Alyssia Menezes
Undergraduate: University of Texas at Austin
Recommended Book:
“A Six of Crows” - Leigh Bardugo
“Dragon Hoops - Gen Luen Yang
Alyssia began her freshman year at the University of Texas in the fall of 2023 and is enrolling in the Canfield Business Honors Program, with a minor in Applied Statistical modeling.
When asked for somebody at Lincoln who had a significant positive impact on her and her success, Alyssia had two people in mind: Mr. Waugh and Mr. Hewitt.
Mr. Waugh, the business teacher and FBLA/Business Club advisor, deeply cared for his students, and challenged Alyssia and other students to both accomplish more and incorporate creativity in class projects. His lessons provided real-world context, and he was able to follow the IB Curriculum closely while adding projects focused on hands-on experience, keeping students engaged. On a personal level for Alyssia, Mr. Waugh was always extremely supportive and a wonderful teacher.
Mr. Hewitt, the maker space instructor, also was an important part of Alyssia’s high school learning experience, in how he challenged Alyssia to be at her best. Mr. Hewitt’s work in the maker space cultivated a drive to always build new things, and use unfamiliar tools. From teaching Alyssia graphic design to guiding her and other students on the basics of using a 3d printer, Mr. Hewitt showed all of his students that the only limitation they have when creating and building is their imagination.
When asked what her favorite extracurricular activity was at Lincoln, Alyssia couldn’t recommend the Speech and Debate Club enough, and recommends that all incoming Freshmen join! She feels that the skills and maturity that Speech and Debate fosters in its members will play a big role in their success in school and their other extracurriculars, as it did for her.
Alyssia is most proud of the mental health outreach program that she started while at Lincoln. Her own experience with mental health during the pandemic helped her to realize that there should be more open and honest discussions with students about mental health, helping to destigmatize it in her community. The success of starting a program from the ground up, reaching over 800 high school and middle school students, and successfully handing the reigns off to new leadership, is one of her proudest accomplishments at Lincoln, and she hopes it continues to exist for years to come.
Congratulations, Alyssia, we can’t wait to see all that you accomplish!