Marshalltown High School senior Vanessa Ceren is pictured in the MHS Roundhouse Hall of Pride. Ceren, who is an active volunteer in the community, wants to be a physical therapist.
Student excels in school and
as a community volunteer
Sometimes good things can come from bad events in life. For Marshalltown High School senior Vanessa Ceren, her future unfolded from a tough experience in her life.
Vanessa tore the ACL in her knee during a soccer game in May 2014. After surgery, she went through 9 months of recovery and physical therapy at Sports Plus in Marshalltown. While working on her injury recovery, she met a physical therapist who would inspire her to want to work in that field one day.
“I’ve always wanted to help people in a certain way and have loved being a part of a team,” Ceren said.
The soccer and basketball player at MHS plans to study health science at the University of Iowa this fall in hopes of being a physical therapist.
Before becoming a Hawkeye, Vanessa has much more to accomplish at MHS first. She is a member of the 4-H Leadership Club, the National Honor Society, has volunteered at Mid-Iowa Community Action and at summer learning programs in the district, and also serves as a mentor weekly to young students at Hoglan Elementary School.
“I like to give back and it helps me to know I did something good for others,” Ceren said.
Ceren said several teachers have made a big impact on her at MHS and two that come to mind are math teacher Nancy Sills and social studies teacher Aaron Benscoter.
Benscoter said Vanessa is a delight to have in sociology class and has a great sense of humor and tons of energy. The teacher feels big things are ahead for Vanessa both in her professional life and the community.
“I am confident that Vanessa will thrive after high school and will be an asset to whatever community she ends up at,” Benscoter said.
As Vanessa looks forward to her future, she smiles with the anticipation of following her dreams at her next step at the University of Iowa.
“I think it’s exciting,” she said.
