Christina Chouman

Avid Ceremony speech

I have had a long journey throughout my avid experience. I started out as a shy and

unorganized 8th grader trying to find my way. Avid quickly helped me break out of my shell. 8 th

and 9th grade I had an avid teacher, Ms. Stutzman, who constantly pushed her students and

motivated them to do better. She was always on top of us. Even if we didn’t want to put in the

work at the time, she always found a way to get us back to where we needed to be. She

installed all the tools that we would need at Stevenson. Strategies like using Cornell notes,

being organized for our classes and how to study for our tests and quizzes, we basically learned

how to be on top of our game 24/7. In 10th grade avid taught me that no matter how distracted

you get you can’t lose sight of what’s important because you only get one chance at high

school. 10th grade was a crucial year.it was the year we started to set our paths at Stevenson

and we had the help of avid to guide us through it. 11th grade is the year I became

independent, chatty, and social. I pushed myself to my limits when it came to my schoolwork.

At that point I knew how to study for my classes and knew what was expected of me. My avid

teacher Mr. Lombardo was a tough love type of teacher he wasn’t soft on his avid students. Just

like my parents held high expectations for me so did Mr. Lombardo. He wants the best and

nothing less for his students. He didn’t want us to lose focus of what was really important. And

that is the fact that even though we had the support of avid we were approaching senior year

and we needed to start being self-reliant. Avid helped me become the motivated and outgoing

student I am today. I faced a lot of barriers and struggled in my classes, but whenever I doubted

myself and thought I was doing everything possible.

Christina Chouman

Mr. Lombardo always asked, “Can you tell yourself you are doing everything possible to

get the help you need.” Then I put in even more work and got to where I needed to be. Avid

truly helped me overcome all my challenges and if it wasn’t for the amazing avid teachers, I

wouldn’t be the confident and independent student I am today. Wherever I end up in my future

I know that avid has molded me into a strong and determined student who faces challenges

instead of giving up and running away from them. It prepared me to become the successful

college student I will be. Avid has become more than just a class it has become a second family.

We have built a relationship like no other. We have had our ups and downs but in the end we

all shared a common goal which is to build a vision of our successful future. It is more than a

class you go to everyday it is truly a family and a support system that I was lucky enough to be a

part of. I am now ready to continue my journey at Wayne State University studying to become a

physician’s assistant and start the next chapter of my life.