Student Success Stories - Michael Wenger
Background
Michael Wenger, 18, graduated from The Keystone School in April 2010, earning his diploma 18 months after enrolling in the online high school. Before Keystone, Michael attended a small public high school on Catalina Island, 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles in California. But because of the school’s small size and remote location, it couldn’t offer Michael the breadth of classes he was interested in, the flexibility he needed to pursue his love of distance running, to travel internationally or to graduate early.
When Michael learned that he could go to a virtual high school, he says, “I realized that all of these negatives could be easily changed by switching to the online program. I was excited to find hundreds of different classes to choose from and to learn that school could actually be fun.”
Flexibility To Travel and Continue High School at the Same Time
The impetus to change schools was an opportunity Michael couldn’t pass up: a trip to South America. During his junior year, Michael got an invitation from his older brother to travel together for two months in South America. At first, he thought he wouldn’t be able to travel because of school. But after exploring his options and learning about The Keystone School, Michael realized he could travel and go to school at the same time.
“I began talking to my parents about the opportunity of traveling with my brother. They said ‘absolutely,’ when they realized that I could learn culturally and through my online classes. My brother is 27 and my parents knew I would be safe and supervised... Within a few weeks of our conversations, my brother and I landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We spent two months backpacking through Argentina and Chile, and it was amazing. I was able to travel and still complete my school assignments,” says Michael.
He continues, “After this amazing adventure I decided it was not enough. I booked my ticket and moved in with my sister in England for four months. I also love distance running and training for marathons, which takes a lot of hard work. Without Keystone, I would not have been able to travel this amazing world, graduate early and have the opportunity to qualify for the biggest marathon in the world: Boston. Flexibility is one of the best points that Keystone has over traditional school.”
Interesting, Wide Variety of Classes
Michael completed half of his junior year and all of his senior year at Keystone, taking a rigorous class load that included Math, English and Social Studies, as well as electives such as Geography, Fine Art and Business Writing. The mix of classes Michael took at The Keystone School allowed him to meet his graduation requirements while also engaging his personal interests.
“I liked Geography because it is obviously important to know where places are located, and with my travels it was fun to learn about the world while viewing it. Fine art was also fun. I had the opportunity to learn the history of works of art and where they came from and analyze them in depth. I am also a young entrepreneur and have created several businesses. Business writing was fun for me because the information I learned all had to do with stuff I had either worked on previously, or will be working on in the near feature,” he explains.
While Michael never met his teachers in person, he found that in the online environment, “teachers give honest and fair notes, which in the end, helps you grow as a person.”
Self Motivation Key to Success in Online Learning
Graduating with straight A’s, Michael highly recommends the online learning experience and The Keystone School, but at the same time, he is realistic about what it takes to succeed in the online learning environment. He explains, “One needs to be self motivated and develop a timeline and goals for completing your studies.”
Since graduation, Michael has hit the road again and is currently traveling through Central America. To follow his adventures, visit his travel blog at: http://michaelcenteral.blogspot.com/
