in 2024 and plan to complete medical school by the time I’m 18. Right now I'm on track to graduate with my B.S. I absolutely love engineering, but I also love the biomedical field. Lockett: So what do you want to do with your life?Īlena: I plan to go to medical school. I actually did a little mini-dance while I was there. Daphne McQuarter, Alena's momĪlena: I had an internship with NASA and actually got to go to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which has extremely large replicas of the actual rovers that went to Mars. Come inside the house.” Something about the stars tells me what’s out there and what could possibly be a part of our galaxy.Īlena and her mentor, Janelle Wellons, tour the Mars Yard during her internship at NASA's Jet. I remember my mom coming outside saying, “It’s 11 o’clock. But I also just love sitting at night and watching the stars. I didn’t like for anyone to touch my Legos. I’ve loved Legos since I was four I was always organizing them. Do you remember when the light turned on for you?Īlena: I’ve always loved science. Lockett: Talk to me about when you fell in love with STEM. You could wake up in the evening and say, “OK, I'm going to work now.” You also have the luxury of traveling the world and learning through “world schooling” and experiencing other cultures. With unschooling, you don't have to learn something at one particular time or at a pace that a teacher or school says you need to keep. Lockett: When we first met, you referred to your education journey as “unschooling.” What did you mean by that?Īlena: In regular school, you would go to a classroom each morning and be expected to learn a specific thing at a certain time. What I really needed was organization-I had to be very organized, and then I could manage the work and didn't have to think about a bunch of different things at the same time. How did you do this?Īlena: It wasn’t easy, there was definitely a lot of work. You didn’t only get all As but you also completed middle and high school at the same time. And, I think you did prove that principal and others wrong. Lockett: That is heartbreaking, but also reflects a not-too-uncommon experience for young students of color across the country. It convinced me that I could-and would-prove them wrong by getting all As. In fact, I started in a regular school, but my mother pulled me out when I was seven, because my principal told me that I couldn't get all A’s because of my skin color. Tell me about it.Īlena Analeigh: I was mostly homeschooled, but also did spend some time in traditional schools. Phyllis Lockett: Given that you’re 12 and already in college, it should be no surprise that you’ve had an exceptional journey. To achieve this, students must have access to technology and supports beyond the classroom that can spark a love for learning. It must transcend time and place and connect with students’ passions, interests and future ambitions. For instance, our experience during the pandemic has reinforced that learning in the 21st century cannot - and will not - take place only in the classroom. And, while Covid-19 has been devastating particularly for Black, Brown and low-income communities, it has also provided us with powerful lessons for reimagining learning as we seek to build back better. Millions of students may not be workforce-ready because we designed education systems around a one-size-fits-all approach rather than each student’s potential. ASU+GSV Summit 2021Įven before the coronavirus, employers and educators agreed that our education system wasn’t preparing our students to compete in a fast-changing digital economy. accelerated, ambition-fueled education pathways. Alena Analeigh inspires Phyllis Lockett and ASU+GSV Summit attendees with the story of her.
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