September DPS Alumni of the Month: Celia Furlow

DPSF’s September DPS Alumni of the Month is Celia Furlow! After growing up in Chapel Hill, she opted to take advantage of the DPS Middle College program at Durham Tech for high school. 

After graduating from Middle College High School (MCHS) in 2019, Celia attended UNC-Chapel Hill where she studied Public Policy and Sociology. Celia is now in her final year in NC State’s Masters of Elementary Education Program. 

Celia’s experience in DPS and at MCHS prepared her for success in college and encouraged her goal to pursue a career in education. Read our interview with Celia below.

DPSF: What does DPS or your school community mean to you? How has it helped shape you into who you are today?

Celia: DPS having the Middle College Program gave me such an amazing opportunity to take college-level courses while still in high school. Not only was I able to learn from great professors in classes that weren’t available in my district high school, I was able to go into university with a lot of my credits already completed. Being able to do that in the public school system, free of charge made a huge difference for me.

The ability to be on a “college-like” schedule for my last two years of high school really set me up for success in college. I felt more organized, confident and prepared for the transition into a four-year college because of MCHS. In general, though I came into DPS later in my education journey, I felt immediately welcome and cherished all of the opportunities and resources offered during my time in the district.

DPSF: What’s your favorite memory from your time at DPS?

Celia: One thing I will never forget from my time in MCHS was one day during my junior year when there was a solar eclipse. All of our professors took us outside and gave us eclipse glasses and had a bunch of fun sun-themed snacks and drinks. It was such a sweet moment where we got to enjoy just being with our peers and professors, where they showed that they cared about us enough to go above and beyond to give us a fun experience on the day of a big event.

DPSF: Is there a teacher who influenced you most along the way? What's their name and how did they make a difference? 

Celia: A teacher who sticks out to me during my time at MCHS was my science teacher, Mr. Baker. Science was never my “strong suit” or preferred subject, but he was always so joyous and made science really engaging and fun for me to learn about. I enjoyed my class and relationship with him so much that I ended up joining the schools Science Olympiad team, and had him write a college recommendation for me. Before writing any student's letter, Mr. Baker would meet with them and have a meeting about their goals and how he could help support them, which meant a lot to me.

DPSF: What’s one piece of advice you would give to current DPS students?

Celia: Success looks different for everyone! There are so many options in the world and opportunities you may not even know about yet, so make time to try out all of your passions. Explore all of your options and interests because you never know what can become of them. True success is when you are able to do what you love, regardless of whether it is on a traditional path or not.

Are you interested in becoming a DPS Alumni of the Month? Find more information here: https://www.bullcityschools.org/alumni