Since my school did not offer remedial English classes for immigrant students, I began studying with only the help of an English-Chinese dictionary. Although I was focused and determined, streams of below average grades accompanied my first year in school. Nonetheless, by expending two to three times the effort of others, I started to notice signs of improvement. A well-timed vote of confidence came from my seventh-grade reading instructor, Mr. John Smith. In his class, the highest possible grade -- a B -- was given to only one student per school year. Aiming for that coveted prize, I managed to improve my grades from a D in the first semester to the B in the final semester. At the year-end award ceremony, Mr. Smith specifically commended my achievement in front of the student body. While I received many other academic accolades in later years, no one validated my efforts and boosted my self-confidence more than that short yet significant praise.
Although it has been fourteen years since I arrived in Prichard, the immigrant experience has strengthened my character in ways that will be professionally and socially beneficial for years to come. As an immigrant child, I learned how to transition from one culture to another. This skill helped me when I had to make that transition again as a foreign exchange student in Japan. Additionally, having experienced the degradation of ethnic bigotry, I have learned to be sensitive toward different people and cultures.