An education is the greatest asset you can have. It is the foundation of your resume, a badge of honor, and an investment in your future. Most people wait until they graduate high school to seek higher education. For 17-year-old Rachel Dorrance, that was not fast enough. She quotes President Abraham Lincoln: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Rachel heard about The Indiana Academy from a friend and knew it was a program she needed to be a part of. It is a residential high school run by Ball State University and is located on the college campus.
“I would recommend that any high school student who is seeking a better school environment apply to the Academy. It’s very high paced and difficult, but if you can keep up with the classes it’s an experience unlike anything else.”
The Indiana Academy allows students to earn high school and college credit at the same time; in a lot of cases, even from the same course. The application requires Indiana residency, recommendation letters, and several essays. Being the number one high school in the state makes it a challenge to get into.
Rachel’s proudest moment so far is getting accepted to The Indiana Academy. It is an honor to go there.
“When I was accepted it was like everything I had ever worked for, all the late nights working on homework and juggling extracurricular activities, was worth it.”
Semesters spent on campus in Muncie take her away from Portage. She has lived all over the state, and even in Troy, Missouri, for a while.
“It seemed however far I got from Portage I always ended up coming back. That’s why I consider Portage my hometown.”
It is a great town to be in. As a student at Portage High School, Rachel appreciated the size of the school. It was able to provide numerous clubs, and a phenomenal band program. She began playing tenor trombone in middle school, and picked up bass trombone her sophomore year in high school. She prefers the latter for its richer, darker tone.
Despite the workload at The Indiana Academy, Rachel is still able to attend a few clubs. She is a part of United Sexualites, a weekly group that provides a safe place for LGBT youth to be themselves and discuss issues that their community is facing.
She also helped found the Quidditch club at the Academy. It is a sports club based in Harry Potter fandom. When the weather is nice they meet outside to play Quidditch. Each team represents a House from the book series.
Three nights a week, during the school year, Rachel donates her time to a local Muncie program called “Acts of Kindness.” AOK’s goals are “to strengthen families and provide students a place to achieve their academic goals while building their character in a peaceful environment.” She goes to a middle school to help with homework, lessons, and enrichment games.
Rachel’s own goals include being happy and helping others achieve happiness. Between volunteer work and club involvement she has already taken great strides to benefit others. Her aggressive pursuit of education will further enable this.
“I would like to work in clinical psychology,” She says. “I am helping people with their most intimate issues.” Right now the plan is to attend Purdue University for a doctorate in Psychology, but she is also considering staying at Ball State or getting a degree in Neuroscience.
“As someone currently applying to college and trying to sort out such a huge step in my life, the future is terrifying. But I know that the only way to have the future I want is to be optimistic and take control of my own destiny. If I work hard I can do almost anything.”