[slideshow_deploy id=’62381′]After moving from Cuba four years ago, senior valedictorian Adismary Salinas-Recio struggled to overcome the language barrier. Being in the Health Occupation Students of America program for two years while learning English, Salinas-Recio proved that the language barrier is not impossible to overcome.
“The fact that my parents brought me here to seek better opportunities gives me the motivation to excel academically. I want my parents to be proud of me and maintaining my grades is a way to be grateful for everything they have done for me. I also maintain my grades because I have set goals in my life and I want to fulfill them,” Salinas-Recio said.
The hardest class that Salinas-Recio took at Boone was English Honors IV in which she showed perseverance by taking detailed notes and turning in every assignment. Her one regret is not knowing about advanced placement classes sooner, she would have taken them earlier.
Not only does Salinas-Recio keep up her straight A’s, but she is also a member of the Spanish Honor Society, the National Honor Society, Spanish Club and Health Sciences Academy.
Salinas-Recio will be attending the University of Central Florida where she will study biomedical sciences. Her goal is to become an oncologist, a doctor who deals with cancer.
“As an oncologist, I will work towards finding a cure to this terminal illness and help cancer patients to fight the war against cancer and win it. I would also like to travel the world and give free medical care to all in need, especially those back home in my country, Cuba, and in other third-world countries,” Salinas-Recio said.
Salinas-Recio also hopes to establish her own practice and give back to the community by giving affordable health care and to raise money to fund cancer research.