Student Blog: Back To School!

Hey! I’m Allen and I am a junior in high school excited for the opportunity to be a student blogger with BroadwayWorld this year! Getting back into my groove this school year has been a work in progress, but I am glad to say that I am managing my time effectively with my new (rigorous!) academic schedule, social life, extracurriculars and leadership opportunities. 

I am an International Baccalaureate (IB) Bilingual Diploma candidate, completing a curriculum focusing on critical thinking and shaping students to become worldly individuals. As an IB student, you are required to take a combination of two-year (Higher Level or HL) and one-year (Standard Level or SL) classes. For each IB class, I will work to complete some form of internal assessment, such as a paper or a presentation, and also complete a final exam. As a candidate for the IB Bilingual Diploma (I am fluent in Spanish), I take Language and Literature classes in both English and Spanish. My school also operates on an A/B schedule, meaning that I have four classes one day and another four classes the next day, and each class lasts the entire academic year. 

This year, I am taking core IB curriculum courses (standard courses like English, math, science and history) and rounding out my curriculum in an IB dance class and completing a separate Honors independent dance study course. In my independent dance study course, I have had the opportunity to support my dance teachers, work directly with my school’s guest teaching artists, teach younger students and work on my skillset as a choreographer. I am also active in student government and multiple artistic and academic honors societies.

Beyond my busy academic schedule, I am hoping to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) for musical theatre after high school. To achieve this goal, I spend up to 16 hours each week outside of school developing skills that will help me to pursue theatre after high school. I take dance, voice, and piano lessons to develop my technical skills, and take part in musicals at my school and local educational theatre. I also work with a teacher to prepare for the BFA audition process by focusing on acting and building a plan for my auditions and applications. The process seems daunting, but I am excited about the possibility of spending my life doing the things that I love most. 

With this much time spent in extracurriculars, sometimes it can be hard to balance school, theatre, and also being a normal teenager with a big social life. I devote a lot of my weekend time to working ahead, so that I can have smooth weeks both inside and outside of school. There have been many opportunities and social plans that I have had to turn down because of my busy schedule, but for the most part I manage to work diligently so that I can have as much fun with my friends as possible. 

Although it can be stressful, I am enjoying the challenge of developing as both a student and as a performer. I am excited to see where the year takes me next!