Yarelli Martinez-Trinidad is a senior at Metro Heights Academy (MHA). Recently, she spoke with her principal, Crystal Tucker.

Yarelli lives at home with her mom and two siblings, who are eleven and two. She is an EL student and is fluent in both English and Spanish. As the oldest sibling in a single-parent household, Yarelli helps a lot at home as a caretaker when her Mom works.

Yarelli started at MHA in the fall of 2023 after being short 20 credits to graduate. As of April 29, she has only four credits to go. She plans to walk in the Metro Heights Academy commencement ceremony. Congratulations, Yarelli!

"I feel that MHA has been a different school to me because the teachers explain things differently," said Yarelli. "It’s been a lot easier since the Metro teachers have helped break things down and make sure I understand the information. All my teachers have helped me be successful at Metro, with specific support from Ms. Katie (my EL teacher). I really like the people at Metro. Everyone interacts with everybody, and it has been really fun."

Yarelli shared that she’s grown as a person, especially mentally. She feels more driven to move forward and doesn’t feel stuck anymore. Yarelli has been an integral part of MHA's Student Leadership Group and feels that it has given her a great opportunity to be a leader, meet new people, and get closer to students and staff. Through this leadership group, she helped with the student proposal for a student dance, helped with the set-up, and continues to give ideas/help with future Fun Friday events.