John Mendez on his journey from Lawrence’s Early College program to Nationwide Children’s Hospital

John Mendez is a graduate of Lawrence High School (Class of 2020) and an alumnus of Denison University where he received his bachelor’s degree in Global Health and Biology. John is now working as a Lab Technician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

John describes himself as a first generation, low-income student of color. Originally from the Dominican Republic, John was a student at Lawrence High School and has always strived for greatness. John was aware that he wanted to pursue higher education with the goal of becoming a doctor. However, John was also well aware of the dropout statistics for men of color in particular, and college felt like a huge mountain to climb. Luckily, John learned about the Early College program and decided to take part in the opportunity that has completely changed his life.

“When I heard about Early College and learned that I could go to college while being in high school, I thought, ‘just tell me when and how.’ Early College helped with my confidence. In a big way, Early College changed how I saw education and also how I saw myself. The truest way for me to show my level of satisfaction with Early College is sharing that I encouraged my two siblings to participate in Early College as well – we are all now Posse Scholarship recipients.”

After graduating high school, John decided to pursue his degree at Denison University as a Posse Scholar. John recalls the transition to becoming a full-time college student was easier than expected due to his experience in Early College. John shared that Early College made college not only feel more achievable, but also remembers feeling that Early College gave him a taste of what the workload is like for a typical college student.

“I came [into college] with a level of expertise that my peers didn’t have, like how to approach and talk to professors and handle myself in class. There was some level of confidence that I had – the confidence in myself that I could do things I didn’t know I could.”

John reflects on the skills he gained in Early College that helped him be successful during his time at Denison University. He shared about the value of learning earlier on how to use a syllabus and becoming more organized in order to prioritize and meet different deadlines.

“Early College helped me know when I needed to ask for help. I never got to the point where I was in a sinking vessel.”

John engaged in various clubs, internships, and research opportunities during his time in college. The summer before his senior year, he conducted research with the department of public health to understand how the Latino community in Ohio views healthcare as a whole. The project allowed him to better understand the barriers the Latino community faces when accessing healthcare. John presented his research in Chicago at the Latino Health Medical Association. He also became involved with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and attended one of their healthcare summits in Los Angeles, California. Community is very important to John, which is why he was president of the Next Gen Network and also brought the Men of College Support Group to the Denison campus.

Today, John works as a lab technician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, one of the country’s leading hospitals in pediatric cancer care. Looking ahead, John is interested in pursuing graduate school and becoming a doctor serving the Lawrence community.

“I have satisfaction knowing my work is contributing to saving lives.”