Stephanie Martinez, Sahuaro 2016 graduate has advice for the 2017 grads.  Stephanie is a science major at ASU, and is being lauded for making the Dean’s List for Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Dean’s List recognizes undergraduates in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who either earn  a GPA of 3.60 or above and at least 12 credit hours or earn a GPA of 4.0 and between 6 and 11 credit hours.

Throughout high school, Stephanie took AP classes. She strongly recommends AP classes because they are the only classes that actually benefitted her in college. She took AP Chemistry with Mr. Donegan and says that because of Donegan, her 1st semester chemistry class in college was really easy.  Her first semester at ASU she was majoring in Biology but then switched to Kinesiology.

Transitioning to a university straight out of high school was challenging. She had a hard time adjusting to her classes because they weren’t easy. Her classes had different styles of teaching and she had to change her study techniques in order to do well. Now she is not as overwhelmed as she was before because she has gotten used to the stress and adjusted to the environment.

Her goal was to get good grades her first semester at ASU.  She had homework to complete every night  and had tests almost every two weeks. There were a lot of moments she wanted to give up, but she kept thinking of how it would benefit her later on.

Stephanie enjoys college because she likes what she is studying and she loves living the college lifestyle. Living on the campus provides so many resources for students and there is even a Starbucks in her residential dorm. She has gotten to learn how to be independent as well.

When I asked Stephanie for advice to seniors about to graduate, she replied, “Take advantage of your last year in high school because college is so stressful. Apply for scholarships! I didn’t think that I could get scholarships but I got eight! Start looking up clubs/organizations that you want to join in college before you start because once you begin classes, you’ll be stressed with everything. Managing your time is one of the most important things in college!”

Mr. Donegan is proud of Stephanie for making the Dean’s List. When I asked him about Stephanie,  he replied,  “She was very challenged by AP, but never let it affect her and she was the most organized student I every worked with in perusing college.”