Meet Darlene Jimenez, one of our 2025 graduates! Darlene earned a full-ride scholarship to Swarthmore College, where she’ll major in Engineering. Read on to hear how her time at EACS prepared her for this next chapter, and what she’s most excited to discover as she moves forward. We know she’ll succeed wherever life takes her, and can’t wait to see all that she will accomplish!
What are you most excited about as you take this next step? What are you most looking forward to in life after high school?
I am most excited about what I can do now that I am in college. The possibilities that lie ahead of me, whether that be the biomedical way or the pre-med way. For four years, I knew that college was the main goal. Everything I did outside of school, I tried my best to be calculated to benefit my chances of getting into a top school. Now that my main goal of four years has been completed, I am excited about the unknown. Being able to complete such a big goal made me realize that maybe it’s okay not to know the future. I like the uncertainty that my life holds. The possibility that I can be anything I want is incredibly enticing, just as terrifying. It’s okay to lose a little of the control that I have tried so hard to gain about my career. I like the uncertainty because no matter what, I am proud of myself right now. I can’t wait to see who I become.
How do you think your time at EACS helped prepare you for what’s next?
The teachers at EACS have definitely helped me to prepare for what lies ahead of me. A teacher like Mr. Roberts has had an impact on me by introducing me to the unknown. He helped me understand that even if I don’t know what lies ahead, I shouldn’t be afraid, because as long as I surround myself with good people, I will always have a good support system. Another teacher, Ms.Gonzalez, helped me understand how college classes are shaped, and it’s definitely been an incredible help. Overall, the support system that EACS and the incredible present and past teachers have taught me is that even if something doesn’t go my way, I know I am going to be okay.
Who or what has inspired you most on your journey so far?
My mother has inspired me the most in my journey so far. Every single day, I am reminded of all the sacrifices my mother has made for me. She came to a country where she didn’t know the language, just for me to have the opportunity of a better future. A future she never had. Anytime that I felt like giving up or letting doubt come over me, I remember everything that was done to get me where I am today. I may not have accomplished anything just yet, but getting into a top college is all because of my mother. I owe everything that I have and will have to my mother. Every single thing I want to do in life, I know is possible because my mother made it possible.
My mother is the only person who truly knows everything I have done to get where I am, and she has supported me day by day, whether it was waking up at 3 a.m. next to me to do homework and go to work afterwards or helping me control my stress when it came to where I was going to college.
What advice would you give to younger students who are still figuring out their path?
Relax. Learn to take things day by day. Live in the present, but don’t let people talk you into something that will deprive you of your path. If you know what you want, fight as hard as you can for the future, but don’t let that desire blind you from what is right in front of you. It’s okay to be a kid. If you are not sure if you want to go to college/university, make sure you still care about your grades enough to not regret anything when you get to your senior year. You don’t need to have it figured out at 17/18. I beg of you, take it day by day.