The education style and encouraging atmosphere of the New School is unique and helps reveal everyone’s potential. Instead of putting people in classes based on arbitrary age denominations, classes were based on our abilities in that specific subject. For example, I was in a simpler English class, but I was in more advanced math and science class. This let me grow in each subject from where I was, not where I was ‘supposed’ to be. Because of the personalized nature of education at the New School, education occurs in whatever method and at whatever pace students learn best. Relatedly, the New School is the perfect place for anyone with learning difficulties. They were instrumental in helping me work through my ADHD; the understanding and support expressed in this difficult process was amazing. The New School’s caring and engaged teachers understood my potential difficulties and helped me make them into opportunities.  The teachers also not only allowed, but encouraged me to explore my passions, even if they were as obscure as logic puzzles or insects. Through the close-knit family that formed in this nurturing environment, I made some of the most fulfilling and lasting friendships in my life. The New School emphasized the importance of meeting and talking with people different than oneself and from diverse backgrounds.

The result of this unique and unparalleled educational experience is evident in many parts of my life. The love of learning and the initiative to seek out more knowledge instilled in me as a result of this upbringing remains with me even into my college years. I know that my drive to learn more propelled me to the top of my class in high school, led to my acceptance into several top-tier universities, and to my eventual enrollment in Colgate University. At the New School, I discovered that education, reading, and learning are not chores, but activities to love and enjoy. I don’t know exactly how much of my success can be attributed to the New School, but I do know that I would not be at all close to where I am now without the New School.