

the place was cold, and I am not from the cold. As immature as that reasoning may sound, I

think it was ultimately for the best. It didn't take me long to decide to go. Infact I almost

immediately went to Rotary, an international organization that facilitates foreign student


exchanges, and started applying. The thought of leaving didn't bother me in the slightest,

not when I left or when I was there. I was however, sad to leave.

I ended up going to Chile in particular on happenstance. I had picked a bunch of

european countries to appease my parents despite wanting to go to latin america myself.

However, it turned out citizens cant exchange to their own countries, and as I hold multiple

european citizenships couldn't go to europe. Chile was my last choice, one I put on my list as

a whim, but it was the one I wanted the most so I guess you could say I got lucky. I think

ultimately it's all about temperature. Chile was culturally warmer. The people where more

open, like in Santa Fe, like in my home. So when I left Chile, and my parents told me they

moved to Brockton, I didnt care. Milton, Brockton it was all the same. Well, with the

exception of Gateway.

I heard of Gateway while still living in Chile. I was immediately drawn to it, mainly

because if I had stayed in Santa Fe, I would've gone to a very similar highschool program,

called the master program. My brother went to this program when in treatment and

remission for his disease. WIthout this program he never would of graduated, let alone one

time and with college credit. His program made him such a successful college applicant that

he made it into his college with honors, despite his low high school GPA.

One thing that made me the most homesick, when it came to leaving Santa Fe, is that

I never got to go to the same program. So having an opportunity like Gateway present itself

was super exciting. It made Brockton warmer, it was almost like home. When I got back to

the US I immediately called. I got an info session time and drove to Massasoit. It was tough
navigation to the session, as I had never been to Massasoit before, but I made it. Going on to

confirm my interest in the program and scheduled my accuplacer test.

Next was the interview. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was my boyfriends

birthday, or at least I thought he was my boyfriend until later that day when I stood to be

corrected, but that's a story for another time. He drove me from Waltham to Brockton, the

campus looked idyllic and open- a point that terrified me as I attempted to find where my

interview was being held. Eventually, however, I found the little tucked away Gateway office

and Balbina. I began answering the sea of questions. The infamous: whered you go to

highschool? Whyd you leave? Why are you here? Eventually, the sea of questions was

crossed and my highly organized application was collected. They told me on the spot I was

in, this was it- this was ACTUALLY where I was going to graduate high school from, I guess

fourth-time can also be the charm.

In school, I had always done well academically, but I was personally just sick of it. Im

dyslexic, and the added difficulty and frustration of dyslexia paired with high school, quite

honestly sucked. But Gateway really made me really enjoy being challenged. I started doing

well and was offered a job in STEM. I didnt think I would do very well, after all I always

struggled with science. But, next thing I knew, I was a science major and a project leader of

STEM. I learned to embrace the challenge through that job. I now want to go on to study

molecular biology, and Ill be going on to apply for top molecular biology schools, reach so

far as MIT, in the fall. I want to fulfill my passion for science that I have come to discovere at

MCC, ultimately hoping to achieve a PhD.


The shift in my attitude toward school, really surprises me; my sophomore year the

last thing I wanted to do was go to college. And now, a year and a half later, Im graduating,

and Im actually sad. I never thought Id be. I was always ready to leave. But now its over. Its

finally over, and I Im not ready to leave anymore. I actually liked it here. Its warmer then I

expected. It felt like home.

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