"Going Places"- A'Kilah Ponder

A’kilah Ponder

11th Grade

Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts

My goals in life are to go to college and major in Psychology and minor in Sociology. My overall goal is to become a psychologist. I want to get married after I graduate from college, find a job. and have three kids.

When I was around 6 or 7, I lived in New Orleans. During the beginning of my first grade years, I had to leave because of Hurricane Katrina. I wasn’t in school for a long time and when we finally made it to Opelousas, I missed a lot of school. I was way behind and didn’t have the basic skills I should have as a first grader. My parents thought I would have to repeat 1st grade, but the teachers and counselor at my school helped me until I was where I needed to be. Because of my teachers and my counselor, I finished my 1st grade year reading at a 6th grade level. So because of them, I want to become a Child Psychologist and help kids the way someone helped me.