Jessica Ibañez, an 18-year-old Cuban native, just graduated first in her class from G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School, the largest high school in Miami-Dade County. But instead of taking it easy and spending her days at the beach, Ibañez, who recently became a state-certified mortgage broker, is looking for a summer job.

FIU is so proud to welcome this ambitious young woman to the Golden Panther family that we’re featuring her in an ad campaign to run in The Miami Herald. Recently, we met with Ibañez and asked her a few questions about herself and her future plans. Here is an excerpt of the interview:

What it took to be the best in my class:
A lot of late nights, hard work and determination. I challenged myself. I think to be valedictorian you have to be a little nerdy.

On starting college at FIU: Since I want to live in Miami after I graduate, it made sense to stay here and build connections to get to the place where I want to be.

Where I see myself in five years:
In medical school. I hope I’m a person who has developed and grown from the person I am today.

My dream:
I love to multi-task. In a perfect world, I think I would be a doctor, a lawyer, a fashion designer and just achieve greatness.

Here is a video of the interview:

To view the ad, which ran in the June 18th issue of The Miami Herald, please click here to download a PDF file.

You may download Adobe Acrobat Reader from here if needed to view the file.