Watkins Mill High School alumna Emily Aquino has set high standards for current IB diploma students after getting her paper accepted into the Eastern Michigan University Undergraduate Conference.

The Undergraduate Conference in Philosophy is a gathering where selected students give 20-minute presentations on the philosophy papers they write, then receive formal comments. “My [teaching assistant] told me not to be too hurt if my paper didn’t make it,” Aquino said. “I actually had to read the email twice because I couldn’t believe that my paper was accepted.” 

After graduating high school just last year, Aquino decided to further her education at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she has a double major in Criminology/Criminal Justice and Philosophy. She is a second-semester freshman but because of the IB diploma, she has the credits of a sophomore.

Although the IB program was challenging she found that it played a big part in preparing her for college, managing assignments specifically. “If I didn’t do IB and took the same 17 credits my fall semester, I wouldn’t have the slightest clue of what to do,” Aquino said. “I couldn’t have done it without the teachers at Watkins Mill, they provided such an amazing support system,” Aquino added.

Aquino was compelled to submit her paper after taking philosophy her first semester, “I absolutely loved it,” Aquino said. She spent all of her winter break writing and revising her paper after being recommended by her teaching assistant. “I was so excited when I got the notification that my paper was accepted in late January,” Aquino added, though the conference took place on March 4 and 5.

Aquino is looking into working with the FBI or law as a career. Although her mind is not yet set, she feels that she would be happy doing something along the lines of white-collar crimes. She plans on attending law school directly after completing her bachelor of the arts degree, “ [I] might take a year off to travel, do fun things. Who knows,” Aquino added.

Aquino recommends for students to study something they enjoy in college, “If you’re going to pay all that money for college, you might as well pursue something that you love,” Aquino said.