It was at Carver STEAM High School where 17-year-old Mekenzi Banks found her passion for medicine.
A former Las Vegas resident, Mekenzi moved to Atlanta during her freshman year of high school. She believes that if she did not transfer to Carver, she would not have changed her mindset about school.
After a year of being unfocused, she joined two youth organizations that fueled her interest in the medical field: (1) Reach One Each One (ROEO) Youth Medical Mentoring Program at Morehouse School of Medicine, and (2) HOSA – Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America.
Thereafter, Mekenzi began taking health courses and currently serves as the assistant to Carver’s athletic director.
“My family is my motivation to pursue my passion at all times,” said Mekenzi, who says she is trying to change the narrative of starting something and not finishing it.
Motivation was what it took for her to defeat the odds when she was advised to try a two-year college first because it wasn’t likely for her to get into a four-year college. She never believed that was the case and applied to her top four-year universities.
With excitement, Mekenzi will be attending Bethune-Cookman University, where she plans to major in sports medicine.
She leaves her classmates with these words: “Please, please, please stay focused at all times,” she said. “School is serious, and just because you can retake classes if you fail doesn’t mean you should. Whatever opportunities counselors are bringing to you, take them. They are bringing them to you for a reason.”
| College/University | Bethune-Cookman University |
| Intended Major | Sports Medicine |
| Career Goal | Athletic Trainer |
| Awards/Recognition | Reach One Each One, HOSA – Future Health Professionals, Achieve Atlanta scholarship recipient |
Atlanta Public Schools will host high school commencement exercises Saturday, May 18 – Friday, May 24, 2019. All ceremonies — except Atlanta Classical Academy and Charles R. Drew Charter School — will be held at Georgia Institute of Technology, McCamish Pavilion,965 Fowler Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. For more information on commencement exercises, go to http://www.atlantapublicschools.us/gradnation.
We Are APS highlights APS visionaries (parents, students, teachers, principals, support staff, community members, partners, etc.), who exemplify our vision of a high-performing school district where students love to learn, educators inspire, families engage, and the community trusts the system. To recommend an APS visionary for a We Are APS feature, contact your communications liaison or email apscommunicationsoffice@gmail.com.
