Tysheem, an 11th grader at AF University Prep High, shares how patience and hard work have helped him grow. Tell us about yourself. I’m a junior at AF University Prep High School, and I play on the boys’ varsity basketball team. What is your favorite part of school? I like the community aspect—it's family-oriented and classes are small. I like the fact that we don’t just go to school and go home. If I have a question, I immediately get an answer, and I don’t have to be confused during the entire class. How has your year been so far? I honestly have grown a lot from last year, maturity-wise and school-wise. I’ve taken school more seriously. My fraternity has helped me a lot with that, too. They’ve helped me value school more. That’s great! Can you tell us more about your fraternity? It’s called Kappa Alpha Psi. A dean at my school, Mr. Dominguez, told me about it. It’s a mentorship program where you do community service and learn about time management, college preparation, and productivity. Kappa Alpha Psi has taught me patience. For example, if I’m confused about something, instead of giving up, I take my time, go home, figure it out, review it, and come to class more prepared. I’ve learned that not everything is a rush. What advice would you give other students who want to improve in school? It's not necessarily who is smarter, it's who works harder. If you want to see improvement, you have to put the time and effort into your schoolwork. Doing homework is a form of studying for me—that’s why I take it seriously. It might not be easy to do your homework every night, but once you get into the pattern of it, it becomes a habit. As soon as you get home, you should complete your homework so you know exactly what’s going on in class the next day. That’s great advice! Last question, what do you want to do when you graduate? Hopefully, I'll get into SUNY Albany—that’s the school I want to go to because my uncle just graduated from there last week. Thanks for sharing, Tysheem! We are so proud of your hard work and can’t wait to see what your future holds!