An Analysis of My Educational Journey (1)
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Vargas 1
Julio Vargas
CCAS 165
Professor Andalon
19 January 2023
High School
Introduction
For my Academic Journey (AJ) paper, I have chosen to talk about my high school
journey. My high school journey recently ended in 2023. I chose this period because it was the
most significant period in my academic journey, in which I had a more difficult time adapting to
its environment. I attended two different high schools. I attended a public high school in Carson,
CA, California Academy in Math and Sciences (CAMS). During this time, this school was
ranked the #1 high school in California as it was a very competitive Ivy school. The students
there were very school-oriented and exceptional in academics. I felt very privileged as I had
earned a spot with these exceptional students and was now spending time in this Ivy school
environment. Upon getting accepted into the school, I was beyond excited to start this new
journey of mine. My family was extremely excited and proud of me; they would explicitly
express this to me. My family saw the universities many of the alumni were attending and saw
hope in me to eventually attend these universities. The alumni would attend universities
including NYU, Columbia, Stanford, Harvard, USC, MIT, etc. Upon entering the school, we had
orientation, and I felt comfortable during the orientation. Upon starting, my family held a dinner
where we celebrated the beginning of my new journey. My family would talk to me and tell me,
“Echale ganas mijo” they would say, “Continue trying, son.” Through these talks, my family was
motivating me to try my best to succeed in this journey.
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Concept #1
My journey at CAMS High School ended up only lasting a semester. Yes, that sounds
short, but it felt like forever to me. CAMS ended up being a school I did not feel comfortable
attending. The academics were great, and I was doing good in school. However, outside of the
classroom, I felt very lost and alone. Since I was so used to attending elementary and middle
school with the same students around me, I never had to worry about making new friends the
next year. I always kept the same circle of friends. Now, I was entering this new high school
where I knew no one, and no one knew me. It was a clean slate at school, and making friends
was my biggest challenge. When talking to upperclassmen, I would always hear from them that
many students who came from my area, South Central LA, would end up leaving the school. The
people of my area held a stereotype at the school. South Central kids were known for leaving the
school, and I absolutely did not want to be known as another typical South Central kid. Hearing
the stereotype around me so much motivated me even more to continue on with this journey
despite feeling the way I felt. Mentally, I was telling myself to ignore any of my sad feelings and
continue on. I told myself that I could not, under any circumstances, fall under this stereotype
and leave the school.
Despite trying to pull through these uncomfortable feelings and telling myself I could
ride it out. A semester later, I left. I have now fallen under the stereotype threat concept. I was
now under the stereotype of a typical South Central LA kid who leaves the school. Although I
tried hard not to fall under this stereotype, I eventually gave in. According to the
University of
Colorado Boulder
, “Stereotype threat refers to the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about
an individual’s racial, ethnic, gender, or cultural group, which can create high cognitive load and
reduce academic focus and performance.” My experience at my first high school fell under the
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stereotype threat concept, as I was experiencing the effects of not wanting to confirm the
negative stereotype that South Central kids like myself held at this high school, that they would
eventually end up leaving the school. Making friends outside of class was my biggest challenge
at this school. I would notice many kids automatically connect with others, and I was stuck by
myself, not building any connections with anyone. Continuing throughout the semester, it was
always behind my head thinking about the stereotype that was held by my community. Never,
ever did I want to fall into this stereotype. From the beginning to mid-semester, I was doing great
in the classroom and grasping lectures and content exceptionally. However, towards the end of
the semester, I felt that the tole of not making friends and not wanting to confirm these negative
stereotypes began to affect my academic performance. I was beginning to slack more in school
and losing motivation for any of my work. The stereotype threat concept was affecting me
severely and taking a toll on me overall.
Stereotype threat was originally invented by researchers Claude Steele and Joshua
Aronson. These researchers believed that while students weren’t comfortable in a setting and felt
intimated by the thoughts others around them had on them, they would perform poorly in any
action. They believed while students did not feel welcomed, they would result in not succeeding.
Similar to my experience, this thought I had in my head of everyone thinking I would fall under
my stereotype would affect me socially. I felt intimated and not welcomed by the students around
me, and I almost felt as if they were all waiting for me to leave the school for their negative
stereotypes to be proved correctly. Personally, it was also affecting me. I had always been in
environments where I felt welcomed and comfortable by everyone around me. This was a new
environment for me, and not feeling welcomed and being intimated by those around me was a
new feeling. Steele and Aronson stated, “This hyper-vigilance and extra stress uses up cognitive
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Vargas 4
resources that are essential for learning, which can affect their performance and discourage them
from building valuable relationships.” Similarly to my experience, my internal thoughts of not
feeling welcome in school made it difficult for me to create friendships and build connections
with my peers.
Throughout this journey, I discussed and expressed my experience with my counselor and
some of my teachers. My Spanish teacher, Mrs.Brito, played an important role in this journey, as
she was one of the only people I felt comfortable around in school. I would discuss any
uncomfortable situation or hardships with her, and she would give me helpful feedback. Even
when discussing with her how I felt about being at this school, she recommended that I allow
myself to open up and for me to be somewhere, I was comfortable enough to work to my best
potential. While at CAMS, I joined the AVID program and ASB. Both of these programs were
my comfort places at CAMS because I felt a slight connection with my peers, and they would
serve as my escape from being completely alone and not having any friendships. These programs
made me feel more at home and gave me a reason to attend school with some excitement.
Change of Environment
After leaving CAMS, I moved to DRLC High. DRLC High is a public LAUSD school
located in South Central LA. This school is known for being “ghetto” and having a low
graduation rate. DRLC is known for being a bad school, and not many students make much out
of themselves. However, I prospered at DRLC and took advantage of the educational
opportunities that were being presented to me. I participated and began dual enrollment at my
school. Entered several sports. Because this school was not seen as a good school, my family
didn’t really express being proud of me. Despite the many educational opportunities that I was
taking advantage of, they only saw it as me doing the bare minimum and what I “had” to do
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because I had left behind CAMS, which they saw as a good opportunity that was once in a
lifetime. My family had begun to lose hope in me, as I was now attending a school that was
known for not being good. Apart from not receiving support from my family, my parents got
separated during my high school years at DRLC. I was constantly moving homes while my
mother was able to secure a home for my sister and me. I experienced the academic resilience
theory, as I have now prospered at the school despite the problems occurring at home. I took
advantage of the opportunities presented to me and was academically resilient at this school.
Concept #2
The academic resilience concept was first developed by researchers Wang, Haertel &
Walberg (1994). This concept is defined as “suggested academic resilience as the heightened
likelihood of success in school despite environment adversities brought about by early traits,
conditions, and experiences.” Academic resilience refers to the success students have in school
despite any obstacles and challenges they might encounter. While some students experience
more personal problems than others, some hold up tighter than others and are more resilient in
their academic performance. In my experience, many of the students around me weren’t doing
too well in school and were not very involved in their education as much as I was. This school
was considered a “bad” school because the students weren’t performing well academically.
Similarly to other students, I was also experiencing problems at home, including family
separation, addictions, housing issues, employment issues, etc. However, I stayed resilient and
continued to perform exceptionally in school. “...academic resilience can be described as the
dynamic process through which academically successful individuals can overcome the problems
stopping their peers from being successful.” The negative stereotype the school held in our
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community did not stop me from going beyond my school and taking any opportunities that were
presented for me to be ahead in my education.
An important guide I had at DRLC High was my counselor, Dr.Burman. Upon entering
the school, my counselor, Dr.Burman, met with me and asked me about my goals coming into
the school. He asked me about potential careers I was looking into and how I would work
towards these careers. Since my counselor was impressed with my focus on my career, he
presented many opportunities for me to get ahead in my education. These opportunities included
internships, community service, scholarships, dual enrollment, enrichment courses, etc. While
also at DRLC High, I was blessed to have my English teacher, Mrs.Macias, a staff member with
whom I felt extremely comfortable. My English teacher was the person I would come to when
presented with any obstacles or hardships, and she would give me suggestions or advice that
could improve my situation. Like in my old school, I joined the AVID program and ASB. I had
already been introduced to these programs and really liked them. Therefore, I decided to
continue with them and build many friendships through these courses. I felt as if AVID and ASB
were my comfort places at school, and I always knew that these classes would put a smile on my
face.
UCLA & Academic Connection
Now that I have attended both community and university levels, I am aware of the
stereotype that Latinos have. I am also aware of the low graduation and completion rate that
Latinos have in these institutions, let alone a university like UCLA. Through UCLA being the #1
public university, I am aware that I am bound to encounter stereotypes that my community might
hold in certain settings; however, now that I have experienced certain events, I know how to live
and embrace them. Now, I feel much more confident and have agreed with my senses that these
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Vargas 7
stereotypes give me a reason to walk in these environments with much more pride and
confidence, as I have made it this far and am continuing to succeed despite the various
stereotypes that I hold and continue to encounter in certain environments. Along with feeling
confident about the stereotypes my community might hold in certain environments, I am much
more confident in my performance and the academic resilience I hold in my capability to
persevere through obstacles I might encounter while undergoing my educational journey. I am
now aware that life is life, and I will not always be fronted with the best conditions, and that I
must still persevere through and make the best out of the situation that life has set me on. These
experiences have helped shape me not only academically but also logically. Many of these
experiences have changed my perspectives on society and the environments where my
community might be seen as less or talked down about. I have also adapted to the conditions that
my life undergoes and made the best experience out of it.
Conclusion
In my academic journey (AJ) paper, I talked about my high school journey and my
experiences during these years. While researching many education theories and concepts, I
realized that unintentionally, I have experienced many of these concepts. Two of the many
concepts I decided to discuss in this paper are stereotype threat and academic resilience. Through
experiencing these theories and researching them, I feel more at ease knowing that these are all
issues that not just myself but many kids experience. It makes me feel better that I wasn’t alone
and that I am connected with a community that has also experienced this.
Similarly, I feel that through kids experiencing these concepts, they will also gain other
characteristics that will carry on with them for the rest of their lives and help better themselves
for the better, just like me. Because I experienced these concepts while in high school, I
Vargas 8
improved myself and became a better young adult; now, entering adulthood, I can carry myself
more confidently and less hard on myself, knowing that many others experience the same
exposures as I do.
Vargas 9
REFERENCES
●
"Stereotype Threat." Center for Teaching & Learning, 31 Aug. 2023,
www.colorado.edu/center/teaching-learning/inclusivity/stereotype-threat.
●
Inzlicht, Michael, and Toni Schmader, Stereotype Threat: Theory, Process, and
Application (2011; online edn, Oxford Academic, 19 Jan. 2012),
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732449.001.0001
●
Yang S and Wang W (2022) The Role of Academic Resilience, Motivational Intensity
and Their Relationship in EFL Learners' Academic Achievement. Front. Psychol.
12:823537. doi:
10.3389/fpsyg.2021.823537
●
Jowkar, Bahram et al. “Academic resilience in education: the role of achievement goal
orientations.” Journal of advances in medical education & professionalism vol. 2,1
(2014): 33-8.
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