Stanford University Online High School

Why did you choose OHS?

Before I came to the Online High School (OHS), I attended the local public school system for nine years. Initially, I didn’t want to join the OHS, because I was worried about the lack of social interaction in an online high school. However, the OHS quickly proved my negative assumption wrong and relieved me of my fears. It not only provided the challenging material that I was missing in my public school, but also linked me to a tight knit community of passionate individuals. I am now a fulltime student here at the OHS, and I’m proud to be a part of this community.

What are classes like at OHS?

Classes at the OHS take place through a virtual classroom. This virtual classroom is similar to Skype or Google + call, and is optimized to enrich the learning environment. There is a text chat box, which allows students to interact with their classmates, or private message their teacher. Most importantly, a student can raise his hand to receive a virtual microphone, which allows him to go on camera and voice his thoughts on the subject matter at hand, or write his opinions on the white board. This facilitates discussion between students, and helps build effective communication skills.

A typical class, depending on the subject, has weekly minor assignments such as a math problem set. In addition to this, every few weeks a class has a major assignment, such as a biology lab report or an English essay, which gives students the opportunity to refine their skills in the respective course. OHS Classes are definitely tough, but this is balanced out by the eager assistance of the highly trained teachers, most of whom are experts in their respective fields. All teachers are willing to meet up with students in an office hour to help them with their work, and provide excellent strategies for their papers.

My teacher for AP Biology, Dr. Failor, exemplifies the excellence of the professors in this school. Biology is my favorite topic, and although it is highly challenging with the vocab and complex concepts, such as how the immune system works on a cellular level, Dr. Failor made it an incredibly rewarding experience. She was always providing insightful real life experience in office hours and she made class entertaining. For example, the class would play Jeopardy in order to review material, and each discussion section had an animal of the day, which was related to the topic at hand. I remember in the plant pollination unit, she found a picture of a plant that resembled a female bee, which would attract male bees and thus increase the chances for the plant to be pollinated! These entertaining games and images really helped to solidify the material, and provided great examples to use on the AP Exam for the course.

What is student life like at OHS?

The OHS community is incredibly diverse; it includes young entrepreneurs, models, artists, and athletes, and many other types of students. Most social interaction between these diverse members occurs on social media such as Skype and Facebook. Conversations are heavily enriched by this diversity, and can swing from casual small talk about personal lives to political debates and philosophical discussions. Everyone here is incredibly respectful of each other, even if they have nothing in common, which is something that can’t be said of most public schools. Overall this community is always open to new members. What I enjoy the most from this community is honestly how open and respectful they are. As a former shy kid, I was always worried about my self-image. This community allowed me to escape that reflective bubble of thinking only about myself, and I’m incredibly grateful for the ability to look beyond myself and actually help others.

How has OHS helped you realize your goals?

Academically, the OHS is the best opportunity I have ever had, and it exceeded the academic goals that I have placed for myself. I was always scared of English, and I remember being so nervous to participate in discussions, but the OHS has cured me of that anxiety, and has shown me that I actually have a strength in that subject, namely in the analysis of visual evidence such as paintings. I never thought I would have gotten this far in academics, and I am amazed how far the OHS has taken me; I even know for sure what I want my career to be.

Going into the OHS I knew that it would help me in some academic way, but it seemed like I was sacrificing my social life and social goals for academics. This is where the OHS has surprised me the most! As a child I always dreamed to be a leader, but I kept getting stuck in the rut of being shy. The community here has really been great for me, and allowed me to look beyond myself. I’ve never been so personal with my old friends, even though I knew them for much longer periods of time, as I am with the friends I have made here. The friends I have made at the OHS made me into a better person, and taught myself that I am capable of becoming the person I have always wanted to be. It’s a wonderful feeling to truly look back and see how much I’ve changed due to my time here, and how much closer I am to my childhood dream.

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