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(Fall 2020) – When Aaliyah Perry joined SMART the summer after her 4th grade year, she was very nervous. “There were older kids around and I didn’t know anyone,” shared Aaliyah. Now reflecting back on her years at SMART, she sees a community that has supported her immensely throughout her education journey and is ready to take her own lead.

Shortly after the start of Aaliyah’s SMART journey, she enrolled in the Katherine Delmar Burke School, where she completed her middle school years. She says the personal tutors at SMART were critical to her successes, especially during the first year of transitioning into the rigorous curriculum.

Now entering her Junior year at The Dunn School, a boarding school in Southern California, she has taken an incredible leap towards independence. Recently, she was awarded the Paul Overgaag Memorial Fund Merit Scholarship, which provides a full-ride tuition throughout her remaining years at Dunn. In this highly competitive process, students are nominated by their teachers and only one student in the whole school receives the award. “It was an incredibly honorable moment,” she said.

In past years, Aaliyah spent her summer days working as a Program Leader at the local YMCA. She discovered her love for working with kids while volunteering with her mom, who works at an elementary school. Due to the current pandemic, her usual commitment was not an option this year. Instead, Aaliyah participated in SMART’s virtual Summer College Achievement Program (SCAP), where she took on a new role as a Peer Mentor.

Aaliyah was drawn to this mentorship role because years prior, she had been in the mentees’ position before. Remembering her own nerve-wracking start, Aaliyah wanted to provide support for new SMART Scholars. She was paired with her mentee, Amahje, who is an incoming 5th grader. “I want to provide the support I wish I had in the beginning,” shared Aaliyah. “It would’ve helped me break out of my shell a little better.”

Having experienced the transition into new environments at an early age, Aaliyah aimed to familiarize Amahje with the SMART community. “It was very awkward at first,” says Aaliyah. “He didn’t seem to want to talk, so I figured I’ll keep asking questions until we know what we have in common.” They discovered they both enjoyed basketball and scary movies, and sure enough, by their second meeting, Amahje began to open up.

Aaliyah and Amahje met virtually twice a week. Over the month of July, the two bonded over activities, snacks, and getting to know one another. One of her highlights was their first virtual museum tour, where they learned about the history and construction of the Eiffel Tower. “We were both fascinated by it,” Aaliyah says. However, the most memorable moments came when Amajhe began to take his own initiative. Driven by his excitement, the tour was echoed by many expressions of “Let me look this up!” and “Aaliyah look at this!”

Overall, participating in SMART’s summer program as a peer mentor was an eye-opening experience for Aaliyah. She had fun trying to navigate the newness of virtual meetings and facilitating Zoom calls. There were occasional internet connection problems but the two were able to laugh about it and these challenges added to their experience. This project showed Aaliyah the importance of taking initiative. “As someone who may also be shy, I am not always the one to reach out,” Aaliyah admits. “But with this role, I have to be the one to come out of my shell first.”

To Aaliyah, the most helpful aspect of SMART is the community. She is grateful for her SMART Advisor, Glo, and for the SMART team’s ongoing support outside of the school environment. She recalls the numerous times where she was able to fall back on the SMART community and knows Amajhe will have the same.

As SMART Scholars begin school this fall, Aaliyah shares a bit of advice with our students: “Remember to live life, and have fun!”