Abril Mendoza
Abril Mendoza moved to Ottumwa in fourth grade and has enjoyed participating in marching band, concert band, bowling, swim team manager, soccer, LULAC, Al Exito, and Latinos United.
She plans to attend Indian Hills Community College for two years and then transfer to Des Moines University or University of Iowa to major in physical or occupational therapy. Last summer she took a health career course at Indian Hills that helped her decide her career path. This summer she hopes to take additional health courses to get a head start.
Experience that stands out - “Being able to be in marching band at football games. We have front row seats! I also enjoyed going to Adventureland with the band to perform and enjoy the park.”
Cultural Activities - “Latinos United was formed by a friend in 2018 to perform traditional Latino dances. We performed at Wilson School and Market on Main. Al Exito basically helps us prepare for college. We had students from Graceland and did activities with them. They try to make it fun for us and give us examples of how college will be. We also visited colleges.”
Biggest challenge - “Being able to study. Sometimes it was hard to study subjects like science and social studies. Sometimes I’d stay after school or ask for teacher help. Studying was not my thing but now I’m better prepared for college. Mr. Stout helped with how to take notes and how to study.”
Advice to underclassmen - “Keep studying, work hard, and never give up on anything because you can achieve it.”
