Community : Meet Our Students
Jenny Nielsen
Age 19
Polo, Missouri
The first couple of years of college are often a time of discovery, of finding the subject that lights a fire within and sends a student on a course of study. For Jenny Nielsen, 19, that fire has been ignited in nearly everything she's tried.
"I like everything under and beyond the sun," said the University of Missouri - Kansas City sophomore. And she excels in everything she takes on, holding a 4.0 grade point average and a spot on the university's dean's list. She recently won two awards at her university, one for an essay in a writing competition and the other for outstanding achievement in Spanish.
"Individualized instruction is great because it lets you focus on trouble spots and move quickly through subjects that come easily," Jenny said. "I had time to synthesize challenging material and learn through reflection."
Jenny credits her love of learning and drive to succeed to her upbringing. She was a homeschooling student throughout her childhood, using Keystone National High School curriculum and support for high school. Keystone, a fully accredited, independent study program serving students in all 50 states and around the world, offers at-home, self-paced study and education to more than 20,000 students each year.
"Homeschooling was an adventure for me, and I can't imagine childhood any differently," said Jenny. Her mother had been homeschooled for part of her childhood while living in Africa, so it wasn't a foreign concept to the family. "My parents are very enthusiastic about reading and learning, and they wanted us to have a superior education," she said. When it came time for high school, she chose Keystone because "it had the best courses, the best materials and made a lot of sense."
Jenny said Keystone courses provided a challenge "in a rich, enjoyable way." She enrolled in nearly every difficult course offered, graduating from Keystone with a 4.0 grade point average. "Individualized instruction is great because it lets you focus on trouble spots and move quickly through subjects that come easily," she said. "I had time to synthesize challenging material and learn through reflection."
While a Keystone student, Jenny managed her time in a "nontraditional way," she said. "I decided to work my hardest and not worry about setting deadlines, and that's when I did my best." She'd have "history day" or "math day," depending on her interest. She continued her studies year-round, distributing holidays throughout the year to meet her needs. Beginning college "wasn't really a culture shock," she said, because of the skills she learned while at Keystone.
Her experience with homeschooling meant a great deal of independent decision-making. "My parents would offer advice, but I would make my own choices," she said. She selected her own courses while at Keystone and rarely needed homework help. "The materials were straightforward, and I was able to teach myself," she said. Keystone instructors provide guidance to students using telephone, email, online bulletin boards and online chat. Occasionally she would email or call an instructor and learned she could always count on a prompt, helpful response.
Because Jenny wasn't in a classroom, she had time for plenty of extracurricular activities. "My family would explore museums or the zoo," she said. "We did backyard astronomy, I learned to play the piano and compose music, I created my own science web site and I was always writing."
"(Homeschooling) encouraged me to learn and then interact in the world utilizing my newfound knowledge. In my view, that's what education is all about"
Her father, an attorney, hosted a variety show on the radio, and Jenny was the show's science reporter, with a weekly morning spot. "If I had been in public school, I wouldn't have been able to do that," she noted. She was involved in local theater, had a busy social life, worked as her father's legal secretary and "had time to hike and climb trees."
These days, she lives with her family on their 17 acres in Polo, Mo., and commutes to college. The wildlife surrounding her - foxes, turkeys, deer, owls, coyotes, bluebirds and frogs - was part of her homeschooling education and still stir great interest. She tutors her younger brother with his homeschooling assignments, particularly in math, and said he's looking forward to starting Keystone next year, his freshman year. She is thankful for Keystone's English classes, particularly the writing assignments in English III, which "prepared me well for college." As a college freshman, she tested into second-year English, and she's been off and running with her writing ever since.
Her essay, "Recording the Soul's Journey: Life, Literacy, and the Unfolding Self," which recently won her university's Ilus W. Davis Writing Competition, was published in a journal and has been included in the curriculum in some of the university's English courses. "It's kind of a wild paper - about how focusing on the individual can spark a light toward literacy, that language is important and that we're all connected in the universe," she said.
She has also written several hundred pages of a novel about tigers in India and hopes that many published works are in her future. She loves to write poetry, draw and paint and plans to write and illustrate a children's book.
For now, Jenny's college major is philosophy. That could change to psychology, English, history or perhaps a science. "I can see myself in a lot of different areas, and my professors are all asking me to major in their subjects," she said.
Without doubt, great things are in store for Jenny, and she says homeschooling made her who she is today. In her essay on literacy, she says, "(Homeschooling) encouraged me to learn and then interact in the world utilizing my newfound knowledge. In my view, that's what education is all about."
