American Curriculum Valuable for American In Turkey

By Leslie Cranford, Section Manager

Before Nick Anderson moved to Turkey nearly five years ago, he had lived in Maryland his whole life. His mother is from Turkey and wanted to move back; so, he and his brother accompanied her. Nick had no idea how challenging it would be living in a foreign country where he didn't speak the language, let alone getting through high school.

TTU K-12, his video games and his global friends became his lifeline to American life.

Nick began attending Texas Tech University High School in fall 2016. He completed the requirements to graduate this past May; he is entering Texas Tech University studying computer science this fall. Because he is a TTU K-12 graduate, he was able to apply for, and received, the Texas Tech scholarship available to TTU K‑12 graduates.

While making his way through high school, Nick spent time - lots of time - playing video games, listening to hip hop music, and visiting with friends online.

"I really liked the convenience of being able to do my schoolwork at any time, because I would often stay up late into the night playing video games with my friends who lived in America, and it was nice to be able to do my schoolwork at maybe even 8 p.m. before I would start playing," Nick explained.

In fact, Nick says taking high school through TTU K-12 was valuable because he self-admittedly isn't the best at keeping a schedule.

"The most challenging part of online school for me is, that since there are no immediate consequences for not doing work on any given day, I have to keep my own schedule. And I am very bad at keeping a schedule. Since I moved to Turkey I have not had a consistent sleep schedule for more than a week at a time, I just go to bed an hour or two later every night and wake up an hour or two later every morning; my schedule just goes around the clock, which probably isn't good for my health! But nonetheless, the flexibility of TTU K-12 has allowed that."

Nick believes, though, that schooling through TTU K-12 was valuable to him in many other ways.

"The overall experience was very beneficial to my academic career, but more importantly to my mental health," Nick explained. "Being around people who you have no connection with, not even a language, can be really taxing on your mental state, so it was nice to be able to confide in the world of the internet, even in schooling.

"Also, I am now able to attend an American college with scholarships, an opportunity I probably would not have if I had attended a Turkish school. I am glad that I have an American high school diploma even though I am not living there."

Through high school, Nick has been interested in math, computer programming, and science, particularly physics. At Texas Tech he plans to pursue math and computer programming.

And speaking of college, Nick says taking high school through TTU K-12 gave him the opportunity of a lifetime to "attend a college as good as Texas Tech for an affordable price." Aside from the scholarship Nick earned, TTU K-12 graduates also qualify to receive in-state tuition.

All the late nights of gaming and studying do work into his future plans, Nick explains.

"My goals are to either start up my own independent game development studio or to work as a video game designer for a company that makes video games."

With such a unique experience with Texas Tech University High School, and now headed to an American university, Nick says other students may want to take a look at the practicality of studying with TTU K‑12.

"It is definitely the best option out there for someone like me who does not know the language of the country they are in, and they hope to get an American high school diploma. Plus, you get the added bonus of having the opportunity to be able to attend Texas Tech with in-state tuition, which is really nice if you are planning on going there for college."