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Christine Lozano won a $96,000 scholarship to attend LeTourneau University in Texas. She is a student at California Virtual Academies, which is a public charter school. (Laura Gonzalez / April 9, 2012) |
Christine Lozano is nothing you would expect a home-schooled girl to be, according to the stereotypes.
She is outgoing, independent and knows exactly what she wants for her future.
Christine is a student at California Virtual Academy, which is an online-based public charter school. Last month, she won a $96,000 scholarship that will make her dream of becoming a civil engineer closer to becoming a reality.
She competed with 88 other people, 53 of whom were valedictorians at their high schools, for one of eight Heritage Scholarships at LeTourneau University in Texas.
The competition took place over three days in which they had to do group sessions, a personal interview and an essay.
Even though the accomplishment is monumental, she keeps a humbled attitude. As soon as she stepped into the room and saw all those “perfect people,” she felt small, she said.
“I felt that I did everything wrong,” Christine said.
Shaking her head, her mom, Monica Lozano, looked at her and told her “you did great.”
Christine’s family emigrated from Colombia 12 years ago. They came to live in Georgia first, and four years ago they moved to the Imperial Valley because her grandmother lived here and they wanted to be closer to her.
Only Christine’s dad spoke English at the time, the rest of the family had to learn here. Lozano said that they chose to home school their children for the flexibility it gave the family.
In the process of going though the material with her children, Lozano learned English.
Online schooling has helped them tailor their education to their needs while meeting the state standards, she said.
“The thing that I like the most is that it offers structure,” Lozano said.
As for socialization, Christine said online schooling has allowed her to choose her friendships a little more carefully. Her family goes to a Christian church and she is really connected to the youth group in her church.
Last summer she went with the church group to Haiti to help build an orphanage. That experience was very emotional for Christine, she said. She saw that the poor foundation of the buildings was what caused the tragedy and so she realized that if she were to become a civil engineer, she would be able to help build better infrastructure in Third World countries.
Christine said she hopes to work for a nonprofit organization like Engineers without Borders.
Education is a big goal in the Lozano family, Lozano said. She said that she has always encouraged her children to excel and give all their potential.
“Having good grades is a good idea because it opens doors,” Lozano said.
ONLINE EDUCATION WITH STANDARDS
Susan Arroyave has been a teacher at California Virtual Academy for three years. She was a teacher for 10 years at Brawley Union High School, but when it was time to decide to educate her children she wanted to do it herself.
What makes CAVA the perfect school for her children is that it is an online charter school that meets the state standards.
“The best thing is that you can access accredited curriculum, flexible in your own needs,” Arroyave said.
The school is open to all school-age children in California and there are 14,000 students throughout the state.
It is a K-12 school and tuition is free. Students get a combination of online and textbook education. They tried to keep small children away from computers so they get more books than the older ones, said Head of Schools Katrina Abston.
“It’s a great public free-education that’s rigorous and prestigious for all students in California,” Abston said.
Students get a full spectrum of services like the ones offered by any other public school in the state.
Christine is looking forward to a new chapter in her life, but like any high school student, she dreams of her graduation walk.
CAVA is offering a graduation ceremony for her and other students in the area on May 22. She “wants to wear a dress.”
Christine has high expectations for her academic life in LeTourneau. As part of the scholarship, she needs to keep a GPA higher than 3.0. For her family and her school, she has to represent. For herself, she wants to get the tools necessary to help people.
“I want to help people because that gives meaning to life,” Christine said.
Multimedia Producer Laura Gonzalez can be reached at 760-337-3440 or lgonzalez@ivpressonline.com
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