Hello! Welcome to my home page. My name is Lydia Malchiodi. I'm a student at Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo and will be graduating with the Class of 2011. Three more years seem a lifetime away but I know that time will pass quickly. After all, it was only 6 years ago when I would play with my dolls and cats. We've always had lots of cats. Once, when our first Fluffy was injured by a car, a vet family friend came to our home to look him over. He decided to operate on the dining room table and asked me to stand by and assist him. I was a little squeamish and at one point nearly gagged. But I sucked it in and held up to the job because I loved that cat so much. I helped him through the whole operation. He said I'd done a great job. That was only three years ago though it now too seems a lifetime away. Though I've changed a lot since then, some things haven't changed: I still want to help whenever someone's in trouble or ill. Our neighbor, who is like an auntie to me, is ill; I go shopping for her and sometimes microwave dinners for her. A year ago, when my mother's best friend died without any family members near, I was there with her and my mother until she passed away in the hospital. It wasn't easy but I feel better for having been there to help and hold her hand.

Our school has a College & Career Center run by Ms. Rambo. She has encouraged us to take some free career aptitude tests online. Our school's website provides some links to them. I have taken a couple and they have validated career aspirations. According to these tests, I'm empathetic, good at problem-solving, and determined. I'm not such what empathetic means but have solved many problem between my younger brother and sister. Mom says I'm stubborn which could be another way of saying "determined."

Naturally, I'm planning to be either a nurse, doctor, veterinarian or therapist. All of these career options require a lot college and I'm preparing for that. I will aim to become a doctor, which will require another 10-12 years or study after high school. But if that falls through, for whatever reason, I'll still be in a good position to be a veterinarian, nurse or therapist. Stanford University and U.C. Davis have renowned medical schools with teaching hospitals. U.C. Davis, also, has a world famous veterinarian program. If I do my undergraduate work at U.C. Davis, I can follow a pre-med program that allows me to work in that area as well.

Any career in medicine will require a strong background in the sciences and Math. That's why I'm attending peer tutoring for Science after school , two days a week. But it also helps to be a good communicator and reader. So, I will take Advanced Placement (AP) English courses as well as AP Math and Science classes. Come to think of it, AP English will improve my writing skills so that my college application essay will make a great impression.

To take AP courses, one has to score a 4 (grade level) or 5 (above grade level) in the STAR exams. Individual student STAR exam scores are also looked at by college admissions officers. So, I have to do my best for those each Spring.

Below is my high school academic plan::

If I take P.E. during summer schools, I can squeeze in additional classes, such as Economics. Or, I may be able to graduate early and begin my freshman year of college at U.C. Davis with the Spring Semester. It may be easier to get a place in the Spring, too.

In my Sophomore year, I'll take the Practice Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) and then sit for the real PSAT in my Junior year. Sitting for it early will allow me to retake it a second time for a higher score.

Seniors who aspire to the best colleges take the Advanced Placement exams given every Spring for various subject that often are not tested in the state STAR exams or in the SATs. So, I'll have to plan to take those in my senior year, too.

In addition to passing the high school exist exam to graduate, our school district, the Vallejo City Unified School District, also requires every one to do 20 hours of volunteer community service. Students are permitted to do those 20 hours anytime between the last semester of the junior year and the end of the first semester of the senior year. I plan to do volunteer work in two places. First, I want to be trained to help at the Cordelia Wildlife Refuge and Rescue Center. That will be a great experience. I, also, plan to do some additional volunteer work. There are a few options in that second area. For example, one can be a volunteer at the local Kaiser Permanente Hospital. Volunteers there help push patients in wheel chairs back to their cars after operations or help people get to appointments and other areas of the hospital. I could, also, volunteer for animal rescue organizations or local vets. All these volunteer activities will, perhaps, earn me some nice letters of recommendation to include in my college application packages.

I took an online career aptitude test and it suggested that I'd be good in the medical profession as well as acting. It would be great to be a movie star but it's not something I'm going to bank on. But involvement in local community theater and school/college drama will keep that door open for me.

There are a lot more things that I need to do and research.

I've a small savings from babysitting and birthday money but that won't be enough. Our high school has a College and Career Center to assist students in getting through the process of winning scholarships and other forms of college financing. Ms. Rambo runs the Career Center; I'm going to be her best friend for the next three years!

The center, also, helps students to get their admission applications completed, takes students on field trips to various campuses and arranges for campus representatives to come here. I will be checking in every week to not miss any opportunities out there. If you, too, are exploring career opportunities, please check out my Off-Site Links, below. You may find them useful.

Spending my junior year as a foreign exchange student in either Spain or Argentina is another dream. Not all my dreams can come true but it's going to be a fun challenge to try to make it all happen.

This page was last modified in April - 2008

This web page has been created by Lydia Malchiodi Albedi.
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They may not be used by others without express permission by the copyright holder.