Simon Youth Foundation student's academic career takes turn for the international

There’s a lot going on in the world in late 2011. National revolutions, economic worries, pending political seasons all dot the global landscape, and for Sonia Davis being a part of the international goings-on is her professional dream.

Sonia Davis, blue folder in hand, with Academy staff,
including Principal Brandon VanVleck, second from right.
The penguin is the Academy's mascot.

This is why the 18 year old will pursue a degree in International Relations when she begins college this January, 2012. It’s also why the university she selected is located abroad.

 

“I was accepted by Richmond, The American International University in London, and I still sometimes can’t believe that I’ll not only be achieving my dream of going to college but doing it overseas,” Davis says.

Davis’s story is all the more impressive when you consider that Davis had dropped out of her traditional high school before enrolling in the spring of 2011 at the Simon Youth Judson Learning Academy, according to the Academy’s principal Brandon VanVleck. The school, located in the Rolling Oaks Mall in San Antonio, Texas, is operated in partnership between Simon Youth Foundation and the Judson Independent School District.

“For our students, completing high school is a great achievement and going on to college an even bigger milestone, but I can’t be more proud of Sonia for earning a spot at an international university where the process is highly competitive for limited spaces,” VanVleck says.

Thanks to a self-paced curriculum and supportive environment, Davis was able to complete her outstanding high school credits in less than two full semesters at the Academy. She earned her diploma in mid-October, 2011.

“I was out of school and thinking that I would just try to get my GED,” Davis says. “My friend Cecelia Williams told me about the Academy, and I am so glad because it has allowed me to finish high school when I thought that I would not.”

Davis's university acceptance letter
is on display at the Academy.

Davis says the Academy teachers and staff wrote strong recommendation letters for her application to the International University, and she credits them, in part, for her acceptance to the college.

Her former teachers credit Davis’s dedication for her success.

“Members of the Academy teaching staff have been here since the doors opened 16 years ago, and no one recalls a graduate of ours going on to college abroad,” VanVleck says. “We are so elated for Sonia that we’ve placed a copy of her acceptance letter at the school’s entrance, because we are so proud of her accomplishments.”

Davis says scholarships will cover her tuition costs for at least her first full year at the International University, and she hopes to earn additional scholarships that will allow her to complete a full four years at the college.

“I am looking forward to being in a culturally stimulating environment with diversity, where many nationalities will be represented,” Davis says.