By Yeiden Nieves and Logan Mullarkey – Sports Editors

Jonathan Law Class of 2025 graduate Cesar Mendez is now a freshman at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven where he is majoring in Elementary Education.

Mendez had a busy schedule at Law as a member of the varsity football team and track and field team. Mendez has continued to stay focused on succeeding in his academics.

“Throughout college, my mindset has been to make sure that your school work and homework gets done first,” Mendez said. “All the other extracurricular activities come after because you need good grades to stay at school.”

A normal day for Mendez consists of waking up around 8 a.m. and heading to his first class at either 9 or 9:30 a.m. On Monday and Wednesday, he’ll have another class from 12-3 p.m. and then a class from 5-6 p.m. Every other day of the week, he finishes class at 11 a.m.

In between his classes, he makes sure to stay in touch with his family.

“Seeing my family is still very important to me,” Mendez said. “I see them very often and being able to be with them while being in college is very cool.”

Mendez emphasized the importance of getting involved in high school and in the community.

“One piece of advice I would give to high school students is to get involved,” Mendez said. “It’s very important to make connections with as many people as you can.”