ElizabethHigh School Senior


Elizabeth, 18, remembers the day during her freshman year when EIF representatives walked into her classroom to talk about the program and hand out a coupon for a free donut. “It was a good opportunity and I’m glad I took it,” she says. “One thing I didn’t know was that each [college] application would ask about community service, volunteer hours and extra activities. EIF showed me I’d have to do that, that it’s way better if you do, so I took advantage of that.” Elizabeth says EIF helped her spread her wings. She joined tennis—the first sport she had ever played— and practiced in the local park until 9 or 10 at night for weeks on end to catch up to the abilities of her teammates; it paid off: she was a regional qualifier twice in 2008 and was ranked the number one seed in the district for mixed doubles. “It wasn’t that I was scared specifically of tennis, that’s not really it, it was that I brought myself out of my comfort zone and from there I started doing more things,” she says. “Before, school was doing work, doing my homework, studying and passing tests, and I realized school was much more than books and papers and that they offer all these clubs and opportunities to compete…I’m glad I saw that and started participating in things.” Elizabeth’s world view has opened up these past few years and her emotional intelligence is one of her more striking qualities; after listening to a speech given by EIF’s President Dr. Marcus Martin about the book that influenced him the most, Elizabeth went out and bought Man’s Search for Meaning by Dr. Victor Frankl for herself. “He says [life’s] meaning can’t be suddenly made, you have to find it for yourself…that’s why I like it,” she says.

How long have you been in EIF?
Since freshman year

Where do you want to go to college?
I’ll probably go to UTA for the nursing program and get my BSN [Bachelor of Science, Nursing] and once I get out of UTA and I’ve worked for one-and-a-half years, I’ll go to Wesleyan University in Fort Worth to get my CRNA [Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists], but in order to do that you have to work in critical care first.

Who do you think inspired you to go to college and become a nurse?
I’m really doing it for a lot of people; my parents, my Nana [the woman who cared for her and her siblings when they were children], my grandpa—he had cancer and he died when I was young so I didn’t get to see what he went through, and there are so many people with diabetes like my mom and dad. I just want to be in the medical field because in there I’ll be able to help. I’ll be living my dream doing what I want to do and helping other people.

What’s your biggest fear?
I like setting goals but I am scared there will be an obstacle too big for me to handle, like the walls are crushing into me, but I just have push them aside and go through them.

What’s your favorite class and why?
Right now I’d have to say English. I’m in AP English. It’s a different environment than other classes and you learn to express yourself in writing. That’s my goal: to be a good writer where I can send a letter to somebody and they can see my point.

What’s your favorite food?
Spaghetti. My mom usually makes it at our house.

If a Hollywood star was playing you in a movie, who would you cast?
Penelope Cruz. We recently watched a movie of her's in class and her facial expressions were so good. You could tell what was going on in her mind; she’s really good at expressing her emotions.

Who’s your favorite author?
Right now it’s Dr. Frankl. I really like his book. Even the first page gets your attention…in his search for survival in the [concentration] camp, he would come across the Kapos, the Jews in the camp that would turn other Jews in, and unlike Frankl they didn’t have morals to survive. He had morals even inside the camp.

Beside tennis, what other activities do you participate in?
My sophomore year I joined LULAC, I’m the treasurer. I’m also in Rotary and cheerleading.