1. Create Account
  2. Login
StudyUSA
Match Me
  • Create Account
  • Login
  • School Search
  • Resources
    • All Resources
    • Articles
    • Student Voices
    • Videos
    • Magazines
    • Podcasts
  • Services
    • All Services
    • Accommodation
    • Support
    • Career
    • Financial
    • Testing
    • Other
  • Chat

Finding Your Confidence: An Interview with Jennifer Mena

Finding Your Confidence: An Interview with Jennifer Mena

Aug 12, 2022

In case you missed it…

You can rewatch our informative Facebook live session with TOEFL and Jennifer Mena to hear her story in its entirety. 

Use code JENNIFER30 to save US$30 on your TOEFL iBT test when you register now through August 23, 2022. For more information, including terms and conditions visit here.

Have a strong WHY

Growing up in Ecuador, Jennifer Mena enrolled in an English-speaking school, but her classmates made fun of her English as she tried participating in class. She made a resolution that she’d catch up to them; after a summer of taking an online English course, she did. When asked about what gave her confidence to face the challenges she came up against, she said:

“A strong “why” always helps – my deep desire to achieve my goals. One of the things I’ve tried to work on and I’m still working on is despite having that voice, keep on doing the things I want to do and taking risks. So I’ll say, don’t let the judgment stop you or limit you, but instead, try to use it as fuel. And I know sometimes it is hard to follow, but if you let it actually become true, then you are limiting yourself to things that are not true because we all can improve.” 

Speak to yourself

Jennifer wanted to get a score higher than 100 on her TOEFL practice tests, but she kept falling short. Self-doubt crept into her head — how could she compete with international students earning scores much higher than her own? It’s then that Jennifer realized that she couldn’t grow without changing the way she thought. 

Her solution? Replace thoughts of doubt with the belief that you are capable of improving. Jennifer said, “For me, confidence is a lifelong journey of working against my inner beliefs and thoughts.” Mastering her thoughts empowered Jennifer to keep trying, and she broke through the 100-point mark on her TOEFL test, earning a “MyBest” score of 111! 

Live with purpose

As much as you want to be confident at all times, confidence comes and goes. It’s a purpose that will pull you out of your bed every morning, even when you aren’t feeling your best. Jennifer is living with purpose, and she’s just getting started:

“I want to help my home country. Ecuador is categorized as a third-world country. Also, the case is that it is extremely, naturally wealthy and diverse — plus, it’s full of human potential. But we have a lot of bad leadership. I intend to help my home country, Ecuador, in biotechnological advancement — especially for the health industry and the medical sector. I’m also super interested in education and children’s rights. My biggest, biggest, BIGGEST dream is to create a center for the support and protection of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.” 

 

Thanks to our friends at TOEFL for supporting this program!

Follow us:
Written by

Charles Varghese

Get matched to the best program for you

Let us know what you're looking for so we can find the best school for you.

Get matched
Call to action background image. Decorative.

Useful Articles

Main image for the blog post titled Let’s Get Mental
Let’s Get Mental
Main image for the blog post titled Join Us for a Virtual Event: Planning for International Study and Understanding the U.S. Education System
Join Us for a Virtual Event: Planning for International Study and Understanding the U.S. Education System
Main image for the blog post titled It's Not Too Late to Apply to Lycoming College
It's Not Too Late to Apply to Lycoming College
Main image for the blog post titled Why Should You Apply to Appalachian State University?
Why Should You Apply to Appalachian State University?
Read more

Check Out These Schools

Evergreen Valley College

Evergreen Valley College

$5,000—$10,000 Semester

Bachelor Degree 2yr/Community College - 2+2 Programs Undergraduate
Contact
Truckee Meadows Community College

Truckee Meadows Community College

$5,000—$10,000 Semester

2yr/Community College - 2+2 Programs Certificate/Short Term Bachelor Degree
Contact
California State University, Dominguez Hills

California State University, Dominguez Hills

$5,000—$10,000 Semester

Undergraduate Masters 2yr/Community College - 2+2 Programs
Contact

Related Stories

5 Tips to Read Faster in English

Main image for the article titled 5 Tips to Read Faster in English
New Ways to Celebrate Easter

Main image for the article titled New Ways to Celebrate Easter
Ways to Success

Main image for the article titled Ways to Success
Ways to Cope with Homesickness

Main image for the article titled Ways to Cope with Homesickness

Start your U.S. adventure with Study in the USA

What's your dream? We can guide, advise, and connect you with your perfect U.S. school. We can also help you with the application process.
More about us
Partner Services

Learn About U.S. education financing, housing, and more

Partner service logo for Kaplan International Languages

Kaplan International Languages

Kaplan International Languages is one of the world’s largest and most diverse education providers, we’ve been helping students to achieve outstanding language results for over 80 years. Students can learn English, French, and German.

Read more
Partner service logo for Uniplaces

Uniplaces

Uniplaces is an accommodation provider with a large choice of verified rooms, entire flats and residences. The platform offers an easy, fast and safe way of booking a place to live. Check out the thousands of properties in the best cities and book a...

Read more
Partner service logo for Student Advantage

Student Advantage

Explore the American Dream with the ‘My Deals’ app from Student Advantage - save on car rentals, hotel rooms, and everyday essentials!

Read more

Testimonials

Quotation mark.

StudyUSA.com has brought me a lot of ideas and inspiration about the USA, before I even landed. Thanks so much!

Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya India

StudyUSA has helped me with orientation for the exams, research for the schools and choosing a place to translate my documents.

Camila Araújo de Resende Brazil

StudyUSA.com helped me on how to apply to study abroad precisely by showing how to select schools related to my goals. I sincerely wish to thank you for your everlasting support you bring to us. May continue in that spirit and i wish you all the best in your endeavors.

FRANCK MATHAUS DOUANDJI Cameroon

Resources

Learn about American culture and education direct from our experts at Study in the USA. Read more

Achieving Your Goal
Admissions and Placement Testing
Beyond the Basics
Education System in the USA
Financing Your U.S. Education
Frequently Asked Questions
Life in the USA
Resources
Student Experiences
For students age 10-18
Study in Canada
Podcasts
Magazines
Videos
Student Voices
Ask StudyUSA.com

Subscribe to get the latest from Study in the USA

You can unsubscribe at any time.


StudyUSA
Explore

  • School Search
  • Resources
  •   Articles
  •   Student Voices
  •   Videos
  •   Magazines
  • Partner Services
  •   Accommodation
  •   Career
  •   Financial
  •   Other
  •   Support
  •   Testing
  • Apply
  • Chat
Information

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Course Index
  • Featured Programs
  • Article Index
  • Create account
  • Sign in
  • For Educators & Institutions
Match Me
  • English
    English العربيـة Español Français Bahasa Indonesia 日本語 한국어 Português Русский ภาษาไทย Türkçe Tiếng Việt 简体中文 繁體中文

  • Privacy & Policy
  • /
  • Terms

Study in the USA logo

© 2023 Study in the USA. All Rights Reserved.

Global Study logo
A member of the Global Study network

When you visit or interact with our sites, services or tools, we or our authorised service providers may use cookies for storing information to help provide you with a better, faster and safer experience and for marketing purposes.