Daniela Flores, a Jimmy Carter High School senior, isn’t simply a student; she’s also a member of the National Honor Society (NHS).
Flores finds joy in reading and is passionate about animals. Over the last two years, she has actively participated in extracurricular activities such as track and soccer with Palmview High School. She is also set to graduate with an associate’s degree in criminal justice.
“The past two years, I have done extracurricular sports, with Palmview being track and soccer. I love animals and reading. Each year has come with its challenges, but I’m glad to be graduating with my associate in criminal justice,” Daniela said.
With various commitments, Daniela has discovered the secret to effectively managing academics, extracurricular activities, and personal commitments while balancing a busy schedule.
“The biggest secret to managing everything is not to procrastinate and plan. I use my planner to write out all my assignments, games, and events to see what needs to be done each week.”
However, in addition to these responsibilities, Flores is also a member of the NHS, which has positively impacted her academically.
“Being part of NHS has taught me the importance of giving back and appreciating all things. It has motivated me to maintain high grades in order to be a role model for the rest of the students,” Flores said.
Flores said that her high academic achievement is partly due to the influence of NHS and her desire to be a role model for others.
“I had Ms. Camarillo as my first-periodandacher my sophomore year, where she had all of the meetings with her officers, and seeing the passion within them and the change NHS was doing for our community motivated me to join. Being a member means being part of something bigger than yourself to impact our community more,” Flores said.
The four pillars of NHS—scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character—have enabled Flores to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in those areas both in school and within her community.
“For scholarship, I have maintained high grades and learned that learning is a lifelong journey that will never end. For leadership, I have been in various leadership positions with clubs in the school. For service, I have been able to serve my community by attending awareness walks and helping out by volunteering at my church. For character, always try your best to have a good attitude and represent the characteristics you want to see in the world,” Flores said.
While helping the community is important, Daniela also faces academic responsibilities at home.
“Planning. Dedicating a good 10-15 minutes to plan out what I will be doing with my time and knowing when I need to cut things out to get what I need to get done, done,” Flores said.
Numerous challenges are faced regularly as an early college student, but as a senior, even more challenges are thrown your way. This is how Daniela overcomes them.
“One of the challenges has been learning how to connect with colleges and figure out how to work through the process of applying to colleges and scholarships, but with practice and help from the staff here, I have been able to learn how to overcome them,” Flores said.
Just when you think the challenges are over, more emerge, including stressful times like midterm exams. However, Daniela relies on her faith, trusting that everything will work out.
“It does get difficult at times, but knowing the relief I will feel once they are over and I have completed them is the main thing that allows me to look into the future and believe it will all work out. As a Christian, I know that everything will work out as it should, and whenever I feel like skipping on studying, I remind myself that “you reap what you sow,” and if I want to earn a high score, I need to study,” Flores said.
As the school year draws to a close and Daniela prepares to graduate from Jimmy Carter, her visions for the future are clear. The impact of NHS continues to shape her journey ahead.
“I don’t know where I will be attending university, but I will be majoring in Criminal Justice and Marketing. My ultimate goal is to become an attorney, and my backup plan is to work in Customs. Community engagement is a factor I want to continue to pursue throughout my life, so wherever I end up, I am sure I will continue to serve my community,” Flores said.