Ismerai Diaz Rivera

Central High School

Ismerai Diaz Rivera is a Senior at Central High School who has always had a mindset of going somewhere big. She was raised by a single mother of 3 who had to work hard to support her family, and she has learned hard work and dedication from that. Throughout her life, Ismerai's mother would fix furniture and she would help her mother sell it. Her upbringing has helped shape her skills and motivations, and now she would like to have businesses of her own.

Ismerai's journey at Central High School was not exactly as she expected it to be, but to her, it was still great. In addition to focusing on her academics, she played volleyball at Central for 3 years. She has made a lot of friends and her favorite part of her high school journey has been the memories that she made with these friends. "I never thought this would impact me so much, but I feel like it's a big thing," Ismerai said about how valuable her friendships are to her. 

After high school, Ismerai will be attending Arizona State University on a full-ride scholarship to learn how to successfully run the businesses she would like to open. Her biggest aspiration is to open a boutique. However, she also wants to help her mother with her business ventures. Ismerai's mother is working on starting a food truck and selling churros or other foods. She would like to help her mother in the future by expanding on this business and starting a full-fledged restaurant. 

See below for a video featuring Ismerai discussing her journey.