Student Spotlight: Camila Rosario Arce
March 12, 2024
One of the greatest perks of online learning at Virtual High School is the ability to go at your own pace according to your schedule and academic goals. For students like Camila Rosario Arce, who learns best by supplementing her coursework with real-life experiences, VHS offers an ideal solution where you are in control of your education. Follow along as we explore Camila’s unique approach to online learning in the mountains of Peru!
As a resident of Lima, Peru, it’s no surprise that Camila likes to take advantage of the warm weather, beautiful scenery, and delicious cuisine. She enjoys travelling, meeting people from different cultures, going to the beach, reading, writing, debating, sampling coffee, and cooking. Camila is also an outstanding athlete who specializes in the 100-metre dash, but also excels at the 200-metre dash and trains in javelin throwing.
Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, Camila relocated to Chile to go to school. After her classes were moved online in accordance with public health protocols, she moved back home to Peru and discovered her love for virtual learning.
[M]y parents’ work required us to travel to coffee-producing regions to ensure the quality of our brand’s products. This nomadic lifestyle posed challenges to my attendance at a traditional school. VHS became a pivotal solution for me, offering the flexibility to attend classes from anywhere and fostering a sense of personal responsibility. Without a teacher physically present, the onus fell on me to navigate my educational path, emphasizing the importance of individual initiative and accountability in academic progress."
Now that she has the flexibility to work on her courses whenever she wants to, Camila prefers to take her time with each topic in a holistic learning environment. So, what exactly does this look like for Camila on a day-to-day basis?
I believe the educational approach [at VHS] leans heavily on experiential learning, gradually integrating theoretical concepts, thereby rendering the curriculum more effective and directly applicable to our daily lives. While the content provided is comprehensive, it also encourages independent exploration, thereby reinforcing the notion of individual responsibility.”
In other words, Camila likes to take what she’s read in her courses and go out to apply it to her real life to see the concepts in action! For example, Camila is interested in gastronomy (the study of how food, culture, and tradition are connected). Instead of just studying the subject at home, she explores all kinds of restaurants to experiment with different flavours and cultures. This gives her the chance to adapt her palate to new tastes, fruits, vegetables, and spices so that she can become a more well-rounded chef one day.
Interested in trying out Camila’s learning style yourself? Here are her tips on how to incorporate holistic learning into your courses at VHS:
- Participate in extracurricular activities outside your coursework.
- Build a circle of friends so that you can learn from other people’s perspectives, enhance your communication skills, and discuss what you’ve learned in your courses.
- Be disciplined. You have to be willing to take responsibility for your own learning, so you need to put in the effort to stay focused and create a schedule for your activities.
- Get organized. Take notes on your course lessons, but also on your extracurricular activities so that you can relate them back to what you’ve read.
- Talk to knowledgeable individuals in key fields of interest. If you want to know more about a particular subject or occupation, go right to the people working in those areas and hear it firsthand!
Taking a holistic approach to her high school years has afforded Camila the opportunity to truly appreciate the present. Her focus is on lifelong learning, rather than premeditated steps to a specific career or academic pathway, which allows her to get the most out of every experience.
I realize that the decision I’ve made to pause, to slow down, to recognize that education ultimately serves my own well-being, and to savour life in a healthier manner, isn’t something everyone does … I aspire to keep travelling, exploring the world, and continuously marveling at its wonders. Meeting new people, experiencing diverse cultures, and gaining fresh perspectives are experiences I eagerly anticipate.”
With springtime just around the corner, we hope that Camila’s story will inspire you to reflect on how far you’ve come in your own educational journey and take a moment to stop to smell the roses.