When Bella Cortez walked into AP World History as a freshman, her teacher, Heather Campbell, immediately noticed something remarkable.
“Bella has just always stood out to me as a very curious person,” Campbell said. “She has this innate thirst for knowledge that a lot of students tend to have, but maybe it doesn’t always make it to high school with them. She just soaks up anything she learns.”
That curiosity led Bella to the National History Academy, an elite four-week summer program in Middleburg, Virginia. Ninety students nationwide were identified from a competitive selection process to study history. The program blended classroom work with field trips, case studies, and debates on democracy. Students visited more than 30 historic sites across Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Each stop was memorable for Bella, but Colonial Williamsburg left the most significant impression. “The Colonial and Revolutionary Era have always been my favorite,” Bella said. “Being in that sort of time capsule place, seeing historical reenactors bring to life the people I’ve studied—it really helped put everything into perspective about how American history was back then.”
While the focus was on history, the program’s most tremendous impact was on her own personal growth. “When I came back, I had this newfound sense of self and confidence,” Bella said. “For a long time, I wasn’t much of a talkative person. But after spending a month with 90 kids, I realized this is what I love, and I have the courage to talk to people. I just gained a confidence I never had before.”
Campbell immediately noticed the transformation. “When she came back from this program, it was like a whole new person walking toward me,” Campbell said. “She had this air of confidence around her that I hadn’t seen before. To see her go from a painfully shy freshman to someone leading history club—it’s such a joy to watch.”
Bella credits her experience at FTCSC schools—and teachers like Campbell—for helping her grow. “Miss Campbell was one of the first teachers I felt I could really connect with,” Bella said. “She cared about what I liked, asked why I was interested in history, and made class relevant to the figures I cared about. She let me be my nerdy self, and that made all the difference.”
The FTCSC community celebrates Bella’s achievement and the impact of our dedicated teachers, who inspire students each and every day. “It’s going to sound so cliché,” Campbell said, “but I am just so unbelievably proud of the person she’s becoming.”
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