Timothy Radosevich
The virtual academy online school is allowing one junior to move at his pace and compete in martial arts.
For Green River resident Timothy Radosevich, a traditional school setting wasn't going to work for him any longer. Radosevich said he first started with Wyoming Connections Academy when he was in the eighth grade.
Prior to that, Radosevich was attending Lincoln Middle School.
"I got really sick at the end of the year," he said.
Radosevich said another reason for the change was his parents just didn't feel like he was going to be prepared enough for college by the time he graduated.
His parents started looking for alternatives, but they knew they didn't want to home school him. His parents continued to research the issue and found out there were online programs that would challenge their son and they didn't have to home school him. This is when they decided to enroll him in Wyoming Connections Academy.
After a year of Wyoming Connections Academy, he decided to attend Wyoming Virtual Academy, which is also an online school.
"At that moment, I've become more self sufficient then I've ever been," he said. "They've stopped babying me along."
One of the perks of the online school, is Radosevich is able to compete in martial arts. This has allowed him to win three world titles and he's ranked in the top in the country for the 12 to 18 age group. He recently attended the Elite World Championship and the Open World Championship in Orlando, Fla.
"I've been doing martial arts for 11 years," he said. "I really get to incorporate my sports and other activities through the day."
Radosevich said the online school allows him to travel to his martial arts competitions about eight times a year. He said before a trip, he figures out all of the projects he has to complete, how many papers he has to write and what math homework he has to do. While someone is driving or if he's flying, he'll do his homework. By the time he gets to the location of the tournament, he's ready to turn all of his work for the week in and focus on competing.
Then, before he leaves to travel back home, he checks to see what he needs to do and works on it while traveling home.
Currently, Radosevich is taking U.S. government, American literature, anatomy and psychology, precalculus, trigonometry, physics, chemistry and music appreciation.
Surprisingly to Radosevich, one of his favorite classes is physics.
"I'm starting to see formulas and can calculate how fast something's going to fall or go," Radosevich said. "It's really just fun to know that for the moment. I have to get my heart and soul into it."
For Radosevich, he participates in one online class with other students and his teacher once a week for each class. During the rest of the week, it is up to him to get all of the assignments done for the next week.
"It's like a regular classroom, you just have it once a week," Radosevich said.
If Radosevich or one of the others students have a question, they can usually reach the teacher through phone, text or email. He said his teachers have always been able to get an answer back to him within a day.
Radosevich said he knows this type of schooling isn't for everyone. It really puts a lot of responsibility on the student to get the work done. There isn't a teacher reminding one everyday to turn in the assignment, but for him it works.
"It's almost like I'm running my own life. All of the schooling is up to me," he said.
However, Radosevich said he knows all to well that if he chooses to sleep in he will not get as much work done that day.
As for the future, Radosevich would like to go to college after he graduates. For his college education, he intends to obtain his degree in an actual brick-and-mortar classroom instead of online.
Reader Comments(0)