Changing the World, One Student at a Time

Without the extensive list of classes and resources that Inspire offers, I wouldn’t have the slightest clue as to where my future is headed. Not only did Inspire pave the way for my career plan, but it also helped me tremendously on a more personal level. Before coming to Inspire, I had lived in four different towns and attended three different schools. It was hard for me to really feel like I was a part of anything when I was so used to moving around. Inspire was the first place that I really felt a sense of belonging. The environment at this school is so open and welcoming, it’s really just like its own little community. It’s so different from the other schools I’d been to, because you can just tell that all the faculty, they truly care about each and every kid here. You can just feel the love and support. It’s because of the environment at this school that I was able to find the strength and courage to blossom and become the person that I was meant to be. My senior year, I came out as transgender, and even though it was a really scary experience, I felt totally safe because of the support and acceptance that this school encompasses. And that experience alone has completely changed my life in so many ways. If I hadn’t come to Inspire, I honestly don’t know what my life would be like now. I don’t know where I’d be or even who I’d be. What I do know for sure, is that I am far better off having experienced all that Inspire has to offer. And far down the line when I have kids of my own some day, I hope that wherever I am, I’ll find a school that will give my kids as good of experiences as the ones that Inspire gave me.

as they stroll across the plains of Kenya, and worked in a skyscraper in Manhattan. 

I am unbelievably blessed to have had all of these opportunities. Especially to have had them as a first-generation and low-income student. I credit Inspire for building in me the confidence that I can do the improbable, for teaching me that failure is only possible when one refuses to try again, and for showing me that a caring community is an important part of learning and growth.

In these exciting years of change and of travel, I have found myself missing Inspire. More particularly, the sense of community I felt while a student there. Inspire is undeniably special. I learned many things, both from my peers and my teachers, that I carry with me each day. While a student, I often found myself humbled by the sheer diversity of talent that surrounded me. I was also humbled by the fact that I owed much of my success and my inspiration to the community of friends––both peers and teachers––who supported, helped, and encouraged me as I struggled through APUSH, memorized derivatives for Calculus, sought to qualify as a mediocre ceramics student, and applied to colleges. Inspire, to me, is special because it constitutes a community whose ethos is one of mutual support, collaboration, and concern. Inspire is a place that encourages and embraces a diversity of expression: artistic, scientific, funky, fun, poetic, musical…the list could go on. 

My experiences at Inspire have dictated how I have sought to build a sense of community while away from home and will dictate how I hope to build community in the future. Going to Inspire never felt like a chore nor a requirement, but, rather, a privilege and a joy.