Student Spotlight: Emily Hill
When Emily Hill, a Senior at Idalou High School, first embarked on her college prep journey in the fall semester of this year, she admits that she had no idea what she was in for. “It’s really just so time consuming, and I really wish I had started earlier,” she noted. Taking the ACT a total of three times that semester really took its toll and, despite spending hours preparing and studying for each test, Emily was not seeing results, actually losing a point each time she took it. It was then that she decided to seek help at CLC College Prep. “The process was still time consuming. I met for two hours a week with a tutor for a few months. But this time I could tell that the effort was really paying off.” It was not until she received the results from her fourth attempt at the ACT that she finally felt like she had accomplished what she had set out to. Her impressive ACT score garnered her a number of scholarships, including the ones from Texas Tech Honors College, where she plans to attend in the fall of 2021.
Emily’s story is not entirely unique. She is a very bright young woman. A self-proclaimed “logophile” Emily is a member of the UIL spelling team, taking 3rd in the state, in addition to winning back to back scholarships from the VFW “Voice of Democracy” statewide essay competition. So it came as a surprise to her and her family that she was not seeing the results she wanted on the ACT. And while she said that she is VERY proud of the score she eventually received, when we asked Emily Hill what accomplishment she was the most proud of during her high school career, we were surprised to find that the answer was not really an accomplishment at all. Despite her academic achievements, she is most proud of her courage to leave her comfort zone and make a change. During her first three years at Idalou High School, she had excelled in cross country, volleyball and track, but in her Senior year, she wanted to try something different. So she changed directions, taking up theater and golf, instead. Emily found that she really enjoys playing golf and has found success in theater, as well, winning a bi-district award for stage management, this year.
While most adults understand that learning to love change is truly something to be proud of, it is incredible to see such wisdom in the eyes of such a young woman. We hope to see that courage and flexibility pay off for Emily as she embarks on her college career at Texas Tech, where she plans to try out for the Going Band and study biology in hopes of eventually going to medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon.