Janice Rodriguez, born in Jalisco, Mexico, is a 17-year-old senior who recently returned to Birmingham Community Charter High School. She was previously at Independence Continuation High School to recover the credits she needed to graduate from Birmingham.

Although a lot of people might experience regret and have trouble accepting failure, Janice now embraces the failures that led her to the point she is at now. Thanks to her doing badly in academics during her freshman and junior years, she was able to meet some amazing people and now has long-term friends from Independence. She admires the determination that students at the continuation show in making up for lost time. That is exactly what she did during her time there. She misses the school very much but is beyond happy to be back at Birmingham where she had longed to be. Now that she is back, she is focused and determined to graduate on time and walk the stage with her friends.

Since coming back to Birmingham, Janice has had some time to reflect on what inspired her to continue her studies and prove to herself she can do anything she sets her mind to. Many of her inspirations are women, including the women in her life, such as her mom and grandma. To her, they are the embodiment of what it means to be a woman. To raise a family, to persevere in times of crisis, all while asking you what you want for dinner.

She is also a big fan girl, and she stays loyal to those who helped her through with their craft. She mentioned Demi Lovato, a person who has truly seen a lot, but through it all has stayed strong and always comes out on top. Janice knows that through struggle, comes inspiration.

Thanks to life and its never-ending lessons, Janice has now learned to be content with what she has, but she is always striving for better. She is a proud member of all of her communities because she believes in having pride in who you are and where you come from. For her, one of those communities is the Hispanic/Latino community. More specifically the Mexican community. She is an immigrant who came to this country as a baby, and she was only nine months old when she got here. Although she doesn’t have any memory of her home country, she longs to go back one day and visit. She knows that day will come soon enough. She loves her culture, her people, her country, and all of its wonderful traditions. Now as as she gets closer to becoming an adult, she knows that having a sense of belonging and pride will get her through all the other challenges life brings her.