Stay organized, avoid procrastination and remain dedicated to your goals.
Those are three tips Mya Mendez, graduate and valedictorian of Fort Worth ISD’s Western Hills High School, gives to any student who aims to finish high school with a speech to their fellow classmates.
While Mendez made her high school journey look easy — she earned a 4.87 cumulative GPA — there were many hurdles along the way, she said. Her freshman year, she learned the program that inspired her to enroll at Western Hills was being cut; later that year, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Despite this, Mendez excelled academically, earning an associate degree along with her perfect GPA and high school diploma.
“When the IB (International Baccalaureate) program disbanded, I was worried … but the transition to an early college academy was awesome,” Mendez said.
At the end of the 2021-22 school year, Fort Worth ISD disbanded the high school’s International Baccalaureate program although it had been the only school in the district offering those advanced courses.
Mendez lives 30 minutes away from the campus by school bus. Without the program, she likely wouldn’t have enrolled at Western Hills, she said.
Still, when she heard about the shift away from the International Baccalaureate program, she stayed. She was accustomed to the longer commute and content with the friends she’d made, she said.
Though Mendez didn’t know the school would transition to an early college academy model until her senior year, she was able to take dual-credit courses, she said.
But, the 30-minute commute and the attention she gave each and every assignment, on top of her job, proved to put pressure on her schedule, Mendez said.
Balancing a part-time job at Movie Tavern and her studies, Mendez said it was important to stay on top of all her tasks because otherwise she risked falling behind.
“Still, I never say no to an assignment,” Mendez said with a laugh. “Keeping a strict schedule helped me manage school, work and family time.” Mendez has a 1-year-old sister at home, and she’d hustle from school and work to spend time with the toddler, she said.
Following her first full-length conversation with Mendez, assistant principal Ehrica Martin praised her.
“She is focused, determined and wise beyond her years,” Martin said. “She has this unique ability to balance family, life and academics. She has an awareness of life.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted her freshman year, and posed challenges as Mendez began her high school education, she adapted by maintaining constant communication with her teachers and staying motivated despite the shift to remote learning.
Both were lessons Mendez carried over for her sophomore, junior and senior years.
Throughout it all, her passion for art provided a creative outlet. She finds solace in its subjectivity.
“I love how my meaning for art won’t be the same as someone else’s,” Mendez said, highlighting her appreciation for diverse interpretations.
Art helped her to not focus the entirety of her energy on schoolwork and work at Movie Tavern, she said. With it, she was able to channel energy into something creative, something that inspired her.
And, though art was always there as an outlet, Mendez credits her mother as her biggest inspiration.
“My mom has always been encouraging me … supporting me every step of the way,” Mendez said.
Mendez plans to attend Texas Woman’s University, majoring in biochemistry, with aspirations to work in a laboratory.
“The field could always use more people that are studying and trying to find different medications that are specific for people that need it,” Mendez said.
Looking toward her college career, she vows never to say no to an assignment, she said.
And she already knows to stay organized, avoid procrastination and remain dedicated to her goals.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @MatthewSgroi1 on X. News decisions at the Fort Worth Report are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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