JESSICA THOMPSON
  

     
   My experience with the internet stems
   all the way back to the ninth grade in
   high school when I began using a
   program called Novanet. During the
   following school year, a fellow student
   and I created an online literary salon
   called "Sweelit" (an abbreviation for "Sweetwater
   Union High School District's Literature"). It was a forum in which 
   students from all over the United States could present their own 
   short stories, plays, or poems and have fellow students critique
   them through the system. I was Editor-in-Chief of "Sweelit"
   for my sophomore through senior years.  During that time I was
   featured in NEA Today, a national education magazine, and also
   was asked to present my program to educators at seven con-
   ferences in Arizona and Calfornia.  These experiences have given
   me strong skills in editing and supervision, as well as a thor-
   ough knowledge of how to work with the internet to make it
   a positive experience. 

   I've enjoyed using internet chatrooms such as those on America 
   Online and have been an active member of TheGlobe.com  for more 
   than two years.  I've made many, many friends across the country 
   and around the world and talk to them on a regular basis - I've 
   even met some in person.  I use ICQ consistently to communicate 
   with my friends from the chatrooms and friends from college and 
   work, as well. 
 
   In high school I received A's or B's in every honors and advanced 
   placement literature course I took. My SAT II writing score was 
   an 11 out of a possible 12.  I've been recognized in two local  
   newspapers, the Imperial Beach Eagle Times and the Star  News for 
   both my work on the internet and writing skills.  I was also the 
   editor of my high school's literary magazine and had many of my 
   poems published in it.
    
   For the past two years I've been studying at the University of 
   California, San Diego, but am taking a break from that right now.  
   I feel like I'm not focused on what I really want to do.  I've 
   decided to get the rest of my GED's out of the way at a junior 
   college to save money while I discover what I REALLY want.  
 
   Hope to see you all back here reading my columns ........ 

   Jessica