Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? (All UC schools)

Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? (All UC schools)

On January 4th, 2021 around 2:30 A.M., my mother received the call we'd been dreading. My aunt passed away from COVID-19. Her state was improving but something went wrong. My mother answered the phone, started crying, and nearly screaming, "My sister!" My father and I woke up; he finished the phone call. My mother was in shambles. I had to call my 25-year-old sister to tell her our aunt was no longer with us. This night was traumatic in itself, but what made it worse for me was the de vu. On August 2nd, 2020 around 2 A.M., my grandmother died. Except on that night, I wasn't at home. That morning, my aunt was the one who received the phone call. I remember her hugging me and telling me that everything would be okay, saying my grandmother was in a better place and that they both loved me so much. Little did I know I'd be comforting my mother the same way in just a few months, hugging her the same way my aunt did for me. I told my mother that her sister and my grandmother loved her more than she could ever imagine. During this time school had shifted to being online. I was struggling in Honors Integrated Mathematics III; my teacher offered very little support to me. I tried to make her aware of the struggles but she was unresponsive. She showed very little sympathy and made me feel as if my confusion was invalid. She would answer my questions with very little detail, never truly helping me. When the first test of the second semester rolled around, I failed. Being that I barely passed the first semester, my parents realized this was a call for help. Thankfully, the administration at my school is very supportive. My vice principal helped me drop the class. After this, I was given a very understanding teacher who helped me when I had questions. Dropping the class wasn't the ideal choice, but it is what my parents and I felt was best for me during this excruciating time.