Heather Carswell

RIT LPP

What year did you graduate high school?
2019

What is the name of the school you attended?
At the time I was in the program, Greece Olympia High School in Greece New York

What are you up to now?
Currently I am on a year leave after attending Rochester Institute of Technology for 2 years. If not for Covid I had no intention of ever taking off but after some insanely stressful times thanks to Covid I took 2 semesters off to gather my bearings and I’ll be back as soon as I can!

How did you get involved with Liberty Partnerships?
LPP was an option when I was in middle school at Olympia, I was in 7th grade I believe and I joined the program with a few friends of mine and ended up making connections that have lasted till today even if I was only involved in the program for 2 years.

What are some of your favorite activities/programs that you did through Liberty Partnerships?
I always enjoyed attending Imagine RIT with the LPP group, we’d tour RITs campus and explore what the students there had to offer. From there I knew that RIT was the school for me! And sure enough years later I was happier than ever receiving my acceptance letter.

Describe how Liberty partnerships shaped your life both in and out of classroom?
Thanks to LPP, I was quickly introduced to a major goal of mine, which was to attend RIT. Through the friendly guidance of our mentors I felt driven to get the best possible grades I could and help reach the outcome I desired. Had I not been apart of LPP perhaps I would have never attended RIT in the first place and my life could have veered off in a completely different direction.

What are you most proud of?
I’m proud of the fact I have survived everything I’ve ever been through. My life has been far from easy yet despite that I never wallowed in pity wishing my life was better, I instead took the steps forward to ensure my life would be better. As a first generation college student I’m incredibly proud to be alive today to see myself make history within my own family and set the foundations for an ever better life for possible future generations.

What advice do you have for current students?
My advice is to not care about what other people think of you. School itself can be challenging but the social aspects of navigating middle and high school are a whole other beast. Just keep working towards your own betterment and don’t listen to what negative voices have to say about you. Kindness shines through always, keeping good company while also being good company yourself will get you far further than biting remarks ever will. Work towards your goals and sure enough they’ll be within reach before you even know it.