Leslie is heading to Northeastern this fall to study Health Science, the first step toward becoming an OB-GYN who takes young women’s pain seriously, offers real answers, and ensures Spanish-speaking families can advocate for the people they love without requiring a translator. She knows precisely what that kind of care is worth, because she knows what it costs to go without it.

For four years, a pediatrician dismissed the severe pain that cost her more than 30 school days, pain she now suspects points to endometriosis. Her mother had concerns of her own but needed Leslie to translate them into English before a doctor would engage. Those experiences could have discouraged her, but they instead became the place where she developed her voice.

As cheer captain, National Honor Society officer, and a member of student council and senior committee, Leslie spent her years at Excel leading teams and advocating for others. At home she was the bridge between her Spanish-speaking mother and her medical care teams. Through community and family, she learned to trust her own voice.

It is a voice that is largely missing in the medical field. Latinas make up just 2 percent of the physician workforce in the United States.

At Excel Academy, that courageous voice was nurtured. Teachers consistently accommodated her health needs, cheer and student government gave her opportunities to lead, and the adults around her validated her experience and helped her find the tools to advocate for herself.

Nurse Weaver educated her about endometriosis and advocated for the specialist referral she’d been denied. Miss Smart helped her secure a 504 plan for college. The steady support she received became a standard against which she measured the rest of the world.

When her doctor continued to minimize her pain, she carried that standard right back into his office, looked him in the eye, and told him that she believed her care had suffered because of her gender. She finally got the referrals she needed to pursue proper treatment.

“Every single teacher I had here at Excel understood and accommodated my needs as I balanced school and health. This was the only support I knew, so I demanded the same and wouldn’t accept anything less than what I knew at Excel when it came to other areas of my life.”

Studies show that Spanish-speaking patients who see a physician who speaks their preferred language report significantly higher trust in their care, the kind of trust that determines whether someone comes back, follows through, and feels safe enough to say what’s really wrong. In yet another effort to give herself to tools she required to make the change she desired, Leslie earned her medical interpreter certification in Spanish so that when she becomes a medical professional, other families like hers can engage meaningfully in their medical care.

Those who watched her grow at Excel have no doubt she will make a difference. “Leslie is a spark of sunshine to my day,” Nurse Weaver said. “I see Leslie’s future to be so successful, especially in making positive changes in everything she encounters in her healthcare career.”

Learn more about the Class of 2026