Isabella Badia is a good student. The SBHS senior has a weighted GPA of 4.75 and a class ranking of 44. That’s pretty impressive, considering Badia came to the US just four years ago from Cuba.  But the most impressive thing on her resume? Service hours. Badia has almost 540 of them. A lot of them she earned as part of Latinos in Action (LIA)

 “In the club, we get very involved with the community and with the school”, said Badia. “We have danced many times for the school and at important events in Broward County and also community events.”

Latinos in Action is also a class where SBHS students care for and spend time with children at elementary schools.

“In class, we talk about cultures and about different countries and traditions,” she said.

She is also the president and founder of the Latin dance club.

“I create and correct the dances we do in competitions and presentations as well as help students get into the club.”

Since Badia was little, in Cuba she was very studious and always had the best grades. It was easier for her in Cuba because of the language and the age she was when she studied there. Badia took courses, extra classes, and attended competitions in math and science to get better grades.

“It was difficult, there were nights without going out with my friends to study, take extra classes, and participate in class when she came to the US,” she said.

Badia did not know English when she arrived and to learn it, her parents pushed her back a year so she could focus on learning English so she could start high school with a breakthrough in English.

“The process of learning the language was not hard but it was a lot of sacrifice that was worth it,” said Badia

Badia was accepted to four universities Trent University,  Florida International University, FAU, and Nova Southeastern University, but choosing a school was a no-brainer, she chose FIU.

“Since I got here, the first university I visited was FIU and it was like a dream,” she said.  

Badia wants to do four years of biology in just two and then the other four years of medicine specializing in the human body because it is what he likes the most.

“My dream was always to be a doctor, I am passionate about everything that has to do with the human body,” said Badia.