Sukainah Hasan
Staff Writer
It’s a regular day in SLA. Everyone is going to class. Wanda goes to her seat, grabs her hairbrush, and starts to brush her hair.
Going into a new school can always be a nervous feeling. For example, when you’re a freshman, you don’t know what to expect. Every year, SLA welcomes someone new in each grade. Junior Wanda Cobb is one of the newest additions to the SLA community.
Before SLA
Wanda Cobb was born and raised in West Philadelphia. Growing up, Wanda was a foster child, going back and forth to different foster homes until Wanda’s aunt received full custody of Cobb and her sister. At the beginning of 2018, Wanda’s aunt passed away, and Cobb had to live with her older sister. Now that Cobb’s aunt is gone, Cobb has to get everything she wants on her own.
Before transferring to SLA, Wanda attended Motivation High School in West Philadelphia. According to college simply, Motivation’s overall rating is a 5 out of 10 and is the 294th Pennsylvania high school rank. SLA’s overall rating is an 8 out of 10 and is the 90th Pennsylvania high school rank.
“When I applied to Motivation, I had to really work hard to get in,” Wanda explained.
Once she was there, however, Wanda didn’t get the impression that Motivation was helping her with what she wanted in life. She had a cousin at SLA who got her interested in the school.
“When I heard about SLA, it seemed that I would have more opportunities as a student since I’m going to college soon,” Wanda explained.
“When I first applied to SLA, I thought I didn’t have enough potential to get in, because I knew that I had to work hard to get in, especially if I wanted to get accepted so late in my high school years,” Wanda said.
Adjusting to SLA
When Cobb first walked into her first-period class, it put a smile right on her face.
“Everyone was clapping, and welcoming me to SLA,” Wanda explained.
Even though SLA so far is good for Wanda, she realized that there are differences between SLA and Motivation. For example, at Motivation, you have to wear a uniform, while in SLA there isn’t a uniform policy.
“I like that there isn’t no uniform policy at SLA because wearing a uniform doesn’t allow you to express yourself.”
Another difference between SLA and Motivation is learning techniques. SLA’s method of learning is moving to different classes at different times.
“When I was in Motivation, I didn’t really move around to my different classes, so I like that SLA does that.” She also appreciates that SLA has a more diverse student body, whereas Motivation was overwhelmingly African-American.
In the future, Cobb wants to pursue a nursing career. With this being her goal, Cobb knows that she must work hard in school so that she can go to the best college to equal with success. Since Wanda has a cousin that goes to SLA, Wanda decided that the best thing for her future was to apply to SLA.
Impressions from Others
One of her supporters will be her advisor, Victor Hernandez.
When Wanda first came to SLA, Mr. Hernandez was very excited.
“When I first met Wanda, I thought she was very friendly, and honest about her opinions,” Mr. Hernandez said.
One of the main things that Wanda is trying to focus on is getting as many opportunities as she can so that she can be successful in her nursing career.
“Something that I think Wanda will gain from SLA is experiencing things she’s never encountered before, and meeting new people,” Mr. Hernandez explained.
Even though it is 2 months into the school year, Wanda is still trying to get used to her new schedule, but she enjoys being in SLA. As for the brushing her hair, Cobb says it’s a habit.
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