Medina's journey: from Square One to Queen.Medina Parrilla, 15, has been playing chess since she was in kindergarten kindergarten [Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary school but one in which children's creative play instincts would be . Now she's she's 1. Contraction of she is: She's going away for the weekend. 2. Contraction of she has: She's been to the symphony twice this month. ranked No. 6 in the country among girls under 16. Upfront talked to the sophomore at DeWitt Clinton High School DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in New York City. Clinton opened in 1897, enrolling only boys at first. It has been co-ed since 1983. Its original building was on West 13th Street in Manhattan; later, it moved to on 59th Street and Tenth Avenue in the Bronx Bronx, river, c.20 mi (30 km) long, issuing from Kensico Reservoir, SE N.Y., and flowing SW through the Bronx into the East River. The Bronx River Parkway, one of the first limited-access highways in the New York City area, parallels a portion of the river. , N.Y. Q How did you get interested in chess? A When I was in kindergarten, they had this chess program [Chess-in-the-Schools] at my school. I had never heard of chess before, but I said I would play. So I started going to practice and I just loved it. And then I started competing. Q What are you hoping to accomplish? A I want to become the first female African-American grandmaster grand master or grand·mas·ter n. 1. Abbr. GM A chess player regarded as having the highest level of ability. 2. . One grandmaster once said something about females not being as smart as guys, that that's why they can't become grandmasters. And that just made me mad. So I was like, OK, I'll I'll Contraction of I will. I'll I will or I shall I'll will ~shall prove that's not true. Q What's the biggest challenge you've faced? A Not having a coach [right now]--just having to study and get new materials on my own. Q Have people ever doubted your abilities? A Yes, but at this point in my life, I feel like no one can stop me from fulfilling my goals. Of course there will always be negativity ... but you just have to look on the positive side of things and keep going. Q What has playing chess done for you? A Because of chess, I'm so much more disciplined than so many kids. And I've seen so many different cultures from traveling and competing. Chess has just opened up my views to so many more things. |
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