K12 Alumni Success Story: Claire Sullivan

Claire Sullivan is currently a rising sophomore at Florida State University, thanks to the preparation and opportunities she took with K12 Private Academy. She switched to online learning from a traditional brick-and-mortar school in the middle of 8^th grade. Her younger brother had been a part of K12 since he started school, so Claire and her family were familiar with online education and making the change made sense.                                                       

“Actually, funny enough, the following semester was when everything happened with the pandemic,” Claire said, “So it ended up working out really well with schools being closed. I decided to stay virtual for the rest of my high school career.”

Learning Experience                                                         

For Claire, while she had enjoyed the traditional brick-and-mortar school, K12 Private Academy offered her the freedom to explore passions and take ownership of her learning.

“It definitely allowed me to explore things I don’t think I would have been able to explore. For instance, I was able to dive a lot more into language learning and get up to a pretty high level of Spanish just because of the time afforded to me by my classes at K12,” Claire said, “I appreciated being able to move at my own pace, spend more time on topics that were interesting to me.”

Claire added she took many AP and honors level courses and feels that K12 Private Academy gave her a great quality of education.

 “I feel like a lot of the English courses in particular are a little more intensive than your average brick-and-mortar class,” she said, “I think the way K12 teaches foreign languages is really interesting…it’s a lot more practice paired with listening, writing and speaking. It’s a lot more engaging than your usual class; I really like that.”

As K12 alumna, Claire is now a sophomore at Florida State University and says that online school shares more similarities to college life than the traditional in-person learning model.

“For online students, you have to learn very quickly how to manage your time, how to set your own schedule, things like that,” Claire said, “And those are definitely skills I see myself using a lot here in college… So just being used to an online format I think is super beneficial.”

Involvement and Growth

Claire was very involved in many different organizations while at K12, like the newspaper where she served as a writer and later an editor, SkillsUSA, the Catholic Student Union, and different clubs that focus on healthcare.

The coolest organization she joined was the Explorers Club, where Claire and her classmates would discuss the places around the world they wanted to go. “I feel the club was very fitting given the fact that the Academy is an international school,” she said, “We got to learn a lot about different places, and I always enjoyed hearing other students’ thoughts on where they live and places they’d like to visit.”

Claire also served on the Stride Career Prep Student Advisory Council where she was an advisor and brand ambassador for K12’s Career Prep Program. Here, she was able to share her perspective on the school’s career prep resources through social media posts, webinars, and focus groups.

“I definitely recommend the Student Advisory Council for any students who are looking for a leadership position or just work experience in general,” Claire said.

She gives back while in college by serving on the K12 Career and Technical Education board. Here, Claire promotes the Academy’s certification opportunities – the same ones she took advantage of herself during her time at K12.

“The Academy has a really great CTE program through which I was able to get my Certified Clinical Medical Assistant certification for free,” Claire explained, “Which is huge because for a lot of students interested in healthcare fields, you have to spend a lot of time and money in college to get those kinds of certifications. So, it’s nice that I was able to enter college having achieved something like that.”

She also received a certification for her high-level proficiency in Spanish.

“That was really cool because it’s a lifelong certification,” Claire said, “It’s something I could definitely use in the workplace or in general, and that was another certification I don’t think I would have been able to get without going to online school.”

Moving Forward

As Claire continues in school and strives toward her goal of being a physician, she reflects on how K12 Private Academy has prepared her.

“Obviously, I know that’s kind of a long way away, but I feel like I’m setting myself up well for now, and I think I’m very well prepared academically to handle the types of courses I need to take to be able to achieve my goals,” Claire said.

To those considering an online education, this is what Claire would tell them:

“Know yourself, know what’s important to you, know your goals,” she said, “If you’re someone who can manage your own schedule and are disciplined and able to lock in when you need to, I think online school can be a great thing. I don’t know if it’s for everyone, but I think it’s really benefited me personally. And I have no regrets with what I ended up doing for my high school career.”

Learn More

To hear more student success stories or learn more about K12 Private Academy visit www.K12.com.