ACE has welcomed 15 new students for the second semester. Everyone comes here for different reasons, but teachers and students seem to make everyone feel very welcome. Everyone has their own story to tell and makes sure they feel heard. The new students here at ACE are Jamauri Stewart, Gianna Pellegrino, Jakayla Herring, Alanna Irizarry, Alison Vargas, Valentina Civitano, Austin Collazo, Jordyn Rock, Sheyly Currlio, Janluis Cerda, Elijah Peringer, Joseph Tapia, Ava Stabell, Azaire King, and lastly, me, Ciana Serrano. I shared my own experience at ACE and one other new student.
I’m a new student here at ACE myself, so beginning with me, I think that the switch from DHS to ACE has been one of the best decisions and something that should’ve happened sooner. Switching from a big school to a tiny school seemed like it would be difficult, but it’s really been easy. At ACE, the teachers try to get to know everyone and get you to succeed, whereas at DHS, teachers have so many students it’s hard to do that. ACE teachers try to push you, teach you independence, and how it’s going to be different out in the real world when you won’t always have someone to push you. ACE is almost exactly what I expected; it’s really small where it’s easier for the teachers to get to know everyone, and you build a different connection with almost every teacher. I came to ACE for a fresh start and to make sure I graduate in June because at DHS, I wasn’t on top of everything like I should’ve been. The DHS environment was becoming very toxic, and I just needed a change to finish out my senior year. We all know change is hard, but at the end of the day, it isn’t what we need to do; it’s just something we have to do to succeed and get to where we need to be in life. So no matter how hard change can be, make sure it doesn’t stop you from new opportunities and experiences.
Jakayla is a senior here at ACE who also switched from DHS. I interviewed Jakayla to see how ACE is so far. My first question was, “What is one thing you like at ACE?” She replied, “I like the teachers and environment here at ACE; the teachers really try to get to know who you really are and what makes you who you are.” I followed that question with, “Why did you decide to come to ACE?” She said, “I decided to come to ACE because I needed a change of environment.” Jakayla so far is enjoying the rest of her senior year at ACE, getting a new experience, and is ready to graduate in June.
The answer that was repeated a lot when hearing people talk about what they liked at ACE was the teachers and how they try to get to know you. Everyone is learning more about ACE and adapting to the change so don’t be scared of change and let it stop you it can always be good.
