Education Background

Throughout my education, I have attended many accredited institutions, and others that are in a shambles as I write this. For pre-school, I attended a Christian establishment called St. Anthony’s. It was very gross, and everyone had spit on the sides of their mouths, but I made a lot of friends. For kindergarten, I attended St. Theresa’s in Des Moines, not far from St. Anthony’s. I did not enjoy this place as much, and I was homeschooled for the next two years.

I moved from Des Moines to West Des Moines in those two years, and I decided to start attending public school. From third through sixth grade, I enrolled in Western Hills Elementary. It was a fine establishment, and that is where most of my relationships began. I met my best friends there, I learned considerably more than I did in my homeschooling years, and I felt at home.

Stilwell is the junior high that most children in my neighborhood attend, although others go to Indian Hills. Not wanting to be separated from my friends, I went to Stilwell Junior High. It was a good school, but I had an English teacher who was one of the worst teachers I have ever had. I took some fun elective courses, however, and sparked a passion for wood burning.

Strangely enough, the school district for West Des Moines decided to create an entirely different school just for ninth grade students. This school, called Valley Southwoods, is technically part of Valley High School, but is located about two miles south. I live between these two schools, so I could walk to both. After a year at Southwoods, I went to Valley and had a blast for three years, getting good grades until my senior year when I decided to live it up a little bit more.

Upon graduating, I was still not sure what my major would be, so I attended the Des Moines Area Community College for the next two years. This was a great move on my part because I did not need to get any loans until I came to ISU, and the classes were smaller, and the teachers were infinitely better. Instead of a class of forty or so, my math class had about seven people, and I could always directly ask the teacher any questions I had. I did not even know what a TA was until I came to ISU. If anyone reading this is on the fence about attending DMACC for some summer credit or even for a full Associate’s Degree, I would highly recommend the West Campus, the location of all my classes.

Finally, I came to Iowa State University. This seems like a great school so far, and I like being out of the house. The campus is beautiful, and I am ready to get a degree.