Romans 8:18. Janelle Rayan Medina was born to Steve and Mary Medina on January 31, 2007. Janelle lives in Waterville and has three older siblings; Jesse, Isacc, and Inez. “For I consider that the suffering of this present time is not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us,” Romans 8:18 is Janelle's favorite quote. Her favorite songs are “Constellations” by Jade LeMac and "Thuggish Ruggish Bone by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony” because it reminds her of her dad.
Janelle has been involved in Journalism, Band, and Cheer 1 year; Mustang Tough 2 years; and Forensics 4 years. An outside of school activity Janelle is involved in is helping her mom work a new family business called Smiley's Tacos. Janelle’s ideal weekend nights are driving around with friends blasting music, or just hanging out eating junk food and talking about life. An accomplishment that Janelle is most proud of is not letting herself down, she has had some tough times and she has made it this far so she wants to do the best she can and make even more milestones. A fun fact about Janelle is that she was born on the same day as her mom.
Her mom and sister have had the biggest influence on her life. Her mom has done everything in her power to give Janelle the best life she could possibly have, even after losing her best friend, her husband, and the father to her kids. She had been able to push through every brick wall in her way. Her sister as well, because they have shared a few similar experiences and even though life was hard on them she managed to succeed and push herself through everything .
One thing people don't know about Janelle is that although people see her as a loud person she is really nonchalant and observant. She loves when people go to her and talk to her about their feelings and are comfortable enough to just let everything go. Some advice she would give to underclassmen is that not everyone is your cup of tea, and that some people grow apart and that is okay. Don't try and force yourself to fit in or be someone you're not, just be your own person and be unique. When she leaves the Valley Heights Community she wants to be remembered as someone who anyone can come to if they need anything, to talk to or just tell someone how they are feeling. She tries to be understandable and be a friend to anyone.
After high school Janelle plans to go to K-State and get her Bachelor's degree in social work and minor in Psychology. She plans to live in Manhattan and get a job. In 10 years Janelle hopes to see herself working, owning a house, and just settling down. Her future goal is to become a social worker so she can help as many kids as she can.
Janelle’s Senior mentor, Lori Dobrovolny, describes her as someone that has a goal and when she wants to accomplish it she puts her mind to it and she gets it done. Lori has known Janelle since she was a baby. She watched her go from this crazy little girl at football games to helping her through major life problems, and now she seems to have her feet set, and have goals that she wants to accomplish.
Article by Tayra L’Ecuyer