This month, UNLV’s student spotlight shines on Abigail Cabrera. A perfect example of our January theme of grit, Abigail was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and attended Las Vegas high school. She is currently majoring in Kinesiology at UNLV, and is a member of both the UNLV Honors College and the dance team known as the Rebel Girls and Company.
Of her experience at UNLV, Abigail states that “It has been great being so involved on campus. Being on the dance team has allowed me to learn and grow as a dancer along with being able to attend campus events such as basketball games and football games. I grew up dancing at a studio which is very different from the dance team style but it has been a great learning experience. Being on the Rebel girls requires you to have time management, and over the past semester, I have had to adjust to the busy schedule.
While juggling the dance team, I am also in the honors college. It’s a very great program because you get to take classes with some of the best professors on campus. Although I had a very busy first semester at UNLV, it was a great growing experience that I’ll always look back on.”
Sharing her story of grit, Abigail wrote to us: “A time where I feel that I displayed grit was this past semester. The change from high school to college was a difficult one, especially being a student-athlete and in the Honors College, so there was a lot to adjust and get used to. Right off the bat, we had so many events scheduled for Rebel girls and I was having such a hard time juggling that. Along with that, my honors college classes were more difficult than I anticipated and I also had to attend 8 hours of study hall per week. In high school, I was always on top of everything and was never as stressed as I was during this time. I got to a point where I thought I couldn’t handle the pressure and I wanted to quit. I have never been one to give up, so I told myself I had to push through it. I worked extra hard every day to stay on top of everything. Giving up is never the answer, and I am so glad that I persevered through stressful times because I got to experience so many amazing things.”
Abigail chose to share this quote from Elanor Roosevelt, which we believe perfectly represents her and all the hard work she has done to get where she is today. Keep up the amazing work, Abigail, and never stop believing in the beauty of your dreams!
