I came to Highline as a Running Start student. I didn’t feel challenged enough at my high school. At Highline, I was lucky enough to take classes that both interested and challenged me. One day I received a phone call from Barbara Clinton. She informed me of what Honors 100 could offer. Through that class, which was probably the most useful class I have ever taken, I learned how to prepare myself for transferring to a four-year school. I learned useful skills that I still use, including how to write academic and work resumes, as well as personal statements and cover letters.

It was during the beginning of my second year at Highline that I really started to consider my future. The thought of working one job for the next forty or fifty years boggled my mind. I couldn’t imagine working that long in a job I didn’t absolutely love. I knew it all started with what college I went to and what I majored in. It was in October of my second year at Highline that I discovered the school of my dreams. The only problem was, it was an Ivy League school 10,000 miles away: The American University in Cairo.

While my grades have always been pretty good, I was concerned how they would compare to other schools from around the world. I showed up one day to my Honors100 class armed with all the information on AUC that I could find. I told Barbara that I wanted all the work I did in the class to help me get into this school. It was so helpful having Barbara read over what I wrote (and it was nice to know that I was receiving credit for this class).

I used what I learned in Honors 100 when I applied to this school. After a long process, I finally found out that I was accepted. If someone had told me a couple years ago that I would be a seventeen-year-old about to attend school in Cairo to study Egyptology, I probably would have laughed in their face. Even though I have been interested in Egyptology since I was 11, I never thought I would actually have a chance to study it in Egypt. But I sincerely believe that everything I learned in my classes at Highline led me to this opportunity.