Riverdale Ridge High School

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This is Riverdale Ridge High School senior Isla R’s Class of 2026 Journey:

From the outside, Isla’s high school journey looks full of achievement. She balanced varsity basketball, cross country, dance, clubs, leadership programs, and rigorous academics while ranking in the top 10% of her graduating class. This fall, she’ll attend UC San Diego to study molecular and cellular biology on her path toward medical school.

But for Isla, one of the hardest parts of high school was learning how to believe in herself when other people did not.

As someone with big ambitions and clear goals, Isla said she often felt judged and criticized for dreaming too big. Over time, she realized that not everyone around her would support the future she saw for herself. Some friendships became difficult to hold onto, and learning to walk away from those relationships that no longer encouraged her growth became one of the biggest challenges she faced.

“I think the biggest struggle is learning to be okay with yourself,” Isla shared. “Sometimes people aren’t meant to be in your life, and they’re there to be used as a lesson to continue to grow.”

Through those experiences, Isla became more confident in who she is and what she wants. She credits much of that strength to her mom, whose perseverance and sacrifices continue to inspire the way Isla approaches her own future.

Now, with graduation being just five days away, Isla sees this next chapter as an opportunity to step outside the world she has always known and continue chasing the goals she once worried were “too big.”

“I know who I am, and I know who I want to be,” Isla said. “I’m going to continue to chase my goals even if the people around me don’t think I’m capable of achieving them.”

For Isla, graduation is not just the end of high school. It is proof that believing in yourself can take you further than the doubts of others, and her own, ever could.