Andrea Hurtado
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BREAKING FROM THE HERD

5/10/2015

2 Comments

 
We are all very excellent SHEEP. We’ve been absorbed by the system, and we jump the hoops as the come.  We don’t love it, but we’ve never QUESTION it because we don’t know any better. 
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Two years ago, when we were presented the IA, many were MOVED by the idea, it was something DIFFERENT and we were INSPIRED by it. However, when it was time to decide amongst the programs the school has to offer, many of us questioned this new system. For the first time we were CHALLENGING a system and critically thinking about it. We were scared about universities and how they would PERCEIVE this new program. We were already thinking about the next hoop, without even thinking of the PURPOSE first. The problem is that we are excellent sheep; since we saw that the current system was providing the OUTCOMES we wanted to achieve; there was no reason why we should SHIFT gears. 

During most of my time at school I was a SHEEP myself. I was accustomed to follow the herd. I was working hard to get good grades, so that when the time came I would be able to apply to prestigious colleges. I had already picked up my dream college without even knowing what majors it had, or even worse, what I wanted to study: I just knew I wanted a BIG name and cool campus. However, my thoughts completely changed after a year in the IA.
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There is no doubt that at first I CHALLENGED the IA myself, but even so I found it AMAZING because it reinforced the idea of finding PURPOSE and a PASSION, something I didn’t have, so I decided to join. Like I’ve mentioned in my previous blog, the IA has allowed me to find myself (my strengths and weaknesses), and who I want to become. Through the IA, I began to realize that I didn’t have a CLEAR purpose why I was working so hard to get good grades, or why I wanted to go to elite schools. In the system I was blinded, and I had no sense of direction. 

When I entered the IA, the EXPERIENCE and FOCUS was totally different to the one I had been following. For the first time, I was genuinely passionate about learning. SUCCESS wasn’t defined by the grades, but by the hard work and relevant projects that enriched the classrooms learning. Instead of continuing to value big name schools and city campuses with no particular purpose, I began to value learning experience, innovative environments, real world experience, collaboration with experts, and more. I began to VALUE things that ENRICHED my education and learning more than my curriculum. 
When it was time to apply to university my vision gave a 360-DEGREE TURN, from NYU’s to TCU’s. I went from a vision of elite schools to a vision of project and experience based learning schools. I began to search for schools that had some of the things I VALUED from the IA like: real world experience, relevant projects, collaboration and internship opportunities, interdisciplinary courses/majors, small classrooms, and so on. When I finished creating my college list I knew exactly what I wanted to GET for my higher education and from the different institutions and their programs. 
After a long ride of applications and admissions decisions I have decided to attend PROVIDENCE COLLEGE. Something I truly value from the IA is the PERSONALIZED learning offered. Through a small classroom size I’ve been able to build close relationships with my cohort and mentor, who have given me feedback, and made me grow as a person. I see the value in constant feedback and I want that in my higher education. PC has SMALL CLASSROOM SIZES, and students THERE have told me how close they are to their professors and how small classrooms allow them to stay engaged. Then, another thing I valued from PC is that they have great connections, so students are able to learn from experts. Not only does the school provide you with internship opportunities, but also when professors know you really well they find you too offer you internship and working opportunities. I know students who have been able to intern at firms in NYC and Boston in their freshmen year because of their  professors reaching out to them. In the IA I’ve seen the VALUE of real world experiences, so I’m looking into taking this opportunity and getting some fieldwork since the beginning. Finally, PC also strives to help students FIND A PASSION in their careers. In one of the courses you take as finance major, experts come to give talks about what they do and how there life is. A current student at PC told me that he really enjoyed this class because he was able to see what his career was going to entail upon graduation, thus give him an idea if this was something he wanted to continue pursuing.
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Thanks to the opportunity I've been presented, a new program at our school, I've learned to challenge and evaluate the hoops before jumping right into them. Even though I'm a sheep in some ascots of my life I feel that i've learned when to break apart from the herd to step back, grain perspective, and ask myself if there is a purpose to what I'm doing. There are great things about the system, but there are also something we need to be skeptical about. This two years have been extremely rewarding and I hope that my experience at PC continues enriching my life. 

2 Comments
Corey Topf
5/10/2015 08:41:00 am

Rue! There's a quote in "Excellent Sheep" that says, "The classroom is a grain of sand; it's up to you to make the pearl." In every way possible, you have made the most of your IA experience. You have taken the projects and the experiences we've had and you've internalized them in your own way and made them part of who you are. This is what it means to be educated! Thank you for pushing yourself to learn for learning's sake, and not for some external, fleeting goal. You have challenged yourself every step of the way and I couldn't be prouder of the learner and person you continue to become.

Thank you as well for another beautiful blog post.

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Carolina F
5/10/2015 12:18:49 pm

Drew! I love this post because it's so genuine. I don't know if you remember this, but when we were in 10th grade we were in the pool at school talking about this new program that had been presented to us. You wanted to take it, but were hesitant as to how it would look on your applications when it was time to apply to colleges. Two years later, look where we are. We're all going off to college somewhere and we couldn't be happier with how things turned out! I proudly want to say that--even if it sounds very egotistical--we're the ones that are going places and not the ones that are going to take things for granted. We will question what is told to us, and we will expect the best outcomes for our inputs. We aren't the ones who are part of the system, we are the ones that will break it--as cheesy as that may sound.

At some point in our lives we're going to be excellent sheep and just part of the system, but I'm glad you've found a college that really suits you, and I know that you'll make the best of what is offered to you. I know that at PC you're going to keep up questioning what is told to you and you won't stick to the conventional, or as you like to call it, stick to the herd. It WILL continue enriching your life!

Loved your post, Drew!

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