A Challenging Academic Experience by Natalie

A Challenging Academic Experience by Natalie - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

I faced a challenge during my sophomore year in high school: my Modern World History class. I was not doing well, which included not taking practical notes, not having good study skills, and not focusing in class. I worked on my challenges throughout the year
and transformed my grades from Cs to As.

My history teacher lectured at a college level, unlike other teachers I had for my other classes. During the class, I had difficulty focusing and taking notes. I rarely participated in class, and my test grades reflected my class engagement. This also began to
impact my mental health and self-esteem. I procrastinated every time I did homework for this class.

In November, I wanted to ensure I passed and did not end up in summer school. So, I found a tutor named Elaine to help improve my grades. Elaine was an expert at tutoring students who needed help improving their study skills. She was excellent at figuring out my struggles and giving me solutions I could implement. One of these strategies was improved note-taking. She taught me a method to help me memorize terms and write notes in my own words. The technique consisted of copying a sentence in my history textbook and pasting it into a Google document. Then, I wrote the sentence in my own words and colored the text red. This method helped me decide what to do, put extra time into creating notes, and learn helpful study tools.

I did not achieve perfect grades, but I improved my self-esteem by creating study habits that helped build self-confidence. During the second semester, I spent the rest of the class with another tutor, Jen. I continued taking the class with all the tools I implemented from what Elaine taught me in the first semester. Between Jen and Elaine’s strategies, Quizlet, and developing my skills in creating flashcards, I improved my study habits, which helped boost my outlook toward this class and made me start to enjoy it more. By beginning to enjoy the class and understand what I was learning, I improved my focus, which added to my overall improvement. A main takeaway was that I started using these tools in my other courses in my junior and senior years. By using these methods in my other classes and dedicating myself to obtaining good grades, I was able to make the honor roll.

Some advice I would give to my past self is to be confident to ask teachers for help when needed. It only sometimes works, but you can get help from other people, including students, counselors, and tutors. There is always help; you must get out of your comfort zone and find it. Another takeaway is to use all your resources, such as apps, books, electronic formats, and electronic help. The second most important thing I learned from this experience is about myself. Even though this created self-esteem issues and doubts about my abilities, I still knew how resilient I could be. I had to persist daily by going to class and implementing my tools, doing extra studying, and practicing study skills in my other courses.
It is essential to remember that this is not the only time I’ll experience challenges. We have to overcome challenges every day, and we need to stay motivated at all costs.

As I go into my next stage of learning, I will be able to stay motivated, advocate for myself, and stay resilient at all times. I understand that college will have many challenges, but this experience has prepared me to face them.