Life of a Fellow: Rhiannon
Introducing Rhi!
Rhiannon (Rhi) serves as a Fellow at Kensington Health Sciences Academy. Although it hasn’t even been a year yet, she’s already gleaned a lot from her time in the PLUS Center. Here, she reflects on some of the lessons learned throughout high school— both from her own experiences as a student and her time this year at 12 Plus.
Rhi’s High School Survival Guide
As much as I’d like to convince myself that I just graduated high school…it’s been almost 8 years since I hit The Dougie on the prom dance floor (*cringe*), signed my friends’ yearbooks, and strutted across the stage to receive my diploma. The world is an ever-changing place and, in turn, the “high school experience” is vastly different these days.
High school is a crucial point during formative years of young adults’ lives. For some, this space is the only place they can be themselves. Despite being only seven months into this experience, my time so far working in a Northeast Philly high school has brought me a plethora of knowledge and growth. The students I’ve been blessed to work with have been the greatest catalyst for this. We challenge each other, laugh with each other, question each other, and make the long days pass faster. I am already feeling nostalgic about this school year, sad (but oh, so proud) to see our seniors move on to the rest of their lives. Good thing 12 Plus is here for all our students even beyond their high school years (shoutout alumni team)!
While our 12 Plus staff have a wide range of experience — from degrees, to trade certifications, to on-the-grounds experience — the throughline of our mission is to show up. We aren’t here to fit you in a box. We want to meet you where you’re at and do what we can to support you in your endeavors. Moreso, we want to ensure that you know you are heard and understood.
Some days you plan to help a student complete a scholarship application, but they come into the appointment needing to unload their stress from a sticky situation going on with their friends. The students know I love to kiki and be a confidante. Other days, students who have previously claimed to neither need nor want our services walk into the center asking for help to create their resume. Our doors are open to them no matter what…as long as we’re not in a meeting. It’s about being here for the right reasons and fostering trusting relationships before tackling the “hard stuff,” (i.e. applying to community college, researching trade schools).
High school students around the world are under so much pressure to uphold multiple responsibilities, maintain academic-social-personal wellness, and ultimately decide how to begin shaping the rest of their lives. It is important we are part of their support system, cheering them on and offering some tools they may need to build their success. KHSA is a small building, which comes with its pros and cons. Adults in the building, including us, can be perceived as ~annoying~ or ~nagging~ but truly it is because we care deeply about each student. My daily internal goal is to figure out how I can play a part in making this a place you want to come back to five days out of the week.
“High school is the time to make mistakes. If you do these things outside of this building – in the real world – you’ll see real consequences. That’s not gonna be fun for you.”
This is something I overheard one of our climate staff share with some students after getting into a tiff over a comment made during a passing period. While I can only hope the students who received this advice internalized it, I know I sure did! Students are human beings first; and to be human is to be a learner. It is human to mess up sometimes. It is okay to feel a bit embarrassed and take a step back to reset, but it is important to dust yourself off and try again. Trial and error is how we grow, and we should all aspire to never stop growing.
To wrap this up, – as cheesy as it is – high school is a time to find yourself. Take everything one step at a time and preserve your energy for things that are truly worth it. Be open and honest. Communicate! We are on your team. And, as our wonderful tigres at KHSA would say: Stay in your lane. Mind yours. And stand on business. Then you’ll be fine, twin.