"Las cosas siempre cambian. El mundo cambia, la gente cambia. Todo cambia excepto lo bueno."
-Bad Bunny

Isabela Hernandez

Valedictorian
GPA: 4.48
Attending University of Connecticut
Major: Biology on the Pre-Dental track
Minor: Finance/Marketing

"Izzy is a natural born leader. She constantly goes above and beyond both inside and outside of the classroom. She is always willing to help fellow students and faculty at DHS."
- jennifer shea, dhs science teacher

high school accomplishments

For Isabela, her time at Derby High School consisted of a lot of advanced classes and extracurriculars! She has taken a total of 8 AP courses and the rest of her classes have consisted of only honors. For community work, she has participated in the city wide clean up, volunteered for the Men Who Cook event and volunteered for the Read Aloud Program. Her biggest project was working with Jessica Gerckens to create a recycling service project! This project consists of gathering as much money as possible through recyling and awarding the funds to a student in the senior class!

"Izzy is truly one of the most incredible people I have ever had the chance of meeting. Not only is she an amazing student, but an amazing human overall."
- nicole borges, dhs english teacher

the high school experience

Isabela's favorite part of high school has been attending DHS pep rallies. Not only was attending these pep rallies fun, but planning them out with the peers around her helped with any stress and made the experience very fun.
Isabela has been an amazing student during her time at DHS. Evident throughout her junior year, she took her classes a lot more seriously when hearing she was in the running top 3. She's very proud of all the work she has done and being named valedictorian for her is very heart warming.
"I am super proud of everything I've been able to accomplish in high school. Being named Valdictorican does take the cake in my opinion as one of my biggest accomplishments and for me, it represents all that I've done over my 4 short years at DHS. It displays my efforts in high school and also my friends' efforts who are also in the top 10. I've been called a nerd a lot recently however, by CJ ROUSE AND MALIK THOMAS."

"As both her teacher and coach, I've had the privilege of witnessing her growth, academically, athletically, and even emotionally."
- nicole borges, dhs english teacher

taking the next step

After high school, Isabela will be attending the University of Connecticut to major in Biology on the Pre-Dental track! Once she completes her four years at UCONN, she will attend dental school in order to pursue a career as an orthodontist. While at UCONN, she plans on minoring in some sort of finance and marketing. Although she isn't thrilled to be leaving high school, it's evident that she's going to achieve great things in the future, even with the new challenges she's going to face entering college.
"I am very nervous about leaving high school as it means we are all growing up. The whole idea of change makes me nervous and this upcoming year will be full of changes as I will be living away from home for the first time and will not be surrounded by the same people every day."

"It has been an honor and a privilege to have played a part in her journey, and I have no doubt that she will continue to leave an indelible mark on the world."
- nicole borges, dhs english teacher

advice for underclassmen striving for top 10

Isabela gave some outstanding advice for students aiming for the top 10 of their class!
"Try your best to talk with your guidance counselors to get into as many honors classes as possible as that's what will boost your GPA and QPA. Give it your best to complete all your assignments on time and actually put some effort into revising assignments. Trying a little bit makes a big difference as little dumb mistakes may cost you. As you progress through high school, pick some AP classes that you think you can handle and take interest in. You also need to take into account how you nurture your mental health to avoid becoming burnt out and eventually giving up. In the end, don't stress yourself out too much. High school is only 4 years so have fun now while you can and give it your best effort!"