By Laura Ocampo ’20
Freshman year can be very challenging because you are not usually use to the new environment. This is Jessica Rodriguez’s experience and how she is going through it. As soon as Rodriguez gets home, she starts on her homework because she gets around two hours of homework. Rodriguez said, “I put my phone away to help me concentrate.” Back in her old middle school, she barely received any homework. There were days that she did not even receive any homework. She is not used to the two hours of homework, but she still manages to do it and avoid LaSalle. She usually finishes homework round 7:30 p.m. The rest of the time she uses for herself whether it is to go on social media or have family time. When freshmen had summer homework and had to read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens,” Rodriguez said that it was an “okay” amount of homework, but she said that she had a life outside of doing homework.
Even though she does not have AP or Honors classes, she still has good grades. Rodriguez said that she has straight A’s and one B. She manages her time very well with all her homework because her grades are good. She has a very organized locker, which helps her not forget any of her homework, and it helps her find her papers easier in class.
Rodriguez has been very proactive by starting her community service early. She has started her community service at the church right in front of Pritzker called St. Philomena. That way she would not have to rush at the end of the year to finish her ten community service hours which are required for freshmen year. Her friend Stephany, who is in her advisory, agrees that Rodriguez is being proactive with trying to do her community service hours early.
It can be very tough to get to your locker after advisory because this time it is the whole school switching classes. Rodriguez sometimes struggles to get to her locker because of the amount of students that are trying to get to their lockers all at once. But she still manages to get their with all the squishing that everyone has to go through.
Rodriguez loves dancing. That is why she is joining Two Left Feet. Now with her joining a club to get her enrichment, she has to manage her time more. She is still going to start her homework right away when she gets home. She might finish later, but it is worth it because she is spending her time after school with something she enjoys.
Besides her mom wanting her to come to Pritzker, Rodriguez said she came because it will also help her with college. Even though Pritzker has strict rules, she knows it will make her life in college easier. Rodriguez has already gotten used to the strict rules and the amount of homework she gets per night. She really cares about her education and that is why she came to Pritzker, and why she always tries to have her grades really high. Rodriguez contributing to her work will prepare her for college and life in the future.
