Featured Alumni: Hillary - class of 2016

Heritage Hero to Arizona State Sun Devil

In middle school, kids seldom have the rest of their life planned out and know what they want to
do and something that we don’t realize is that something as simple as choosing where we go to high
school makes all the difference. When it was time for me to pick a school, I wasn’t sure where to go but
my lifelong best friend went to Heritage Academy. It was a small charter school 7-12th grade and they
wore uniforms! No way Mom! Not a chance! But my best friend assured me that the school took
education seriously and wanted its students to succeed so I went with an open mind and positive
attitude.
My first day of high school at Heritage Academy proved to be nothing like I thought it would be.
The teachers loved what they did and had the time to actually teach and help their students if they were
struggling. The kids were friendly and ready to learn which helps any student perform better in a
classroom setting. The sports program was great and my only regret was that I wish I would have begun
playing high school sports earlier. By being student body president during my senior year, we really
made high school what we wanted it to be; Exciting and fun for everyone around us.
Throughout the years I gained close relationships with many of my teachers and they helped
shape me into a college ready applicant. I ultimately decided to go to Arizona State University and began
to apply for scholarships. After many short essays and self-reflecting questions on ASU’s scholarship
portal, I began getting calls and emails to set up interviews with scholarship donors. By the end of my
senior year I was fortunate enough to know that I would be able to attend college debt free and even
pay for different trips and experience things that the world has to offer.
Through college and the generosity of scholarship donors I have been able to travel to Nicaragua
and help the less fortunate during a medical internship. I am currently spending a semester abroad in
Italy learning about the culture and classical studies. I will be in Paris this winter studying the historical
and contemporary issues in healthcare and visiting historical museums. I anticipate to go to Ghana Africa
to study the culture there for a week during spring break and next winter, spend a couple of weeks at
sea in Antarctica studying the different biological factors that contribute to such a fascinating
ecosystem.
All of these things have influenced my life so far and keep me motivated to work hard in college,
a habit that I adopted back in high school. Thanks to teachers and faculty at Heritage Academy, they
have pushed me to who I have become. With the resources given to me I anticipate to do nothing less
than make a difference in the lives of others and advocate for the amazing things that have stemmed
from my high school experience at Heritage Academy.