Standout Students

I first enrolled in SC Whitmore School in 2017. At the time, I had several obstacles in my home life I was overcoming. In 2016, I had come out of a domestic abuse situation at home from my stepfather. I had been stuck in the situation for 6 years and, because of my wonderful support system from my mother, I was able to leave and find the help that I needed. At the beginning of 2017, my mother found SC Whitmore School and we agreed for me to enroll there because they provided the curriculum and structure of a brick and mortar school but allotted me the schedule I needed for the mental health struggles I was facing as well as the time for the professionals I was seeing for such. I also had been hospitalized due to everything and had gotten behind on my studies, where they allowed me to catch up on my coursework.

I ended up facing many struggles throughout my time enrolled in SC Whitmore, but am very pleased with the faculty and staff here. My guidance counselor especially, Mrs. Gilbert, was here through everything and did her best to push me and provide me with everything I needed. In 2018 I, sadly, had not finished school as planned.

I had another mental health crisis due to my father figure passing. He was a huge part of my recovery from the domestic abuse I had been through and I did not re-enroll or continue my studies as I should have.

I decided to re-enroll again this year and was accepted with so many warm hearts and open arms from the office, and all of my teachers worked incredibly hard to help me catch up on my coursework and make sure I passed. In the time between when I was last enrolled to when I was re-enrolled, I faced homelessness, another domestic abuse situation, and am now a single mother of one. He is the reason I chose to re-enroll this year. Once I had him, I finally realized why it was so important to have a decent education. I have now been accepted into college and will further my education to provide the best life I can for myself and my son.

Adjusting from a regular brick and mortar school has been a difficult task, to say the least. The most difficult part I would say had to be keeping up my motivation to stay on track with my work. Whenever I set out my goals for the day, week, month, and school year I was able to see how and where I would be able to find the time for each individual class and help me keep my motivation up to stay on track for those goals.

I found that having a planner, whiteboard, and sticky notes were incredibly helpful for setting goals and reminders as a student. I was able to plan out how many lessons I wanted to accomplish, how quickly I wanted to accomplish them, and reminders for which ones to do for the day. With a hectic life like mine, it definitely came in handy.

My academic and career goals include attending college, getting my Ph.D. to be a Veterinarian, and eventually owning my own practice and animal rescue. It has been a dream of mine since I was incredibly young, and being able to face so much and still accomplish as much as I have has shown me that, against all odds, I can and will achieve my dreams.

For those who are new to SC Whitmore, I would like to say that I know how difficult an at-home life can be and how difficult it is to adjust to an online school. It all pans out in the end, just keep talking to your teachers and guidance counselor. They are here to help and they are some of the most dedicated teachers and faculty I have ever met. This is coming from someone who has been to 3 different schools, just in high school.

Outside of school, I haven’t had much time for anything other than my son, but that’s okay! His first birthday is on January 23rd! He’s the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. We’ve gone through so many stages while in school, from teething to sleep regressions to crawling, and so much more. He is my passion, and he’s brought out so much in me. I have a love and appreciation for the little things, from rolling around on the floor and giggling to just cuddling up in bed on sick days.

Finally, I would just like to say that I am not a perfect student. You don’t have to be a perfect student to accomplish so much. I share what I have been through, my struggles, and here I am at 20 years old before receiving my diploma. I share these things about my life because it is nothing to be ashamed of and none of you should be ashamed of either. It’s okay to not be a straight-A student, have perfect attendance, or have a perfect at-home life. What matters is that you believe in yourself and know that through everything you may go through in life you are capable of so much. Life definitely has glum moments, and those moments may seem like there is no end. I promise there is. You are doing it, that’s what matters! And that alone will carry you so far in life. I also would like to take this opportunity to say that if you are facing a life at home that involves domestic abuse in any form, please reach out to someone you trust. I wish I had reached out sooner. At the time it seemed like it was all I could do, keep my head down and stay there to take care of my Mom. I didn’t have to do that, though. There are options, there are people who care, and your life will be beautiful again. Keep fighting the good fight and it will all come back to you in beautiful ways! I am open about my story now in hopes that it could help even just one person in the smallest way.