• What metaphor could help describe education for you–think about how Freire talks about the banking model, in which teachers deposit information into students, or Plato, who uses light and dark as metaphors for education.
    A metaphor that could help me describe what education is for me is “school is a vaccine for violence”. This metaphor helps me describe what education is to me because the school can sometimes help students escape from the things that are going on in the streets and help guide them into making the right choices for not only their education but for their lives too.
  • What is a moment, a person, or experience that led you to choose architecture as your major? Or that has led you to any other choice you have made regarding your education?

Ever since I was younger I enjoyed playing with LEGOs, observing tall buildings whenever I and my mom took the train over to Manhattan, and then trying to sketch it out from memory. Still, to this day those are the things I enjoy doing whenever I have free time. My high school was the first school I went to that was based on Architecture. I lost my interest in Architecture in middle school but got back into it when I entered high school as it was the only school I attended that was entirely based on Architecture. Getting to attend City Polytechnic, my former high school, and having to take engineering and architecture classes is a moment that led me to choose architecture as a major for college. 

  • Describe a transformation experience you had as a learner-either in school or in life

From middle school to high school I wasn’t very interested in the school for reasons that I disliked taking tests, had trouble paying attention in class, and I didn’t take my classes as seriously as I was supposed to. While in high school, it was mandatory for me to take engineering and architecture classes, I found myself really enjoying those classes and started to take it more seriously than I did before. I then came to the realization that Architecture is the major that I wanted to choose as a major for college and as a career path I wanted to go down. I knew that if I wanted to choose Architecture as a career then I’ll have to remain focused, not only in high school but in college too. 

What’s been the hardest thing you’ve had to learn–again, informal education or in life?

Throughout my life, there’ve been a few things I’ve had to learn again, both educational and in life. One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn again was math. From the beginning of middle school throughout the entire 4 years of high school, I’ve had a hard time with math. Every year I had to take a math class and struggled with it every time. During my Sophomore year, I failed Geometry and had to retake it in my Junior year which prevented me from having a free period. Math was hard for me because I had trouble remembering the different formulas and rules that applied to a certain math problem. One of the hardest things I had to learn in life was to stop procrastinating. I procrastinate a lot because I think I’ll be able to avoid the stress and the trouble by putting assignments on hold when in reality if I put them on hold, it’ll only be more stressful. Putting off work will only cause it to pile up and then it will become stressful and overwhelming trying to get them done and turned in before the deadline.