From Texas to Washington to Illinois to Kansas, I’ve called many places and schools my home,
worn many flags, repped different mascots, and cheered with pride for various teams. So with
that all being said, there wasn’t a lot of weight placed on this moment, my attendance for this
School for Advanced Studies.
But in the first of many ways, this school would prove me wrong. I noticed immediately that I had
entered a community with experiences not too different from my own– we were all coming from
different backgrounds, stories, regions, and schools. Whether it was those like me who had
lived across the country, or those just coming from another school here in Florida, the class I
was to be graduating with was filled with strangers.
Yet over time, I found that our differences are precisely what brought us together to be one of the most interconnected classes I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of.
Initially, I thought the institution’s limitless academic opportunities through Miami Dade College
was only an indicator of the fact that finding community would be even harder for me this year.
After all, I would be spending my time studying for a unique slate of college level courses
including Discrete Mathematics, Linear Algebra, and Behavioral Neuroscience– when was I
supposed to get to know the people around me?
However, SAS’s community never came from schedules or provided resources, but by the pure
passion and dedication of its faculty and student body. I saw this in things like Ms. Cabanez’s
obvious love for math which united her calculus classes with inspiration, Ms. Morales’s tough
love approach to STEM that had study groups and late night cram sessions forming
immediately, and Ms. Tercilla’s active, engaging style of teaching English that always had us
laughing. My peers and I became further connected through a shared love for activities like
Science Olympiad, Model UN, and regular school talent shows, all of which– much to my
surprise– were arranged by the students themselves! And it wasn’t just activities and classes
that attracted me to this group, but the way every individual has their own unique way to shine
and inspire. From Silver Knight winners to publishers of independent research papers, there
were people who pushed and motivated me to be a better person from every direction! I couldn’t
help but stay close to this group, people that would teach me so much and inspire me to make
my own educational dreams come true too.
After two years of working with this cohort through numerous competitions, exciting sports
tournaments, laughter-filled talent shows, and brutal AP exams, I can safely say that at SAS I
found something more than a community in an academically competitive environment. I found a
family, and I’m infinitely excited to see how it’ll grow with future classes.
Rehan Sha
SAS Kendall Campus, Class of 2025
UC Berkeley, Class of 2029
