I owe a great deal of my success to Compass Charter Schools (CCS) for believing in me and allowing me to really push myself academically. My counselor, Ms. Edith Cruz, allowed me to become dually enrolled in community college the summer of my freshman year. I continued as a College Acceleration Program (CAP) scholar taking classes year-round. Before I knew it, in my junior year of high school I had 90 units in college, earning three associate’s degrees and qualified for The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC), an educational plan for California community college students designed to facilitate transferring to a four-year public university.
At 16 years old I applied to the University of California, Irvine (UCI) with a 3.9 GPA, but I needed to graduate from high school first! Once again, Ms. Cruz guided me in completing the remainder of my high school courses so that I could graduate, my junior year, and still meet the deadline to transfer to UCI as a third-year in the Fall Quarter.
I want to emphasize the very important role my instructors played in forming the qualities and characteristics that have led me to where I am today. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of the program was the small scholar-instructor ratio. I feel that this allowed the instructors to really get to know each scholar and keep track of our individual progress.
If I had to choose one thing that made the greatest impact for me personally, it would be CCS nurturing ambition. At CCS we are encouraged to be ambitious and take risks, so my junior year I became president of the National Honor Society. As president I learned how to be part of a team. Under the supervision of Mr. Derek Yip I learned how to be a leader. It was a big responsibility to take on considering the academic workload that I was already committed to, but that is where ambition comes in.
Even after I graduated from high school, that same ambition is what got me through my last two years of undergrad in just one year. I was confident in the study habits and time management skills that I learned in high school, so I decided to take a risk and enroll in 20 units every quarter. I performed very well and scored highest in many of my classes.
I graduated Cum Laude from UCI with a 3.8 GPA a few days after my 18th birthday. That summer I became a nationally registered EMT, and I am currently enrolled in an accelerated medical school with the same ambition and determination that I started with in high school. I love to continually challenge myself, so my next goal is to begin residency by the time I am 21 years old.
Now, as a healthcare professional, I can take charge of a situation, delegate tasks, communicate efficiently and effectively with my team, and stay focused under pressure because of what I learned during my time as president of NHS.
Once again, I am very honored to have been selected to share my story. I owe a great deal of my success to CCS for believing in me and allowing me to really push myself academically.
I believe in Compass and I will always remain Forever Loud and Proud!
Amber Naqvi
Compass Charter Schools, Class of 2018
University of California, Irvine, Class of 2019
Saint John School of Medicine, First Year Medical Student
Awesome to hear you’re doing so well!