Next Thursday in DC, Higher Achievement is hosting our seventeenth annual Green Apple Awards to celebrate the graduation of our eighth grade scholars, and to recognize important Higher Achievement supporters and community members. Santiago D., current Ward 1 scholar and future Duke Ellington School of the Arts student, will read his Higher Achievement reflection essay at Green Apples along with two other graduates. Take a look at his reflection below. His mentor, Sherry Rhodes, will also be presented with a Green Apple Award to honor all she has done for Higher Achievement. She serves on the DC President’s Council, the national Board of Directors, the Gannon Society, and the Middle School Matters fundraising committee, in addition to being a dedicated mentor to Santiago for the past three years.
RSVP to the Green Apple Awards today!
The Memories and Experiences I Had at Higher Achievement
By: Santiago D.
Higher Achievement, four years of my life I’ll never forget. From Olympics of the Mind to our college trip to Penn State University. When I first entered the program, I never imagined I’d experience all sorts of things and meet all sorts of people, some I’ll never forget. The friends I’ve made, like my mentors Ms. Sherry and Mr. Colin, helped me reach goals I never dreamed of accomplishing. But now I’ve made it to the end and I feel prepared.
Thanks to Higher Achievement, my mentoring group (Hector and Kastenny and I) got into Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Higher Achievement helped me obtain good grades and accomplish many goals through school. One of the goals I accomplished was running for the Ward 1 scholar ambassador as a fifth grader and winning. This helped improve my public speaking and writing skills. During my term as scholar ambassador, I received great support and confidence when I presented, and I got a wonderful experience learning what a leader does, and what challenges and successes leaders encounter in their position. It will be a memory I’ll never forget, and I hope the newly elected scholar ambassadors will be able to say the same thing.
From my experiences at Higher Achievement, I’ve learned the importance of public speaking and how to remain confident and loud and proud. I also learned importance of writing skills and how it helps convey an idea in diverse ways and formats. I as well learned how to adapt to any situation, make new friends, and succeed in society.
Higher Achievement is a program I’ll never forget. I’ll cherish the friends I have made, and what the mentors and staff have taught me. Higher Achievement is more than just the CARE + 2 principles of choices, attitude, respect, leadership, energy, and preparation. It’s a program that understands you, to the point where you are family.
Join us in celebrating our eighth grade scholars at the Green Apple Awards on May 18th!