Student Testimonial | Saving our Planet

Grade 12 Average: 82%

Courses Taken at Uchenna Academy: Grade 11 mathematics (MCF3M), Grade 12 Economics (CIA4U)

University of Choice: University of Waterloo

In grade 9, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life- career wise. In grade 10, my old relatives asked me again, I still had no clue. It wasn’t until my older sister advised me when I was in grade 11 to take some grade 12 courses to get them out of the way so I wouldn’t be stressed the next year.

Taking her advice, I enrolled in an online course through the TDSB, and signed up for taking grade 11 mixed math at Uchenna Academy, during the summer of 2016. Keep in mind, I had already taken grade 11 applied math at my high school, and had a lot of difficulty with it. The way my teacher at Uchenna Academy taught me math… it all just started to make sense. After taking the grade 12 online course in “Resource, Environment, & Management” I had found something I liked, science, but without the math component. I really enjoyed finally understanding math with Uchenna Academy’s help, but it still wasn’t something I wanted to pursue at university.

In grade 11, I took two grade 12 courses, and the grade 11 mixed math course which gave me some extra credits. In grade 12, I had a bit of an idea of what I wanted to do, and that was studying the environment and earth’s patterns, making/changing policies in cities to reduce gas emissions and global warming, etc.

With the math knowledge I had acquired, and enjoying studying with the small class sizes at Uchenna Academy, I decided to enroll in another course in night school at Uchenna, Economics. I found economics really interesting and my teacher at Uchenna Academy made it make sense, I don’t know if it was because there was never more than 5 people in my classes so we got more attention for our questions or if it is just the learning style of their school.

Once I finished Economics, another grade 12 credit, I only had to do really well in English, Business, and Media at my homeschool. With obtaining marks over 80% in all my courses, I applied to 6 universities, (Laurentian, Trent, University of Waterloo, Lake Head, York, & Carleton.) Very luckily, and surprisingly, I got into all of them with an 82% average. Over this past year I have worked very hard and my average has gone up to an 86% before entering my exam period which I am currently in now.

Two offers out of the universities I got accepted into really stood out to me: Trent University, Water Sciences, and University of Waterloo Resource, Environment and Sustainability Co-op. It was a very hard decision because I did not want to just pick a school based on its reputation, I chose to attend University of Waterloo because they had co-op and I truly believe students that gain experience while finishing their post secondary schooling will have more job opportunities and I wanted to gain as much experience as possible.

Having completed the 3 courses before finishing grade 12 took so much pressure off. Only having to worry about maintaining the highest marks I could achieve in 3 courses was a very smart decision. Most of my friends are pulling their hair out because they have 6 exams this month and have to obtain over an 80% (or higher depending on their program,) in all of them is very stressful.

I am really glad I attended Uchenna Academy because they gave me the confidence I was lacking to keep my head down and study to my fullest potential. If I had not taken two courses there, I probably wouldn’t have been sane throughout this past year and I am forever grateful for that.

If you are in grade 11 or younger, the best advice I could give you is try new things. Open your mind to every possibility that comes your way if you don’t know what career path you wish to go into. If you don’t have the marks for it, or don’t feel you are smart enough, go have a pep talk with the teachers at Uchenna Academy and I promise you, you will be able to achieve anything.

Written by:

Diana Davey, UWO class of 2021