Learning questions as well as answers
International Baccalaureate prepares students for diverse careers
Sisters Sharon, Stesha and Sheila Doku graduated from Myers Park
High School. The same course of study, the International Baccalaureate (IB)
program, led them to take different journeys. Two are in the medical field
and one practices law. Each said the program taught them to expand their
thinking, find connections, solve problems and prepare for college.
Twenty-five years ago, Myers Park High became the first public school
in North Carolina to offer IB, an academically challenging program that
encourages critical thinking, international awareness and open minds. Myers
Park was a magnet school at the time. No longer a magnet, the school
continues to offer the middle years program for grades nine and 10 and the
diploma program for grades 11 and 12. Now, 15 elementary, middle and high
magnet schools in CMS offer the program through school choice.
Sharon Doku, a 2001 graduate, studied at Harvard University and
Georgetown Law Center. She is an attorney for an international company
in Germany who specializes in international capital markets and corporate
transactions. Her work has recently taken her to Lagos, Nigeria. She credits
the IB program for helping her find her niche.
“I never wanted to become a lawyer but IB led me to it,” she said.
“I studied German, spent a summer in Germany and enjoyed all the
international aspects of the program. It suited me.”
She was drawn to physics and chemistry as well. Her knowledge in those
subjects helps her when she is working with clients in the biotechnology field.
She recalls that being a student in the IB program was an adventure, one
that required an immense amount of commitment.
“I loved the passion the teachers displayed for the subject matter,” she
said. “Because it was important to them, it became important to me.”
Stesha Doku, who graduated in 2004, studied biomedical engineering
at Duke Pratt School of Engineering. She was named a Fulbright Scholar
in 2008. After completing her first year in medical school at Stanford, she
began her Fulbright research at the University of New South Wales, Australia
in the summer of 2009. She is an anesthesiology specialist and her hobby is
designing websites.
“Our parents are both nurses so we were exposed to the medical field
at an early age. I loved science, so medicine was a good fit for me,” she
said. “While in the IB program, I also learned computer science. My favorite
teacher, Robert Corbin, would let me create websites and produce electronic
workbooks.”
Both women shared a memory of a combined English and social studies
class that embodied the program’s purpose.
“We would study different periods in history and simultaneously study
a piece of literature from that time,” said Stesha Doku. “That class taught
me to think in a more rounded way because I was learning the literacy skills
within the context of what we were studying.”
Sheila Doku graduated in 2010 and went on to study at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina Eshelman
School of Pharmacy. She is a pharmacist.
“My IB chemistry class is what set me on the pathway to my career,” she
said. “I wrote a research paper in that class about pharmaceuticals and was
hooked. I also received an internship with
CVS and Walgreens after school and on
weekends.”
She gained self-confidence through the
IB studies.
“In English class I remember having
debates and having to stand up to say
what you
thought about
a passage,” she
said. “Myers Park
Sharon Doku
felt like a college
campus and the
classes were
difficult. When I
attended college
the classes
didn’t seem as
hard but it’s
because I was
well prepared.”
Sheila Doku
The program
connected her
learning to the
real world in
many ways.
“I was reading a book about Morocco
Stesha Doku
and was then set up with a Moroccan pen
pal,” she said. “We also held international
days where different booths were set up
and we would learn about cultures and their foods. It really expanded my
thinking.”
Myers Park has continued to teach IB students to develop strong
communication skills, to become adept at sharing their ideas and to justify
their thinking through writing and oral presentations.
“Students in the program become a part of a close-knit learning
community,” said mathematics teacher Michelle Krummel. “At Myers Park,
teachers meet monthly to receive training and share information about the
program and its activities.”
Krummel has attended two three-day workshops specific to her subject
area provided by the International Baccalaureate Organization. She said the
workshops provided her with an opportunity to connect with and learn from
other teachers around the world.
Krummel’s students see the benefits of IB. Eleventh-grader Duncan
Pickett said he is learning such life skills as time management.
“Scheduling and planning are things I need to do well,” Duncan said.
“There are days I have band practice and long-term projects I have to
complete. To get it all done, I need to set priorities so I can stay on track.”
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Parent Teacher Magazine • March/April 2018 • 5