Gabriella Mendez named to Oklahoma’s Next Generation

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  • Gabriella Mendez was named Oklahoma’s Next Generation of Leaders and Achievers for K-12. Courtesy photo
    Gabriella Mendez was named Oklahoma’s Next Generation of Leaders and Achievers for K-12. Courtesy photo
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HealthCorps® (www.healthcorps.org), a national non-profit working to eliminate health inequity through innovative school-based approaches that empower teens to make healthy lifestyle choices, is proud to announce Living Labs Coordinator Gabriella Mendez has been named to Oklahoma’s Next Generation of Leaders and Achievers (NextGen Under30) for K-12 Education. Gabriella serves as Living Lab Coordinator at Kingston Elementary, Middle and High School in Kingston, Oklahoma.

“Gabriella is a tremendous asset to her community and very deserving of being recognized as one of our state’s up and coming leaders. She is determined to cultivate healthy lifestyles through her work with HealthCorps, and her passion is instilling lifegiving lessons to students of all ages,” said Kristin Thomas, member of HealthCorps’ Board of Directors and senior vice president of public relations at Continential Resources Inc.

A native of San Fransisco, California and Tishomingo, Oklahoma, graduated from Methodist University in North Carolina with a Bachelors in Biology. Gabriella received her Masters in Public Health from Oklahoma State University.

“I am so grateful for the constant support and encouragement I get from Healthcorps and the Kingston family. I feel so lucky that I get to wake up every day and work with these students and make a difference in their lives. This award means so much to be but I truly could not have done it without the opportunities I get through HealthCorps and The Chickasaw Nation,” said Gabriella.

Across the country, Health-Corps maintains a network of schools called Living Labs. A full-time “Coordinator” is embedded in a high-need school to mentor hundreds of students, teach health related workshops, and promote a variety of during and after school activities. Those activities range from cooking clubs and fitness challenges to special programs for teens on mental resilience. Coordinators are recent college graduates who go on to careers in medicine, public health policy or wellness practices.

Coordinators and their students participate in ongoing research to continually improve the HealthCorps curriculum and provide insight into how to improve young lives. This year, the HealhCorps curriculum moved to a fully digital platform. HealthCorps’ digital resources have currently been utilized 1.7 million times by students, parents, and teachers. The physical and mental health resources are provided to help boost student immunity and combat the anxiety and isolation caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

About HealthCorps

Since its founding in 2003, HealthCorps, a national 501c3, has addressed health inequities in at-risk communities by educating and empowering teens – encouraging them to become change agents within their family, their school and their neighborhood.

Through its curriculum and programming, Health-Corps, strives to strengthen those teens with the most innovative approaches to health and wellness, providing today’s youth with the tools to become more resilient, both mentally and physically. HealthCorps’ program operates in five Oklahoma schools and is sponsored by The Chicksaw Nation.