The first broad meaning of what it means to be a
KIPPster is that you have to accept the general rules and standards of
the school. Some of these include wearing a uniform, earning your desk
on your very first day as a KIPPster, mastering the specific grade
level values, and doing your homework every night. These tasks are
often very simple, and if you have trouble embracing them, then you
won’t have a solid foundation for your future years as a KIPPster.
After you have your solid foundation, then the
remainder of the journey is totally dependent on you and utilizing the
values you learned as a young KIPPster. It’s up to you to treat people
with respect. It’s up to you to open your mind and accept
responsibility. Being a KIPPster means that you master these values
early on, and you carry them with you for a lifetime.
For me, it took an eye-opening experience to make
me realize how important it is to use these values at all times. In
seventh grade, I had to learn the hard way. I had mastered the seventh
grade values of accepting responsibility and employing teamwork, but I
wasn’t treating my teachers with respect. Respect was one of my sixth
grade values. I didn’t carry that value with me and thought that I
would be able to go on the seventh grade field trip to Boston, New
York, and Philadelphia. However, I did not earn the field lesson and
was crushed. True, I did master my values at the seventh grade level,
but I dropped the values I learned in sixth grade.
Being a KIPPster means pushing yourself to do better and learn more each day.
Being a KIPPster for a moment is unacceptable. You have to be a
KIPPster for a lifetime. I have dreams to attend Vanderbilt University
in Nashville, TN and majoring in biological sciences. Then, I plan on
attending a top dental school in hopes of becoming an orthodontist with
my own practice. It’s up to me to remember and use the values I have
learned on my journey through KIPP to reach these goals.* Update: Domonique is now a freshman at Vanderbilt University.
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