Senior Spotlight: Steps forward in academics drive Carson High School's Lizbeth Medina
Lizbeth Medina Graciano, this week’s Senior in the Spotlight, can sum up how she has earned an impressive 3.9 GPA in three words: “little by little.” Lizbeth moved to the United States when she was a sophomore, and she said she was able to face many challenges by tackling them little by little.
“Coming here to the United States has been a drastic change since I had to leave my family in Mexico,” she said. “It has been a difficult decision; however, I knew that I had to come here to learn the language so that I could have more opportunities.
Lizbeth was born in the US but lived most of her life in Mexico. When she came back, she did not know any English. “When I first arrived, I didn’t understand anything, but little by little I began to understand, and I adapted.” Her first year here, she received all A’s with the exception of a B and C in co-ed weights. Since then, she has earned straight A’s with one exception: a B in an online health class.
“I think it is very difficult to learn a new language,” she said. “However, with the help here, it got easier and then little by little I noticed that I was learning.”
Lizbeth credits her “very good” English teachers for helping her succeed in school and the many “wonderful people” who have helped her along the way. “I think I have become a better person thanks to them,” she said. Then she adds “still, the people who have had the most influence on my life are my parents since I am here because of them.”
At this point, Lizbeth has mixed feelings about graduating. “What excites me most about graduating is that I can say to myself ‘I did it’ and be able to tell my parents that it is possible. What scares me is that I still don’t know what I want to be in my life.”
Most likely, she will figure it out little by little.
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