Maria “Gita” de la Vega is a 12th-grade learner preparing to graduate with iLEAD this year. Her compassion and heart for service has been a strong driving factor in her life and is a core value in her family. She has channeled her artistic and musical talents into various fundraising projects to support international organizations from the fight against human trafficking to Syrian refugee support. When asked to share her independent studying experience, she elaborated with these thoughts:
“independent studying has given me so much more than just an education. It has allowed me to broaden my horizons and chase the things I am passionate about. I am a creative person and independent studying has allowed me to plug that creativity into my work. I create a lot of visual projects for my different courses through infographics, presentations, paintings, etc. It’s my favorite thing to do!
“Another thing independent studying allows me to do is study my passions. My dream is to pursue music, and I’m very involved with my church’s music department. Because I’m independent studyed, I’ve been able to begin interning under our church’s music department and learn what I need to know in order to pursue this dream.
“Lastly, independent studying has allowed me to find myself and become confident in who I am. Separated from the common expectations and pressure put on high schoolers, I’ve been able to focus on my faith and growth, rooting myself in strong foundations.
“It makes me sad knowing this will be my last year of independent studying. It has been an amazing six years. I know for certain that everything I’ve learned from being a independent studyer will impact me for the rest of my life.”
Gita enjoys incorporating design into her work samples, creating awesome graphics demonstrative of her learning.