MVHS senior displays high achievement in IB courses and sports

Franyeli Fabian Rojas is an exemplary Mount Vernon High School senior whose focus towards her academics, extracurriculars and sports has created her into an all-star student. As a student of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, Franyeli has spent countless hours committed to being the best student she can be. In June, she will be earning a distinguished IB Diploma and an Advanced Regents Diploma. 

Franyeli's biggest accomplishment from her time at MVHS is maintaining a spot on the Principal’s Honor Roll throughout her time at the school. She holds a grade point average of 98 and sits as a top member of her graduating class. 

As a member of the rigorous and prestigious IB Diploma Programme, Franyeli takes a full schedule of IB courses. As an IB student, Franyeli has taken IB Theory of Knowledge, IB English, IB Mathematics, IB History, and IB Economics. 

In IB Health Science, Franyeli conducted a research project for the Internal Assessment (IA) on the topic of nutrition and how it affects basketball players on the court. For her IB Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) class, Franyeli is working with three other students to create a “buddy system” with Academic and Career Exploration (ACE) students to help them feel more included in school.

Aside from having a busy academic schedule, Franyeli enjoys staying busy outside of the classroom. She is currently a member of the Etymology Club at the high school. Every other day, the club studies the origin of words and prefixes. This club provides a great way for students to build their vocabulary. 

Franyeli was also a member of the varsity softball team in her junior year. She started out on the Junior varsity team and made varsity in the same year, earning her a varsity softball distinction on her diploma. Franyeli has always had a passion for baseball and went on to win the Scholar Athlete award. 

“It was very fun being in the team,” said Franyeli. “I never played a sport in high school because I never had time, so it was a very fun experience. I am a shy person, but I was able to get comfortable and meet more girls and make more friends.” 

Franyeli served as the Vice President of the National Honor Society, which includes completing over 60 hours of community service. To fulfill this requirement, she tutors students in her school in Algebra 2. She has also participated in Junior Achievement at the Mount Vernon Honor Academy, where she taught fifth graders about money and credit cards. 

Franyeli is a member of the Her Honor Mentoring program, which is sponsored by Judge Judy. She has two mentors and meets with them weekly to discuss womanhood in the work field and how to achieve financial stability. 

As a Smart Scholar, Franyeli is able to earn college credits by taking classes in partnership with Mercy University. In the summer, Franyeli took a course at Mercy in Health Science and completed a research project on health care systems in other countries. 

Franyeli is powered to achieve greatness by her experiences as a young girl coming to America for the first time. She was born in the Dominican Republic and spoke Spanish as a first language. When she moved to New York, she struggled due to the language barrier and unfamiliar environment. With hard work and dedication to becoming a good student, Franyeli graduated middle school at the top of her class and was even the valedictorian at graduation. 

With college just on the horizon, Franyeli is excited to see what doors will open up for her post-graduation. She has applied to several schools, including Stony Brook University, Howard University, Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania. 

She plans on studying computer science or mathematics and computer information as a major, with a minor in business management. She has mathematics as her favorite subject and looks forward to exploring the rigorous courses college has to offer. After college, she hopes to become a game developer or create a new social media platform as a software developer.