My family and I chose SEED because of its college preparatory environment. What really stood out to us was the exposure to college experiences I would receive starting in middle school and the external learning opportunities and activities offered.
In 2018, I began my journey as a sixth-grade student at SEED MD. Initially, it was a bit nerve-racking. I kept to myself and didn't talk to many students. But now, I’ve established friendships that I know will continue even after I graduate. I also grew to trust and seek guidance from my teachers. With their encouragement, I took difficult courses and set the goal to get the credits I needed to graduate early. I was taking high school math classes in the seventh grade, and extra courses during the semester and in the summer. Currently I’m taking dual enrollment courses at Baltimore City Community College.
I’m also very involved with SEED outside of the classroom. I am on the track and cross-country team, and I tutor some of my younger peers. I like tutoring math because math is my strong suit. I enjoy explaining math concepts in a way that students understand—it makes me feel happy.
SEED has introduced me to so many opportunities I would never have known about otherwise. In fact, last year, SEED partnered with Harvard University. Through this partnership, I took a business course and a computer science course. I learned about Python which inspired me to pursue a Python certification. Now I'm working in SEED MD’s Cyber Lab doing security audits, project management, and team building exercises. Because of these experiences, I am planning to study data science and business in college and graduate school, with the goal of eventually starting my own business.
Next year, I will be attending the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a Meyerhoff Scholar. My college counselor Mr. Walden encouraged me to apply for the program. When I looked into the program, it piqued my interest, and I saw the things that students who graduated had gone on to do and I thought, ‘I can be that’.
There are so many things I want to do in life. I am ready to focus on the next chapter, to take on new challenges, and to pursue my academic and career goals.