SAN ANTONIO – Meet Instant Replay’s newest Scholar Athlete of the Week: Ava Romero from the Young Women’s Leadership Academy.
Ava is a four-year member of the varsity volleyball and track and field teams. She’s also a two-year member of the varsity cross country team and a one-year member of the varsity basketball squad. Ava has won the Harvard Prize Book Award, the College Board National Recognition Program Award and is an AP Scholar with Distinction. She’s the President of the Cardinal Senate, the Secretary of the Science National Honor Society, the Social Media Coordinator of the National Honor Society and a member of the Spanish Honor Society, the Math Honor Society and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Youth Leadership Institute. Ava maintains a 102.3 GPA, plans to attend the University of Southern California and major in Global Health and Medical Humanities.
WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU TAKE AWAY WITH YOU AS YOU LEAVE HIGH SCHOOL?
“Being at an all-girls school, throughout middle school to high school, is a pretty unique experience. Just having the support from everyone around me and just getting to participate in the student opportunities that we have at YWLA. All of our teachers, all of our students and faculty are super engaged in what we do and having us expand across the whole community. Just having that in academics and in athletics is something I cherish throughout high school.”
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS?
“Communicating with your teachers and communicating with one another - the bond that we have is super important especially at a small school. Being able to have those one-on-one discussions with the faculty around you I think is super important with maintaining your academics and athletics.”
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER YOU GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL?
“I want to go to USC and major in Global Health and Medical Humanities, so I can get a broader understanding of society and how we operate in terms of health and the opportunities that’s affecting everybody. After that, go into graduate school and go into medical school.”
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR PARENTS OR TEACHERS OR COACHES?
“To my mom and dad - being there and supporting me through everything I’ve done. It’s a lot of time, I have two little brothers also so it’s a lot of time put into what I’m doing in academics or athletics. Whether is track or club volleyball, it’s a lot of time spent traveling or late night practices - all of the time, money and support that they have put into me has made me the person that I am, the student that I am and the athlete that I am and I’m super grateful for everything they have given me.”
Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 for over 20 years and is an award-winning producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com