Holly: School has always been a big part of my life. Now that I think about it, I'm 23 and I spent 20ish years of my life in school. I was always motivated to do well in school...I rarely had a report card in elementary school with anything less than a B on it. Same in high school; I think I had 2 C's on my report cards in four years of high school (you can thank physics and statistics for that). High school holds a lot of fond memories: proms, Mock Trial, SEVEN YEARS of marching band, meeting my best friend, whom we are still friends with. College was...a struggle. I barely had to work in high school compared toBerea College; it was a whole new ballpark. It's a lot different getting an A at Berea College than it is anywhere else. I was struggling most semesters to just PASS my classes, let alone shooting for an A. But nevertheless, I graduated, and I am so proud of myself, even a year later. I made some of the most amazing friends there, formed close relationships with some of my professors, spent seven semesters in BME which changed my faith and my perspective on life in general, spent four weeks in England and learned so much more about the world, another culture, and myself (I WILL go back someday!!), found my wonderfully amazing church family...need I say more? Is more school in the cards for me? Maybe. I mean, there are so many options out there, and there are so many options that interest me. But it's too hard for me to devote myself to just one area of study. And to be honest, right now I don't think I'm disciplined enough. In fact, I know I'm not disciplined enough. I'm enjoying working and having time to myself and other areas, and not having to worry about school. And the fact of the matter is that school is always out there, and I am always learning, even without a textbook or a Microsoft Word document in front of me.
Kelly: I did my best in all of my schoolwork, even though I mostly struggled. I worked hard for the C's on my report cards/college transcripts! When I was in 2nd grade I was told I had a "learning problem." Not necessarily a disability, but I struggled more than the average student. Had a hard time focusing...thought maybe ADD/ADHD/nonsense, but turns out I was just waiting for Holly's direction. Struggled a LOT in test-taking, the standardized ones of course. Made a 16 on the ACT, yet still got into Berea. Graduated 9th in my high school class with a 3.8 GPA. Then I came to Berea and decided I wanted to do nursing; THAT in of itself was the biggest challenge. My GPA took a nose dive, and as a result did not allow me to practice nursing in one area; the University of Louisville. It hurt, but there are plenty of other fish in the sea. But I worked VERY HARD and am proud of my college roots. If it wasn't for Berea I would have never got to meet all my awesome friends, go to Scotland, or anything that I am proud of and was able to do! And now...I'm getting ready to pass the ultimate test; the boards (May 29!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I think my education at Berea has really prepared me for what is to come, and I will do my best to try and retain a fraction of what I learned in the almost 5 years I was there. I scored well on my HESI's in my capstone class (precursors to the boards; they were our finals in my nursing classes) so maybe I'm starting to get over my standardized testing phobias. We'll just have to see!
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