“BE PREPARED FOR DIFFERENT”
Arman M.
Bloom Graduate, 2019
Accepted into the Dental Surgery Programme at the University of Sarajevo Medical School of Science and Technology in partnership with Buckingham University, England.
Arman joined Bloom’s high school after attending three different schools in Sarajevo. He came to Bloom for the chance to study in English and learn in a self-directed environment. What he found was a community.
“From the first day of high school, as soon as I walked in the room I felt welcomed, accepted. It was a huge relief.”
Arman found the connection between teachers and students at Bloom was like nowhere else. His teachers took the time to analyze his needs and tailor a learning strategy. They worked together to plan out his week and give him the time he needed to deeply understand the work. “My teachers helped me take control of my learning process. At Bloom, you figure out how much time you need to get your work done – if you need to spend three hours in the morning on chemistry, that’s the amount of time you take.”
He moved from a school “where everything was planned out for you, to Bloom’s Cambridge program where everything is driven by you.” Arman realized that by managing his own time, he could complete the core curriculum, but also explore his interests in psychology, fitness, health, and nutrition.
Of the utmost importance, at Bloom Arman found balance in his life. During his third and fourth years of high school, while he prepared diligently for his exams and moved steadily toward his goal, he’s proud to say that he also made time for himself. He was nominated as House Captain for two years in a row, which helped him hone his leadership skills and develop bonds with students ranging from age 6 through 16. He never worked in a garden before attending Bloom, but now he has a keen interest in nutrition.
Initially, he loathed the idea of a school trip to the mountainside village in Lukomir, particularly when his peers in other schools were taking trips to Rome and Paris. But the experience of climbing mountain cliffs, swimming in ice-cold streams, getting up at dawn to take in the sunrise, and appreciating the traditional lifestyle of the Dinaric highlanders provided him with a “unique and powerful experience like no other.”