UPchieve’s Scholarship Winner: Meet Jonathan
Here at UPchieve, we love to celebrate our hardworking students. Jonathan was nominated by his coach, Shania for the Tis the Seasons 2022 UPchieve Scholarship because he demonstrated a lot of tenacity in their sessions. Jonathan is a student who has showcased immense perseverance, and we can’t wait for you to hear about his journey!
About Jonathan
Jonathan lives with his family in the Bronx. His parents really value education and they've always pushed Jonathan to prioritize his college journey.
Jonathan attended a traditional high school in the Bronx. His school didn’t provide any formal tutoring or college counseling. Therefore, the academic support he received was minimal. However, he took initiative to seek out resources to help him achieve his big goals and this fall he was the first in his family to attend college!
We sat down with Jonathan to chat about his path to college and his future. We hope that you feel as inspired by Jonathan’s story as we are. He is a prime example of why UPchieve exists — to provide guidance to students and help them reach their highest potential!
How UPchieve Helped Jonathan Achieve His Academic Goals
“I felt that my 3.2 GPA didn’t match my true potential, as I didn’t realize the importance of school until later in high school. So, I wanted to take the SAT to balance my GPA with a high score to show I was ready for college.”
After Jonathan first took the SAT he was unsatisfied with his initial score – 1000. So he dedicated himself to improving his score. He watched YouTube videos and took several practice SAT tests, painstakingly reviewing every answer after each attempt. With every question he answered incorrectly, Jonathan went “straight to UPchieve.”
A tutor would help him work through questions, and the correct answers would finally “click” in his mind. Eventually, after taking the SAT for a third time, he earned a score of 1440 or the 96th percentile! 👏
Additionally, when Jonathan took AP Statistics and AP Environmental Science in high school, he utilized UPchieve’s platform to succeed in these challenging classes. Similar to Jonathan’s experience with SAT prep, UPchieve’s academic coaches explained questions he didn’t understand throughout the course.
Because of Jonathan’s perseverance, and the support he received on UPchieve, he got a 4 on both AP tests. This allowed him to earn college credit for both courses!
Life After Graduation
“I can’t even begin to list the things I want to do with my Electrical Engineering degree.”
Jonathan currently attends CUNY College, and his $1,000 UPchieve scholarship will go towards funding his Electrical Engineering degree. Jonathan says that he “loves college” especially the freedom that being in college has given him.
Recently, he took his first midterm in Pre-Calculus, on which he got an A! He’s also thriving in his other classes like Writing Composition and World Civilization.
Ultimately, Jonathan wants to create electronic devices — nothing excites him more than being able to build and create things. He is also passionate about renewable energy. He developed his interest after taking AP Environmental Science. Through this class, Jonathan gained a greater understanding of climate change and the negative atmospheric effects of carbon dioxide. He is very interested in trying to design and create solutions to solve this sticky problem.
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed learning more about Jonathan! Do you want to help students like Jonathan thrive academically? Sign up for UPchieve today!