Academic
ARTIFACT
AVID Program
The AVID program has been integral to my academic success. Through my involvement with AVID over the last three years, I have developed my leadership, organizational and communication skills as well as consistently strengthened my ability to work with a team. Some of my favorite aspects of AVID are tutoring my fellow classmates and collaborating with my AVID teacher on upcoming AVID activities. I am continually improving as a public speaker by giving speeches at each meeting. AVID has helped me grow into a leader through tutoring, volunteer opportunities, and test prep. Through these situations, I have learned how to best solve problems on my own and with a group. I have also become a more efficient student by applying the program’s organizational requirements and note-taking standards in my everyday schoolwork. This program provides many beneficial tools that I have used in high school and look forward to applying to my college success.
RESPONSE
The artifact shown above is a response that I composed to answer a variety of different questions I was asked throughout my college application process. Whether that was to get a scholarship or to get into a program, or for different types of financial aid applications. I was being asked about what I was involved with in high school or how I chose to get involved with my school. It briefly summarizes the experiences I had in the AVID program. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. I also went over the various resources AVID gave me the opportunity to utilize throughout my high school career. I selected this artifact because the AVID program was my home-base in high school. The AVID room is where I would hold meetings, study, collaborate, plan, brainstorm and even where I would spend my lunch hour. Because of this, any academic artifact I could have chosen would have been created in or thought of in the AVID room, which I would be remiss not to mention. The AVID program has shown me how to be an efficient student and how to better understand my notes. All of the academic values and study habits I currently hold can be attributed to the AVID program’s guidelines and tips. This artifact shows how dedicated, organized and responsible I am when it comes to academics. This is because those three attributes are some of the key ideas of AVID’s mission as a college prep course. My AVID instructor was formerly an AP English Language and Composition teacher so she could assist my classmates and I in our essays and English coursework. She often gave us essay writing tips on setting up a foundation before we start the essay. I enjoy writing about topics that concern me or that I am interested in. This topic was enjoyable to write about because I am passionate about the AVID program and it is something I would recommend to any high schooler looking to have a better academic career.
Professional
ARTIFACT
Steven R. Huntt
405 North Willow Avenue
Port Orange, FL 32127
(386) 518-9219
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EDUCATION
Spruce Creek High School 2015-2019
Advanced Placement 2016-2019
GPA: 3.8636 Class Rank: 250/656 Test Scores:1210 SAT & 24 ACT
EXPERIENCE
Regal Pavilion 14 & RPX Floor staff/Box office 2018
This job gave me the opportunity to learn what being in the workforce is like and gain responsibility. The skills I learned in customer service and communications I know will prove invaluable as I continue onto college and beyond.
WaterCare Irrigation and Well LLC. Consultant 2017
This job taught me hard work pays off and the value of it. Despite being a physically demanding job, determination was key for success.
ACHIEVEMENTS/HONORS
AVID Student of the Month March 2018
Winning this award showed that my hard work paid off. I worked on the recruitment team and the leadership team to improve the AVID Program. I also tutored many of my fellow classmates on our coursework.
ACTIVITIES/COMMUNITY SERVICE
Varsity Basketball Team Manager 2015-2016
This activity really helped me find what I may want to do in the future being involved in sports. I helped score keep, film games, and motivate the team. I was also named the coach’s assistant. This opportunity helped me develop my event planning and organizational skills.
Soccer Game Concessions Supervisor/Head Cashier 2015-2019
This activity helped me develop my leadership skills and my communication skills. This opportunity taught me responsibility and organization.
AVID Leadership Team Recruiter 2017-2019
This opportunity gave me the ability to be a leader and mentor for those beginning the AVID program. It was a great way to meet new people and provide them with tutoring and many other opportunities that come with AVID.
Key Club Member 2017-2019
This club opened up numerous opportunities to get involved with the community and work with new people. It helped develop my leadership skills and collaboration skills.
Project 396 Member 2016-2017
This club encouraged me to get physically active while giving me the opportunity to volunteer at the local YMCA. I also was able to be a role model for younger children.
AVID Club Class Representative/ Historian 2018-2019
This club has helped me develop my leadership skills and aid in the tutoring of my fellow classmates. I aid the teacher in coming up with fun activities for the club and give speeches at each meeting, helping with my communication skills.
SKILLS
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Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
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Took 3 years of Spanish - can read and write
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Took one year of financial accounting
RESPONSE
This artifact is the resume I used in my college application process. I created this resume so to use when applying for scholarships or grants, to use in my university applications, and even for job interviews. I plan on using this resume for internships, or for occupational needs in which it will need to be adjusted to fit a more professional mold instead of an academic one. I feel obliged to mention that I was assisted by my mentor for proofreading and structuring assistance in the revising stage of my resume’s composition. I chunked my resume into five subsections in order to separate my varying experiences. I tried to showcase the wide variety of experiences that I took part in in high school as well as include the date of when each activity took place to show that all of the events did not take place at once. I selected this artifact because it encompasses the entirety of my professional experiences. My resume will continue to be a living/breathing document in which I continue to update in the future as I gain more professional experience whether that is a part of an internship or job I hold in the future. This artifact shows the multiple different techniques I utilize in my writing. I chunked the information together and separated it into different groups in order to make the information easier to digest. Chunking is one of the first techniques I use in my pre-writing process as I compile the information I will use to back up my claims. The academic and non-academic activities I took part in can show a lot about me as a writer because they make up my unique perspective as a writer. One’s experiences can greatly influence their perspective because their previous experiences are a foundation for how they will choose to make decisions and what they choose to stand for or represent based off them discovering their interests and discovering the world and how they choose to view it. My resume shows what I have experienced and is my foundation for what I will continue to build upon as a writer, student, or as a professional.
Personal
ARTIFACT
Looking back through my childhood, I knew my perspective on life was different from that of my peers. My parents were divorced, and I learned to deal with it. I envied my friends when I would visit their homes with both parents actively involved and present. I always felt like a part of me was missing and I wondered what my life could look like if my mom and dad were together.
As a young child, I thought of my dad as more of an uncle than a father. He was someone I only saw at family gatherings or holidays. I always knew something was wrong with him and sometimes I would question it. My mom would just tell me that he was sick and that he would get better soon. The truth was that he battled with substance abuse, and his addiction kept him away from me. I loved when he was in rehab because I would receive letters from him and sometimes, I would be fortunate enough to visit him. But what I did not know was that he would relapse and start all over again, coming in and out of my life, never seeming to get better.
When I became an older sibling at the age of seven, I knew that I needed to set a positive example for my new little brother. My dad’s absence created a void in my family which I constantly tried to fill. This forced me to mature faster than my friends. While other kids were outside playing, I was busy helping my mom in any way I could. From changing diapers to watching over my brother, I felt obliged to take care of my family and to consistently make sure we lived the best life we could.
I would not be where I am today without my mom. She was always there for me, even when my dad couldn’t be. She has always been someone I could go to for any problem, question, or issue. She struggled to provide my brother and me with all our necessities, but she never failed to show us love. In my early years, I took her for granted. Now, I realize and appreciate all the sacrifices she made and all the little things she did that went unnoticed. My mom is the epitome of selflessness. Through her example, I know how to be self-sufficient and confident, even when the going gets tough.
My situation has taught me to not give up and to commit to working hard at what I love. I look forward to showing my unwavering dedication to my dreams in college. Through my experience of growing up with an addict parent, I have learned that something positive can be drawn from every unfortunate event. I developed a sense of independence, compassion, and maturity that I may not have otherwise. I have made the promise to myself that I will not allow my children to grow up in a broken home as I did. I will be the kind of man that they can be proud to call their dad.
RESPONSE
This artifact is another essential part of what I used to fill out my college applications. I wrote this essay to answer the question I kept seeing in different wording but essentially asking the same question; “Describe one difficult life circumstance that you overcame and what have you learned from your experience?”. This artifact is very personal to me because it basically describes my life story. In my essay I went through and highlighted some of the most important experiences I've had that have shaped me into who I am today. This essay includes some sad topics but in the end I lighten the mood as I show my optimism. I originally titled this essay as “Strong” to show that unfortunate life circumstances can prove to be very beneficial if it they are dealt with the right way. This artifact shows a vulnerable side of me as a composer as well as showing that when the topic consists of something I am interested in I can write a lot about what I am passionate about. I started this essay because of a prompt I received in my AP English Literature and Composition class but it has grown into something much more than just something I created to fulfil a grade requirement. My mentor did assist me in the proofreading/revising process as I wanted to make sure there were no errors or typos as I was submitting this to Universities. This style of writing is different from my other essays because this time I am kind of telling a story rather than persuading in an argumentative essay or informing. This essay describes some of the values I hold and the origin of those particular values. They serve as a reasoning for why I do the things I do or why I think a certain way compared to another person.
REFLECTION
To me, composition could be any form of expressing yourself; whether that is telling your story or simply elaborating on whatever it is that you are passionate about. I thoroughly enjoy both forms of composing because I feel as if I could go on and on about those topics. In an academic context is where I feel the most comfortable as a composer because that is what I am the most familiar with. When I transition to a more professional body of work, my diction becomes more formal as I attempt to use more sophisticated English to showcase my vocabulary. In a personal context, I tend to be more informal and speak from a first-person perspective. Collectively, these three works show my foundation as not only a composer but also as a person in general. This foundation is essential to my writerly process because it is what I will continue to expound upon as I compose more. As a key component of my writing process, I always try to stay organized in my composition. My artifacts show proof of my dedication to organization. For example, in my professional artifact, I chunked out each of my accomplishments/experiences to contrast my resume. Organization was one of the most important factors for my resume because it improves the overall appearance of the document; which is what the reader/audience would want to see in a resume. Collectively, these three artifacts represent me as a person by showcasing my experiences, accomplishments, what I am passionate about and what I have overcome. These artifacts also show who I am and what my foundation is in which I will continue to build upon as I venture through college and beyond. As a writer, I used to find myself very slow in pace. My peers could crank out an essay in much less time than me. I now realize that it is something that I can control and I try to stay conscious of that throughout my drafting processes. I have learned to not overthink the task at hand or the prompt I have been assigned, but to address the key points I have outlined out in my pre-work. As well as making sure I expand upon those key objectives and also keeping the subject matter on topic and as concise as it needs to be to fulfill the prompt’s requirements. When constructing an essay, I usually focus most of my effort on making sure that my body paragraphs are the most persuading or informative they can be; depending on what the prompt requires of me. I tend to focus on compiling the best evidence to support my argument as well as polishing my assertions to clearly articulate my point of view. In the revision stage of my process, I tend to focus on repairing and sometimes even rewording some sentences that contain some of the mistakes or errors that occasionally occur. Those sometimes include sentence fragments or the need to add more variety to my diction. I tend to overuse the same words a few times and require revision in order to add more of a variety to my word choices. As the last step in my revision process, I usually run my composition through the website; “Grammarly”, in order to make sure there are no spelling or grammar errors. In the future, I hope to be able to sophistically articulate my arguments in any manner necessary; whether that is professional, academic, personal, or any other mode. I also hope that by improving my writing skills and literacy, I will become a more efficient speaker whether that is in a conversation or debate.