Alumni Perspective - Ben Drake
Ben Drake Graduated from Quarry Lane in 2017. He is currently a regents' and chancellors' scholar at the university of california, berkeley.
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Ben was recently accepted into the highly selective Berkeley Hass Business Undergraduate Program. He sent the letter below to Head of School, Dr. Sabri Arac and Senior Director of School, Mrs. Candice McGraw.
Hi Mrs. McGraw and Dr. Arac,
I believe my dad sent the both of you an update about my acceptance for Haas, and I wanted to say my personal thanks to the both of you for helping develop me into the person I am today. I truly would not be where I am right now without the both of you, and so I thought it would be appropriate to fully extend my gratitude at this point.
Mrs. McGraw: Thank you for inspiring me and getting me into business. You have no idea how many times I have talked about your IB Business class as the catalyst for my enjoyment of the subject, and many of my early business courses have felt like review of the things you taught me. Not only was the content you provided pivotal to me majoring in business, but also your belief in me was second to none. I will always remember our conversations after class and at the end of my time at QLS as truly formative to my inner strength. You were one of the first people to believe in me outside of my family, and that alone made me think that I can truly do anything if I put my mind to it. I have to say, every time I hear a term I remember from IB Business in class I smile and think of your class and the fun we had. Hopefully, I have grown into a man you would be proud to have as a former student.
Dr. Arac: Thank you so much for supporting my family, as I had no idea how much an impact that would have. Without QLS and the IB Program, I don't think I would be were I am today. In fact, for my Regents' Scholarship interview, I not only spoke about subjects from Mrs. McGraw's class but also Dr. B's HL Psychology class and Dr. Liddell's music classes. How well rounded my schooling was made a huge difference in how I carry myself today. So, thank you for supporting my family and I, as well as providing an excellent learning environment.
Thank you both for a wonderful learning environment and experience. I am not yet done with my education, and so I will continue it with the teachings of Quarry Lane in mind. Let me know if I can ever be of service to the both of you, in any way possible.
Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Ben Drake