Introduction 

 

Hello, my name is Suzette Salgado and I have joined ACLC since the 9th grade. ACLC has been an amazing experience for me, I've learned so much and have improved a lot on some life skills that I'll be needing in the future. During my high school journey in ACLC, I have met some amazing people that have helped and influenced me in a good way. I'm thankful for all the support that ACLC has provided me with. 

 

                                                                        Personal Qualities, Work Habits, and Attitude

 

Regardless of whatever circumstance I find myself in, I try to stay resilient. Throughout my life there have been a lot of obstacles that I have found hard to face but I tend to withstand those casualties. Part of being human is to face a lot of obstacles, but learning from these obstacles is what growth is about. I have shown personal growth throughout my high school journey in ACLC. Time management was a thing that I've struggled with a lot, but throughout the time I have learned a bit more about how to manage my time. College classes, school work, online classes, internships, are things I've done in my senior year, and although it was stressful to manage my time to do all these tasks, I eventually just started working through these tasks by managing my time/schedule. A thing I like about ACLC is the project periods.  I always make sure to use my project periods the right way. Instead of spending time with friends I always choose to use my project periods academically in order to finish with my tasks. I do have the choice to do whatever I want on my project periods, but I certainly don't agree with wasting my time on doing nothing when I can be spending my time on assignments. 

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                                                                                                 New Basics 

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 I was born in Berkeley California, I was raised for some years in Mexico, so throughout the years, it's been a challenge for me to learn fluent and proper English. As my journey in ACLC began in ninth grade, ACLC has provided me with enough support to expand my initiative on English vocabulary and knowledge of the English language. Essentially  I've gained the capability to gain communication skills and writing. I can say now that my form of communication has progressed throughout the years I've been in ACLC. Spanish is my first language, therefore I have zero struggles when it comes to comprehending, speaking, writing, and reading Spanish. I remember in tenth grade I was going to take Spanish one, and as I was keeping a rank of straight A’s my facilitator believed that studying for another language course would be the best choice instead of taking a class that I already have a complete understanding and knowledge of. Reading isn't hard for me, there are times when I bump in with new words to my vocabulary that I may be misspelling wrong but there is always time for research. Reading Shakespear's books can sometimes be confusing, but I don't mind asking my peers for help to understand some words. Overall reading hasn't been my favorite subject; there isn't a particular time where I sit and decide to read, but when it comes to academics and I'm assigned a book  I really do enjoy reading and gain more knowledge by learning new stuff from it and that's the part that I really enjoy when reading.

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                                                                                   Thinking and Reasoning Skills 

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There's a common thing that each class in ACLC provides learners with, and that is spatial thinking.  Throughout the years I've been in ACLC creativity and Spatial thinking are skills that I’ve gained more. It has allowed me to expand my knowledge and creativity. Particularly when it comes to Geometry, English, and  Physics. I've done several physics projects during my ninth-grade year as well as science fair projects, and although I can say that I've struggled with Physics handouts, I really liked doing material projects. I remember the time when we had a project, we had to do a Trebuchet for Physics and although my partners and I had some difficulties when building the Trebuchet, we overcame the obstacles with creativity which allowed us to get a perfect score. In English, in order to keep track of an assignment we are doing, I never bother to take notes. Notes basically help me keep track of what I'm doing, and it has helped me maintain the order of my assignments and also to manage my time. I'm still learning to manage my time 100%, but I've made progress throughout my high school years. A class I've really enjoyed is Geometry. If I ever feel stuck on a certain topic I never bother to ask questions or ask for help from my facilitator or go to his office hours. I always make sure to take notes, even if it's a problem that I don't have to annotate, it efficiently helps me understand the topic more. A thing I always liked about doing geometric shapes is that you can use your imagination to construct a shape. Reflecting, transferring, and rotating a shape is to always use your imagination and it amplifies my reasoning skills.  

 

                                                                                         Interpersonal Abilities 

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I've always been an introverted person. I've always felt more comfortable being better off alone. Part of my Growth takes place when working in groups because it has helped me understand other people’s opinions and their perspectives. Being a learner in ACLC has taught me that group work is a really important part of communication, integrity, and alternative thinking. Though I'm still learning to be more outstanding when it comes to group work, I can say that I've learned to participate more. I also have tutored several second and third graders. During distance learning I was tutoring a third grader In Oakland and I can proudly say that this student made progress over the course. Now I'm currently tutoring a second-grader. Part of what I love about teaching others is that I like the great sense of achievement and personal growth. I always try to make sessions fun and interesting, and I feel like that is part of what I need to do, to demonstrate confidentiality towards these kids, so they can feel comfortable and be more outgoing. 

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                                                                                                  Technology 

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I can't say that my knowledge about technology is very advanced but I do know the basics and I can continue to learn more about it. Technology is a tool that I use on a daily basis, part of that is because I'm currently a senior in high school, ACLC works through technology. Printers, computers, Chromebooks, projectors, etc. almost all assignments are due through Jupiter ED, which is a school app that we view and do our work on. In the previous schools I've been to, I never really used technology as much as in ACLC. Learning a lot about technology has been a great alternative. During distance learning, my technological skills have developed even more which makes me really proud. When stepping in ACLC for the first time I had no knowledge of how to do a website, I certainly do now, and I'm proud I do know now how to do one. I feel like this is a skill that I might need to do in the future. 

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                                                                                                    Conclusion 

 

My time in ACLC has been amazing, I'm forever thankful to Lynn, Molly, Robert, Marcos, Jonathan, Flavio, Caroline, Amanda, Dan, for teaching me important life skills because I'm certainly going to need them in the future. ACLC has been a great journey for me, I got to learn, and meet some amazing people.