Brian Bockelman
1. Why was The Academy important to you?
I have actually asked this question to my friends at the Academy, and I have found that if you ask 5 different people, most likely you'll get 5 different answers. It means a wide variety of things to different people; I can only give you my small perspective.
To me, the Academy allowed my talents to blossom to their full ability in a way simply not possible in high school. I have absolutely no qualms with my post-secondary education - in fact, I still hold Gwinnett County Public Schools in high regard. Unfortunately, by the end of my 10th grade year, South Gwinnett High School simply ran out of options for me. I specialize in math, and I had taken every single math class Gwinnett County offers except for one. There was absolutely no way that high school could have continued to challenge me.
I understand that there are other programs, early-admittance programs at other universities in the state. The difference at the academy is the social life. The staff brilliantly uses the time, resources, and money that they have to make sure that the students can experience college, yet still can be high school students. With pure education and no life experience, one simply makes for a stereotypical "bookworm" or "geek.” Investing the resources for programs like the Academy, one can educate the future leaders of the state of Georgia . For me, spending my last two years of high school was like a social and intellectual investment, one that I will be reaping rewards from for years to come.
The Academy gives Georgia 's best and brightest high school students the chance to achieve what they were destined. The way high schools are set up simply denies the best students from fulfilling their potential; that's where the Academy steps in. To cut the budget of the Academy would be like firmly placing your hand on your future leaders, Georgia's top intellectual talent, and holding them down in place. Let them soar.
2. What would your last year in high school have been like if you stayed?
As I said before, there was nothing wrong with my high school, except it simply ran out of ways to challenge me. I was active in many activities and had a tight circle of friends, but I would not have been able to do any of what I consider my "top accomplishments" in life. Naturally, I would like to think of myself as the exception, but I have seen many
bright people who peaked in high school, then just dulled through their last year or so.
3. Where would you be now if you did not attend The Academy? How would your life be different?
My whole aspect of life would be drastically different. I finished my undergraduate degree in 5 semesters, ending up with a 4.0 GPA. Where all of my high school friends are now starting their first year in college, I am starting my first year in graduate school. Where they are still starting to learn the ropes of college life, I have already mastered them in many respects. I would not have been able to do any research at all, as compared to already being published. I most definitely would not have the two top fellowships that the UNL math department offers, won one of the few Goldwater scholarships awarded to
Georgian undergraduates last year, never mind have been a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship. Last year, I was the Academic Day scholar for the State University of West Georgia - putting me, as a high school student, as one of the top college students in the state. The list goes on.
What made the difference in my life? I could not have done it on my own in high school. It was also not "just" joint-enrollment; it was the unique and irreplaceable Advanced Academy . In high school, my own talents had taken me to the limit; in the Academy, given the resources to support me, there was no limit. I think it's an obvious choice to give this to future students.
It's very hard to look 2 years in the future and try to imagine myself on a path different from the one I took—attending the Advanced Academy. I probably would have attended a University System of Georgia institution for undergraduate school, but attending the Academy greatly changed the quality of my education. I most likely would have had a "stereotypical" college experience—not bad, but on the other hand, not the outstanding one I had at UWG because of the advantages and flexibility offered by the Academy and the Honors College . I would not have been able to give back to the University System of Georgia academically and make contributions of knowledge to it as I have done, and hope to continue to do. And when all is said and done, increasing academic knowledge is what higher education is all about, isn't it?