Talented Young Men Overcoming Tough Times by Thomas Hebert

Author:Thomas Hebert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks

Life at the Academy

When Sebastian arrived at the academy, from a rural community where he had been one of five African American students in his entire high school, he discovered that he and an African American female were a “minority of two” in the new senior-year Academy cohort of 54 students. The third culturally diverse student was Asian. The demographics of the group did not trouble Sebastian. He reflected on the arrival of the inaugural class: “We came in, it was the first year ever, and we bonded. We knew we had to make it together, and we became a family.” Many of the academy students remained at the university for their undergraduate years, and friendships continued. Sebastian admitted that initially he was somewhat intimidated by some of his academy peers. He described his initial impressions and how his view changed:

I thought they all seemed so smart, and so many were coming from prestigious schools. I was here from a small county school. I was the only student from my county to even get accepted to this program, and I thought for sure they were going to rip me to shreds academically. They were so much more sophisticated, and they presented themselves well. Once I got to know them and live with them, I realized what you see is not always it. Living with them in the dorm I figured out they’re not much different from me. I learned quickly that I was ripping them to shreds! So that shows how much hard work pays off. Many of them came here thinking, “Because I’m smart, I don’t have to study.” I came here thinking, “Okay. I’m given this opportunity. Let’s see how much I can grab of it.”

Friendships at the academy evolved naturally. Sebastian enjoyed his peers in the cohort: “The people I hung out with were as dedicated as me. They were all high-achieving, working towards the same goals.” He pointed out that his friends often commented on how easygoing and happy he always was. He realized that leaving the conflict-ridden situation at home enabled him to be more relaxed; however, with his new friends he was honest about his home situation:

When people asked, “Sebastian, how are you managing to do so well academically?” that would bring up my life story. I shared some details of my alcoholic father. I explained that after what I had gone through at home, I had to push myself to get out of that situation, so that’s why I was working so hard. They then understood why I was so happy.

As an academy student, Sebastian benefitted from dual enrollment, whereby he earned college credit during his final year of high school while simultaneously completing required courses for a high school diploma. To determine his program of study, he was required to take an online math placement examination to establish whether he should be enrolled initially in college trigonometry or calculus. He was also required to complete three core science courses, and he chose to enroll in chemistry, physics, and two classes in biology.

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