Sophia Segerstrom has been attending Palomar College since she was 14 years old, and now, five years later, she is graduating as the college\u2019s valedictorian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While attending high school at the Audeo II Charter School, Segerstrom began taking dual enrollment courses at Palomar College. She said taking courses that she enjoyed at Palomar College, particularly theater classes, enabled her to take a wider variety of classes than her high school offered. She explored her interest in theater by acting in two Palomar College productions \u2013 \u201cKentucky\u201d in spring 2022 and \u201cGreetings from the Red Planet\u201d in fall 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it was a creative writing class that Segerstrom took that helped her discover her true passion for writing and literature. She said English Professor Rocco Versaci made her see the writing process in a whole new way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHis class was amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cHe teaches English as the power of language. It was his way of seeing and looking at word choice, connotations, perspective, and setting. It was the way he broke down the techniques a writer can use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Segerstrom said she has immensely enjoyed being an embedded tutor for English classes, helping students with their papers and assignments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have encountered students in moments of crisis and have often been in the role of offering emotional support and guidance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Segerstrom said she plans to transfer to a four-year university to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in English and literature, then pursue and master\u2019s and doctoral degree so that she can become a college instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said she wants to become a professor because she has been inspired by the teachers she had at Palomar College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI see how their passion for their subject matter transfers to their students, which has inspired me to want to be able to be in that position to share my love of literature and writing with others,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"