When she arrived in the U.S. during her junior year of high school from Monterrey, Mexico, Avril L. had no idea she would one day secure a full ride to Tufts University through the QuestBridge program.
Now, a 2024 graduate of W.H. Adamson High School, she’s preparing to major in cognitive and brain science, and double major in either film or music, embarking on a journey she once thought impossible.
Avril describes her transition to high school as challenging and she remembers having difficulty making friends and understanding her teachers during class.
“I was pretty anxious the whole time,” she said. “When I came here, I knew some English, but I never practiced it with a native speaker, so it was hard communicating.”
With the support of her counselor, she enrolled in two AP classes and later continued as an AP scholar with a growing passion for STEM. She was also voted “Most Likely To Succeed” by her classmates.
“The first time I met my counselor, she was creating my schedule and suggested two AP classes,” she said. “I was very scared because I heard “advanced” and was like, ‘no, maybe I cannot do this,’ but then I thought maybe I could give it a try.”
Avril’s academic journey was largely marked by her growing interest in science.
“I enrolled in biomedical classes, so we learned about the body and got to go on field trips to research facilities and laboratories,” she said. “The research they did made me interested in learning about the brain. I participated in a program with UT Southwestern called HPREP, where we learned about research they’re doing on birds’ brains, and I loved it.”
Looking ahead, Avril is excited to explore her interests in both neuroscience and the arts at Tufts.
She visited Boston, where Tufts is located, for the first time through a fundraiser that was organized by her community. As she embarks on this new chapter, she remains grounded by her roots and motivated by her desire to give back.
“What inspires me the most is my family, my parents, and my sisters. Being the oldest and the first one going to college, I want to learn a lot to help them and make their paths easier,” she said. “I have to remember where I come from and give back to the people who have given a lot to me.
