Vanessa Burgos—known as “Vbaby” or “Nessa” to her friends—is a vibrant senior with a stellar personality. She was born in Providence, Rhode Island. When she was just one year old she took the journey and moved to New Jersey-landing in the town of Roxbury, where she’s attended school for all of her life. In her own words, “Roxbury has left a positive impact on my education and left me with many good memories and lifelong friendships.” It’s good to see our town leaving such a positive imprint on someone.
Vanessa explained how her freshman and sophomore years weren’t her best in her eyes. “I didn’t bother to do my work, I also didn’t have any motivation or the decency to do anything, and I just wanted to be around my friends. I just didn’t have the right mentality when it came to my school work.” It’s mature to see that she can look back on her years and see what some of her issues were.
Vanessa said junior year had a bigger impact on her learning and her overall mental state. “Even though I was put in classes with my friends, I had this mindset of sticking to my work and focusing on my grades. Which led to me getting an academic award for having a high GPA.” It’s great to know she recognized things she wanted to fix and put in the effort to make changes without altering her friendships.
In good spirit, she was also able to add some valuable advice for underclassmen and the student population in general. “Always ask for help, school-related or even mental health, and live life to the fullest. Mistakes will come along the way, but don‘t let them bring you down. Keep pursuing what you strive for and overall love yourself.” Her words speak true meanings everyone should hear.
In closing, going into Vanessa’s senior year, she’s looking forward to keeping good grades, making memories, and living her last year of high school to the fullest. She left us with a closing quote, “I want my senior year to be good but also have mistakes so I can learn from them and improve on myself, overall helping me in life after I graduate.” A great attitude toward the rest of the year and what’s to come beyond it.
