Kirkwood newsletter features Olivia Schanz

High school senior Olivia Schanz, who grew up in the Amana Colonies, is featured in the Kirkwood Iowa County summer newsletter.

Schanz is home schooled and is taking college credit classes through Kirkwood.

“I started taking college credit classes in my senior year of high school,” says Schanz in the newsletter.

“I enjoyed all of the courses I took, but I liked Composition I and II the most. I found that it had a lot of creative freedom, and it allowed me to discover my interest in writing,” Schanz said.

“The most surprising thing I learned from my experience taking college credit coursework was my talent for writing. I never considered myself to be a particularly good writer, but by taking college credit courses I discovered a new path for me that I never considered before.

“My composition instructor, Sal Ragen, has had an amazing impact on the direction of my college education. Through her encouragement, I have been able to publish one of the essays I wrote in her class,” Schanz said.

“Without her help, I would not have realized I had a talent for writing, and I would have never decided to become an English major and pursue a career in writing.

“I think that taking college credit courses in high school is a great way to find out what you might be passionate about and what you want to pursue in college,” says Shanz.

“It has prepared me for higher education by showing me the workload to expect from college and what subjects I enjoy doing.”

Schanz says in the newsletter that she loves art, reading, writing and anything that lets her be creative.