Standout Students

Congratulations Kiersten Boulden, a sophomore from Port Royal, SC who is on track to graduate one year early. Kiersten is our April Student of the Month! This is Kiersten’s first year at SC Whitmore School and she has been a great student during her time at SCWS.

Kiersten enrolled at the SC Whitmore School during her sophomore year. She enrolled at SCWS following the start of the COVID – 19 pandemic. She was looking for a school that specializes in online learning.

“A family-friend of ours found SC Whitmore School and it was absolutely what we were looking for and much more,” said Kiersten. “My dad and I watched the Alumni Stories on the school’s website, and we were excited to see how graduates used SC Whitmore School’s “School Your Way” policy. Graduating a year earlier was a goal that I thought about, but SCWS helped me make this possible.”

Kiersten has enjoyed her experience at SC Whitmore School.

“I love how all of my classes are self-paced and I know which classes I need to graduate,” said Kiersten. “This made it easier to set my goals. Since everything is self-paced, I was able to get ahead with all of my classes and now I will be graduating a year earlier! I can also set my school schedule with other things like work and meeting with friends.”

Kiersten said one challenge that she has faced is procrastination.

“I told myself that I had “all day to finish,” which was true, but not in the procrastinating mindset,” said Kiersten. “I overcame this by creating a “to-do list” for the day. This helped me create a schedule for what I wanted to get done with my classes and other things I wanted to get done outside of school.”

She appreciates the support that she has received from her community.

“Self-motivation and support from both my teachers and parents really helped me get my goals met,” said Kiersten. “When I got behind on my classes, I made good use of doing my assignments on the weekends. Being able to see my lessons 24/7 is a total gamechanger. I could even work on classes during school breaks. I was also able to “bank” days on the weekends if we had a vacation coming up during a school week. I would do a little work at a time on the weekends and relax on what would have been full school days for me.”

The teachers at SC Whitmore have enjoyed Kiersten as a student.

Her math teacher, Mrs. Redfearn is seeing all of the hard work and effort she is putting into her lessons.

“Kiersten is an awesome student, she met with me any time she hit an obstacle, ” said Mrs. Redfearn. Her questions were intuitive and her enthusiasm for the course was contagious. She worked more days ahead of the pacing guide and earned an A in both courses.”

Mr. McIsaac, SCWS science teacher, also says that Kiersten works diligently in all her lessons.

“Kiersten does excellent work and has excellent attendance,” said Mr.McIsaac.

She adjusted to online learning very well.

“Honestly, adjusting to online learning was less involved than I thought, said Kiersten. “I was able to get a lot more school work done without the distractions of going to school in person. I also had more freedoms than I would have not had if I wasn’t an online student. I could work, go out to lunch, go shopping, go workout, or meet with friends without having to worry about being at school at a certain time.”

Kiersten believes that the pacing guides really help students stay on track.

“The pacing guide that each teacher gives is super helpful with staying on track,” said Kiersten. “This is how I kept a steady pace for my classes and made plans on getting ahead. Google calendar has also been super helpful in reminding me of important meetings with teachers and for due dates.”

In the future, Kiersten plans to earn college credit over the summer with USCB and continue to be an honors student.

“I am interested in having a career in the engineering field,” said Kiersten. “I love being creative and learning how things work.”

Kiersten has great advice for any new students at SC Whitmore School.

“My advice for new students to SCWS is to not be afraid of setting big goals, said Kiersten. “I would not have imagined being as far ahead as I am today if I did not set higher goals for myself. Also doing more than what is just “required” will help to open doors for things that you might not have considered before. Viewing what is required as a base for yourself will help to set bigger goals and accomplishments.”

In her free time, Kiersten enjoys refinishing furniture with her dad, drawing, painting, practicing karate and working out.

We are very proud of all your accomplishments! Keep doing “School Your Way!”