Meghan Patero- Alumni of IA East Class of 2014, Sophomore at MSU
Q: What interested you into coming to this school?
A: I actually attended Baker Middle School which is right next door. Therefore, the first year
the IA started was the first year that I started middle school. At that time, no academic
accomplishments or extraordinary achievements were known about the school. The only thing
that I heard, occasionally, was the fact that it was a small high school. I think that is what
interested me the most. I liked having small classes and interacting with my teachers because it
makes going to school enjoyable. I heard stories about what the environment at Athens, Troy
High, or any other big high school so when I started hearing about a small high school that was
relatively close to home, my interest was caught. As I started nearing the end of my second year,
my teachers and friends told me that the school was for the ‘smart’. After talking to a few faculty,
I learned that the school pushes students to study harder, academically and socially, a type of
environment that I was already used to. The fact that I could keep learning and improving myself
in a close knitted atmosphere with people who had similar goals is what interested me to
come to the IA.
Q: Do you think you made the right choice and how have you like IA East so far?
A: I made the right choice, definitely. Some days I did not think so and sometimes I look
back and question if I really did make the right choice. However, every time I start to regret my
decision, I just remember that my experiences at the IA got me where I am today. Forget
university and grades. If I am considering the genuine goods in life that would be family and
friends. I grew closer with my family as I attended the school; something I believe would not
have happened if I went to Athens. I also gained another family at the IA. While I still look up to
my teachers and my classmates, there are some classmates that have become irreplaceable.
Although I don’t talk to them every day, it is reassuring to know that if I ever needed help, they
would be a phone call away. I think if anything, the IA gave me a family that I continuously
treasure. I wonder how my life would be different if I did not attend the IA and all I can see is a
lack of friendships and happiness since I do not believe that I could have made the friends I have
at a different school.
Q: What benefits did you gain from this school?
A: Never underestimate anything or anyone. This lesson does not just apply to homework. If
there is one benefit that the IA gave me would be to never trust anything. Never trust your
grades, never trust your homework, never trust your teachers. Through a certain perspective, this
sounds cynical but the same saying could be enlightening. If you want something done, you need
to do it yourself and check again in order to guarantee that the task is accomplished. Do not just
assume that your homework will be easy, do it and get it out of the way that way if you do not
underestimate the time it takes to complete it. Do just trust your teachers to grade your
homework or exam correctly; double check and ask questions in order to ensure that you are
being given the appropriate credit. The unnecessary worrying and endless sleepless nights would
have never existed if I just completed my responsibilities on time instead of underestimating the
amount of time and effort that went into each one. When I started underestimating one task, it
would multiply to the other task and eventually I would be putting things off till the last minute.
The IA taught me to never underestimate or trust that a guarantee will be given; I need to earn
that guarantee in order to verify that I completed what I needed to do.
Q: What are some downs to this school?
A: Two disadvantages stick out: the enormous pressure put on grades and the deceitful
influencing atmosphere that clouds the school. Grades are not important. Yes, it gets you into
college and what not but you do not need to dedicate every minute of your life worrying about
that. If you don’t branch out into clubs or jobs/volunteering, how are you going to make it in the
real world? A job requires hard work and experience, not a GPA. Also, the atmosphere that
surrounds the school is a little bit downputting. Students are very competitive in academics.
We look at each other as tools instead of friends so that we can see which one will help us on
homework or exams better. What kind of logic is that? High school is a time to discover yourself
and make new friends in preparation for college. I hated how some people who talk to you based
on their academic needs. Or if they needed answers or wanted to know questions on an exam.
The fact that students were willing to think this way perpetrated this type of attitude throughout
the school to the point that it became the norm.
Q: How will this experience help you personally later on?
A: The IA experience has taught me to verify everything and try to complete task
immediately. In another perspective: get everything done as soon as possible. It has taught me
how to organize my schedule and manage my time in college. I know how much time I need to
actually start my homework and I know my limits in how long I can study. I know how many
classes and other responsibilities I can take on at one time. Since I was close with all my teachers
at the IA, I have learned to initiate contact with my professors first in order to learn what their
expectations are for me and how I can best accomplish them. The IA has also taught me how to
interact with different ages. Since the IA was a small school, I knew almost everyone in every
grade. The IA taught me how to be empathetic to different people of various ages, many
responsibilities and unique opinions. Being open minded is an important part of society today
and it helps one become a cosmopolitan.
Q: What is the truth about the workload and the difficulty of the curriculum?
A: For some students, I can definitely see the workload and difficulty being suffocating.
However, for a majority of the students who did nothing after school but study, the workload and
difficulty of the curriculum is not that bad. We tended to over exaggerate way too much. Yeah, an
exam or too was difficult and sometimes we got too much homework. But for the quality of
homework some students turned it, it makes me question whether or not they should have been
given more. The workload and difficulty is a step up from high school but it grows gradually.
You slowly learn to test your limits and if you know how to manage your time, the workload gets
completed and the difficulty of the curriculum is not a problem. That’s the truth. The truth gets
distorted through procrastination the need to one up each other. When one procrastinate, of
course, the workload piles up. Also, since when did pulling all nighters become something we
should be proud of. Why do students over exaggerate the workload in order to justify their
own intelligence? It just spreads throughout the class until the whole schools has this fake idea in
their head. The truth about the workload and the difficulty of the curriculum is totally fabricated;
the workload is reasonable and actually not just busy work while the curriculum is an effective
comparison to how college and graduate school expect students to operate.
Q: Would you recommend students considering IA to join?
A: Definitely! Despite all the drama and commotion the IA unnecessarily brings into one’s
life, the benefits are totally worth it. The friends and teachers that you get to meet and interact
with is something that would never happen at another school or in college. Rather than thinking
of the IA as school, I just looked at it as a large gather with friends and acquaintances… a
gathering that started way too early. It is hard not to get caught up in the IA drama but it teaches
students an important lesson about being open minded and honesty. Not only do you learn more
about the different subjects, you start to realize who you are and what you want to do with your
life and time. The disadvantages and downs of the IA are miniscule compared to the advantages
and benefits the school provides!
A: I actually attended Baker Middle School which is right next door. Therefore, the first year
the IA started was the first year that I started middle school. At that time, no academic
accomplishments or extraordinary achievements were known about the school. The only thing
that I heard, occasionally, was the fact that it was a small high school. I think that is what
interested me the most. I liked having small classes and interacting with my teachers because it
makes going to school enjoyable. I heard stories about what the environment at Athens, Troy
High, or any other big high school so when I started hearing about a small high school that was
relatively close to home, my interest was caught. As I started nearing the end of my second year,
my teachers and friends told me that the school was for the ‘smart’. After talking to a few faculty,
I learned that the school pushes students to study harder, academically and socially, a type of
environment that I was already used to. The fact that I could keep learning and improving myself
in a close knitted atmosphere with people who had similar goals is what interested me to
come to the IA.
Q: Do you think you made the right choice and how have you like IA East so far?
A: I made the right choice, definitely. Some days I did not think so and sometimes I look
back and question if I really did make the right choice. However, every time I start to regret my
decision, I just remember that my experiences at the IA got me where I am today. Forget
university and grades. If I am considering the genuine goods in life that would be family and
friends. I grew closer with my family as I attended the school; something I believe would not
have happened if I went to Athens. I also gained another family at the IA. While I still look up to
my teachers and my classmates, there are some classmates that have become irreplaceable.
Although I don’t talk to them every day, it is reassuring to know that if I ever needed help, they
would be a phone call away. I think if anything, the IA gave me a family that I continuously
treasure. I wonder how my life would be different if I did not attend the IA and all I can see is a
lack of friendships and happiness since I do not believe that I could have made the friends I have
at a different school.
Q: What benefits did you gain from this school?
A: Never underestimate anything or anyone. This lesson does not just apply to homework. If
there is one benefit that the IA gave me would be to never trust anything. Never trust your
grades, never trust your homework, never trust your teachers. Through a certain perspective, this
sounds cynical but the same saying could be enlightening. If you want something done, you need
to do it yourself and check again in order to guarantee that the task is accomplished. Do not just
assume that your homework will be easy, do it and get it out of the way that way if you do not
underestimate the time it takes to complete it. Do just trust your teachers to grade your
homework or exam correctly; double check and ask questions in order to ensure that you are
being given the appropriate credit. The unnecessary worrying and endless sleepless nights would
have never existed if I just completed my responsibilities on time instead of underestimating the
amount of time and effort that went into each one. When I started underestimating one task, it
would multiply to the other task and eventually I would be putting things off till the last minute.
The IA taught me to never underestimate or trust that a guarantee will be given; I need to earn
that guarantee in order to verify that I completed what I needed to do.
Q: What are some downs to this school?
A: Two disadvantages stick out: the enormous pressure put on grades and the deceitful
influencing atmosphere that clouds the school. Grades are not important. Yes, it gets you into
college and what not but you do not need to dedicate every minute of your life worrying about
that. If you don’t branch out into clubs or jobs/volunteering, how are you going to make it in the
real world? A job requires hard work and experience, not a GPA. Also, the atmosphere that
surrounds the school is a little bit downputting. Students are very competitive in academics.
We look at each other as tools instead of friends so that we can see which one will help us on
homework or exams better. What kind of logic is that? High school is a time to discover yourself
and make new friends in preparation for college. I hated how some people who talk to you based
on their academic needs. Or if they needed answers or wanted to know questions on an exam.
The fact that students were willing to think this way perpetrated this type of attitude throughout
the school to the point that it became the norm.
Q: How will this experience help you personally later on?
A: The IA experience has taught me to verify everything and try to complete task
immediately. In another perspective: get everything done as soon as possible. It has taught me
how to organize my schedule and manage my time in college. I know how much time I need to
actually start my homework and I know my limits in how long I can study. I know how many
classes and other responsibilities I can take on at one time. Since I was close with all my teachers
at the IA, I have learned to initiate contact with my professors first in order to learn what their
expectations are for me and how I can best accomplish them. The IA has also taught me how to
interact with different ages. Since the IA was a small school, I knew almost everyone in every
grade. The IA taught me how to be empathetic to different people of various ages, many
responsibilities and unique opinions. Being open minded is an important part of society today
and it helps one become a cosmopolitan.
Q: What is the truth about the workload and the difficulty of the curriculum?
A: For some students, I can definitely see the workload and difficulty being suffocating.
However, for a majority of the students who did nothing after school but study, the workload and
difficulty of the curriculum is not that bad. We tended to over exaggerate way too much. Yeah, an
exam or too was difficult and sometimes we got too much homework. But for the quality of
homework some students turned it, it makes me question whether or not they should have been
given more. The workload and difficulty is a step up from high school but it grows gradually.
You slowly learn to test your limits and if you know how to manage your time, the workload gets
completed and the difficulty of the curriculum is not a problem. That’s the truth. The truth gets
distorted through procrastination the need to one up each other. When one procrastinate, of
course, the workload piles up. Also, since when did pulling all nighters become something we
should be proud of. Why do students over exaggerate the workload in order to justify their
own intelligence? It just spreads throughout the class until the whole schools has this fake idea in
their head. The truth about the workload and the difficulty of the curriculum is totally fabricated;
the workload is reasonable and actually not just busy work while the curriculum is an effective
comparison to how college and graduate school expect students to operate.
Q: Would you recommend students considering IA to join?
A: Definitely! Despite all the drama and commotion the IA unnecessarily brings into one’s
life, the benefits are totally worth it. The friends and teachers that you get to meet and interact
with is something that would never happen at another school or in college. Rather than thinking
of the IA as school, I just looked at it as a large gather with friends and acquaintances… a
gathering that started way too early. It is hard not to get caught up in the IA drama but it teaches
students an important lesson about being open minded and honesty. Not only do you learn more
about the different subjects, you start to realize who you are and what you want to do with your
life and time. The disadvantages and downs of the IA are miniscule compared to the advantages
and benefits the school provides!