Angeles Mejia is one of those kids, the classmate the other students lean on for help with academics and life in general.
"Some people are like, 'I want to be like you when I grow up,' I’m like, 'I’m not even fully grown up yet, I’m only 18!'" Angeles said with a laugh.
She may be only 18, but she’s also a role model to her friends at College Academy in Broward.
"Inspiring to me and to all of her friends that I know,” said Josmely Camero, a senior. “She always inspires me to work harder, she never sits still.”
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"Angie’s just so determined, she gives her all in everything that she does and she’s one of those people that you can tell, she’s gonna change the world one of these days,” added senior Nicholas Cuervo-Leon.
Angie manages to stand out at a school full of academic standouts. College Academy is a public school for juniors and seniors only. Students take college-level classes on the Broward College campus, and graduate with a high school diploma and an AA degree.
Angie is a Questbridge Scholar, on her way to Williams in the fall, with Questbridge paying her tuition.
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“You know, I’m going to Williams College, the number one liberal arts college in the nation, and to be in this position is such an honor, and I’m filled with so much gratitude and I also want to be that role model for other students, to know that they can also do it, too,” Angie said.
“Angie walked in the door knowing who she was, and ready to set a serious path here at College Academy,” said principal Bardetta Haygood.
The path included plenty of obstacles. Raised by a single mom in Section Eight housing, there was financial hardship, which molded her into a teenager mature beyond her years.
“It did cause a lot of issues at a young age for me but I had to learn a lot of responsibility and time management, so I don’t see my obstacles as a burden, I see it as, you know, character development,” Angie explained.
She also received the Horatio Alger Scholarship, one of 106 students in the nation to win it and the only one in Broward County. Angie epitomizes the award’s intent, as it’s given to students who overcome the odds to succeed at a high level.
“So she has that initiative,” Haygood said. “And Horatio Alger speaks to that, the student who knows how to really stand up and in spite of the odds, achieve greatness, and that is what Angeles has done.”
“Yeah I do feel a lot of pride and I also feel really a lot of gratitude, it goes hand in hand especially since I had such a supportive community along the way here,” Angie said.
Her friend said she would change the world. Don’t bet against Angie Mejia.
