My name is Olivia Grace Carder and I am a freshman at Lafayette High School. I enjoy many things such as softball, listening to Taylor Swift, and hanging out with my friends, but my true passion is doing well in school and striving to be the best student I can possibly be. My goal is to attend college at the University of Virginia and study either architecture or go to law school.
My 5th grade year was the full year of virtual school due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it was a wake-up call in many ways. My grades were not very good and I started thinking about how life would be as I got older and things got back to normal. I arrived at James Blair Middle School for my 6th grade year knowing that school would only get harder and, if I wanted to do well, that was the time to start doing better. I set a goal be prepared for every test, quiz or assignment and to focus on things that I could control. As my dad says, “the rest will take care of itself.”
As a freshman, I am proud of how I have met those goals and am getting the results I hoped for. One of the best things I have done is to learn how to ask for extra help. Middle school math was very hard for me since we did not have homework or get a lot of practice in elementary school. I asked my parents to hire a tutor that I worked with for an hour each week after school throughout middle school. Anne Dunn, or “Ms. Anne” as I called her, was a huge help in giving me confidence and better understanding how to think in math. She said, “I was always very impressed with Olivia Grace’s focus and questions when we worked together. Many times, math is not a student’s favorite subject and it was rewarding to see her grow and improve.”
I am also starting to learn that it takes extra work and effort if you want to be successful. Recently, I opted to complete my schoolwork on the Saturday of a three-day weekend rather than go to a fun basketball game because I
knew I had a lot of other work to do on Sunday and Monday to be ready for the week. It would have been more fun to go to the game, but it would also have made me feel stressed and unprepared for school. There are also times when I am tired and would much rather go to sleep, but I prefer the rewarding feeling of pushing through.
A big part of what motivates me to do well is my dream of attending the University of Virginia (UVA) for college. My dad went there and we have visited many times for football, basketball, baseball and softball games or to just go shopping at the bookstore. I love how the school is very traditional and highly respected for its academics. It is also very competitive and difficult to get in and I use that as motivation whenever I get tired or think a subject in school is too hard.
If you would like to know more, please reach out and ask. I am excited for the next three years at Lafayette. Go Rams!
