Guadalupe De La Cruz
Bastrop High School
Class of 2007
Ana love told me that the only two teachers from whom I would ever learn anything valuable for use in college were Mr. Beckcom and Ms. Shub. I was lucky enough to have Mr. Beckcom throughout the entire year for A.P. U.S. History, but I didn’t have Ms. Shub for A.P. English until second semester. So far, Ana had been right on: I adored Mr. Beckcom’s class and clung to his every word, so I expected Ms. Shub to be just as enlightening.
I had never actually seen Ms. Shub before the first day of class, and by then she had risen to a sort of iconic figure whose knowledge and wisdom would surely exude freely from her bosom. I don’t know what exactly I expected, but she wasn’t it. She was outwardly unassuming: a succinct woman with soft features hidden behind a pair of plastic-rimmed glasses. I soon came to find, however, that Ms. Shub’s physical appearance did not accurately depict her true character.
Ms. Shub had a jeering intellectual dominance which made even the most insubordinate pupil fall silent. I was awed by her intelligence. She had a rebuke for everything and there was nothing she didn’t already know about. English soon replaced history as my favorite class. Ms. Shub made us analyze current events and the rhetoric employed by authors, commercials, and our political leaders. Before Ms. Shub, I didn’t even know what rhetoric was. We looked at everything from President Bush’s “State of the Union Address” to Pink’s “Stupid Girls” music video to see how sounds, images, and words were manipulated to advance a specific viewpoint and stimulate feelings. What we learned in Ms. Shub’s class was truly valuable. It was more of a civics class than anything else, which was what made it so great.
But as much as I enjoyed everything we learned in class, I really wanted to know more about Ms. Shub. Where did she come from? How did she become so erudite? Unfortunately, I was so busy that I never had any time to talk to her one-on-one. The end of the year was approaching, and there was so much I felt I still had to learn from Ms. Shub. I didn’t think twice about signing up for her Visual Media Analysis class for the fall semester. In the meantime, throughout the summer, I began to look into things she had suggested we do. I began to listen to National Public Radio; I began reading several periodicals such as the Economist, the New Yorker, and Harper’s; I even sat in on several local political meetings and block-walked for a congressional candidate. I wanted to expose myself to as many new things as possible before the start of the new school year. I figured I would be more prepared to finally talk to Ms. Shub.
In between work and studying, I also began my college search process. I began by thinking out the basics: what I wanted to major in and where I wanted to live. Personally, I wanted to go out-of-state. I wanted to experience a new environment. My parents, however, preferred I stay close to home. By this time I had become increasingly interested in politics thanks to Ms. Shub. I came to think of my interest in politics as other people’s interest in sports: I had a favorite team to root for, and I always kept my eye on the big players. However, the difference between the two was that the outcome of politics had real consequences, which determined the fate of the American people. By the end of the summer, I pretty much knew I wanted to major in political science or something very closely related.
By September, I had narrowed down my choice to four schools: Wellesley College, Scripps College, Tulane University, and Texas State University, the latter to please my parents. I also visited a Tulane information session and immediately submitted my application, seeing as it was less than a day drive. As for Wellesley and Scripps, I remained hesitant. Under a special scholarship program, I would have the opportunity to apply for a full four-year scholarship to not only Wellesley and Scripps, but other top-ranked liberal arts colleges around the country. The only catch was if selected by any of the schools of my choice, it would be binding. As excited as I was about a full scholarship, I was afraid to disappoint my parents by going out-of-state. I was unable to make a decision.
School still remained, and I had Ms. Shub every other day. One day she revealed that she had gotten her master’s degree at the University of California-Riverside. Once again she had amazed me. I had never met anyone who had been to college outside of their home state. I knew Ms. Shub was from the area, so how did she manage to make such a drastic move out to California? I talked to her after class and we talked about college. She told me going out-of-state was the best part of her education. Experiencing new locations and new people was the most important part of becoming a well-rounded person. I confided in her my desire to go out-of-state, and she was completely supportive. She understood the need to leave home and make something out of myself.
Because of her encouragement, I ended up submitting my application and was awarded a full four-year scholarship to Scripps College in Claremont, California where I plan to major in International Relations and Politics. I can honestly say that had it not been for Ms. Shub’s influence and support, both in and outside the classroom, I could have never dreamed of a future as bright as the one that lays before me now. In attaining a college degree, I hope to become more like Ms. Shub: intelligent, confident, and supportive, so I may influence others the way she has so positively influenced me.