I was homeschooled from the 3rd to 12th grade with the last seven years of that time under Kolbe Academy. Although there are local homeschool providers in the Philippines where I grew up, my parents chose Kolbe for me and my siblings because of its solidly Catholic and academically rigorous education, especially as they knew we would most likely go abroad for university studies. Personally, having completed my first quarter at JPCatholic, I know homeschooling with Kolbe has prepared me academically and also helped me prepare to face the challenges of living an ocean away from home.
The rigors of Kolbe's curriculum greatly challenged me. It stretched me beyond my comfort zone, helped shape who I am and how I face new and unknown experiences. It was not easy being stretched in the way I was, and there were times when I failed to meet the standards I had set out for myself. Now though, I'm very much grateful for it as I start my college education and begin to manage my own life much more independently.
One of Kolbe’s biggest impacts for me was the intensity, density, and rigor of high school studies. I have vivid memories of the more demanding workloads of math, science, literature, and Latin, struggling to wrap my head around key concepts and themes. Facing those challenges and subjects, I came to understand the necessity of an active determination in studies, the proper mindset to acknowledge and meet that demand, and to always get back up if I stumbled. Perseverance became a critical part of my Kolbe education, and through it, I gained confidence in my ability to tackle the unknown challenges that I may yet face and to value the deeper fulfillment in academic success. Each step forward, every choice to get back up and start again built resilience in me.
As an animation student at JPCatholic, I’m taking a combination of university core classes, such as humanities, business, theology and philosophy along with my animation courses. The academic foundation and experiences from Kolbe have greatly aided in handling the university core such that I am able to give more time and dedication to developing my creative skills. The study skills, time management skills, and intellectual strength and endurance that I built during my time at Kolbe have also helped me to handle basic living necessities like grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning, as well as throw in space for hobbies and free time into the mix.
As I reflect on my experience since starting college, I’m grateful for that confidence and maturity I gained throughout my Kolbe years. My life now is not without its challenges, and I continue to be stretched beyond what is comfortable for me. I still stumble and struggle at times. I am, after all, not only getting used to life at college but also settling into a new country and culture. However, the foundation from homeschooling with Kolbe has set me up well for everything I now face in college.
As I look forward to the rest of my time at JPCatholic and learning the craft of animation, I reflect on one phrase which was constantly hammered home in my Story, Genre, and Structure course from my first quarter: “A story is a hero’s struggle against an obstacle to reach a goal.”
My story, the story that I've wanted to tell for a long time, is one of perseverance and resilience. Kolbe was the forge that helped form that story. In the midst of my high school years, I may have struggled, and I may have reached the point where I didn’t want to go any further… but, I always managed to get back up, to keep going, and to produce work which I can be proud of. I’m grateful that I received the education I did. God gave me what I needed to be where I am today through Kolbe, and He will do it again as I seek to tell my story through animation at JPCatholic.
Adam Wang is a freshman Animation student at John Paul the Great Catholic University in Escondido, CA.
