My name is Rachel Smith and I am a senior at New Tech. I did not start out at New Tech but currently this is my fifth semester. In spring of 2007, I was elected to be one of the captains for the Vintage High School tennis team. I’ve been on varsity tennis since my sophomore year. New Tech has taught me a lot as far as working in groups to working with technology on a daily basis and much, much more. I hope my portfolio gives a small reflection to what I have achieved with my time here.
My post secondary goals are to complete my senior project to the best of my ability. My initial senior project was to become a master scuba diver. It has been a very difficult feat considering Northern California’s weather. So far, I have completed an Emergency First Response class and half of a rescue class. For the rescue class, I have done all of the book work and the pool dives but not an ocean check out. I have planned to go to Monterey five times since October and so far no luck with the weather. It is hard to say how much I will really get done but with each class I complete, there is another step towards becoming a master scuba diver.
When I first joined New Tech during the second half of my sophomore year, I was very shy and reserved about public speaking. I did not do well when I had to get in front of the class and speak. Now, during my senior year, I am not feeling so much anxiety as I used to feel before. I have learned to keep myself calm, cool and collected for my oral communications grade sake. For example, last semester in Digital Media I received an A on an oral presentation grade. In the 10th grade it seemed almost impossible to achieve something like that but with repetition I was able to get a better grasp on the anxiety.
In conclusion, I have grown a lot at New Tech, both as a student and a person. It has helped me to overcome a good majority of my fear of public speaking and gain more technological insight. Throughout my two and a half years, I feel that New Tech has created a lot of advantages and opportunities that most high school graduates would not have. Something as simple as power point, an internship or a senior project creates a knowledge worth of experiences that other high school students have not even been exposed to. In total, New Tech has been a learning and growing experience from start to finish and I fully appreciate the opportunity to be a student here.