{"id":2740,"date":"2020-05-06T09:50:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T16:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/military-service-climate-change-advocacy-lead-graduating-senior-to-a-promising-future\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T17:27:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T01:27:48","slug":"trojan-commencement-graduation-abigail-menendez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/trojan-commencement-graduation-abigail-menendez\/","title":{"rendered":"Military service, climate change advocacy lead graduating senior to a promising future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                                    \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/abigail-menendez-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/05\/abigail-menendez-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"2020 graduate Abigail Menendez poses in a covered walkway lined with flowered vines\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Abigail \u201cAbbie\u201d Menendez embarks on a life of service and teaching when she graduates with the class of 2020 on May 15. (Photo: Courtesy of Abigail Menendez.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=commencement\">Commencement<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Military service, climate change advocacy lead graduating senior to a promising future<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  For environmental studies and health major Abigail Menendez, a U.S. Navy veteran, serving others is its own reward. <strong>[5\u00bc min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Wayne Lewis<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">May 6, 2020<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>The path that led Abigail \u201cAbbie\u201d Menendez to join the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences\u2019 Class of 2020 wasn\u2019t exactly traditional.<\/p>\n<p>A Navy veteran and transfer student a few years older than most of her peers, she worried at first that she wouldn\u2019t fit in. But she found her campus home volunteering with USC Dornsife\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/joint-educational-project\/\">Joint Educational Project (JEP)<\/a>, one of the oldest and largest service-learning programs in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first, I was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll try it. It\u2019s extra credit,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cBut then I actually fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by the examples set by family members and motivated by an empathy cultivated through her own struggles, Menendez has plotted a trajectory largely defined by service \u2014 whether it\u2019s making a difference for military women going through some of the hardest times of their lives, a planet afflicted by the effects of climate change or children who attend under-resourced schools. Her experience at USC Dornsife empowered her to approach her future with confidence, imagination and ambition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got the chance to be involved with programs that I care about and be around people that I care about,\u201d Menendez said. \u201cIt helped me discover who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The family tradition that nearly wasn\u2019t<\/h2>\n<p>Born in San Diego, Menendez moved with her family to her father\u2019s native Puerto Rico when she was 1. Her parents\u2019 relationship ended within about a year, leaving her mother to provide for two young daughters on a preschool teacher\u2019s paycheck.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer working, having to take care of two kids on her own when she didn\u2019t speak Spanish, and still succeeding definitely played a big role in my life,\u201d Menendez said.<\/p>\n<p>The family returned to live in Southern California by the time Menendez was 6. There, she had trouble keeping up with the language arts curriculum and was held back. Redoubling her efforts, she picked up an early lesson that transcends book learning.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/Menendez_InStoryB-3210.jpg\" alt=\"Abbie Menendez sitting on a boulder\" width=\"900\" height=\"580\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Abbie Menendez gains higher ground in California\u2019s Joshua Tree National Park. (Photo: Danielle Collins.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI worked really, really hard to move up,\u201d she said. \u201cIt built it into me to work hard to achieve things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her mother, Megan Emswiler, married the man Menendez calls Dad today, Dee Emswiler, a sometimes-stern Army vet and civilian employee of the Department of Defense. His career meant that the family moved around a lot \u2014 to New Mexico then Florida, on to Germany followed by Virginia \u2014 although they landed back in Oceanside, California, for Menendez\u2019s last three years of high school.<\/p>\n<p>Emswiler often encouraged Menendez, her older sister, and her two stepsisters to follow in his footsteps of service. Unanimously, the girls\u2019 reflexive answer was that they would never join the armed forces.<\/p>\n<p>But it didn\u2019t quite turn out that way. When big sister, Coral Menendez, came of age, she enlisted in the Coast Guard while also pursuing college full-time, providing an influential example. Abbie Menendez also saw that assistance through the G.I. Bill could turn the remote idea of earning a degree into a tangible possibility. So she signed up for the Navy at age 17. (Next daughter in line Eve Emswiler is now in the Air Force.)<\/p>\n<h2>There for others during a hard moment<\/h2>\n<p>During her six-year enlistment, Menendez went on five deployments to Greece and Bahrain, where she picked up an affinity for the cultures of the Middle East. She grew proficient in Arabic while earning an associate\u2019s from the Defense Language Institute.<\/p>\n<p>However, as a woman in an environment often dominated by men, she faced some rough times. This included an incident when a supervisor was cavalier about a matter of safety, spurring her to speak out on behalf of her co-workers \u2014 an unusual move within the military hierarchy.<\/p>\n<p>Her instinct to protect others extended to her work as an advocate for sexual assault victims in the Navy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just glad I could be a part of people\u2019s lives during a very hard moment,\u201d she said. \u201cSexual assault is something that isn\u2019t really talked about. There\u2019s a stigma, which is wrong. It taught me to stand up for what needs to be said and address things, even if they\u2019re very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Following her passion \u2014 to the governor\u2019s mansion?<\/h2>\n<p>While in the Navy, Menendez enrolled online at Oregon State University. Reading Anthony Weston\u2019s Mobilizing the Green Imagination for one class drove home the dire consequences of climate change and sent her in a new direction. Her next stop upon separating from the military, in 2018, was USC Dornsife to study <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/environmental-studies\/environmental-science-and-health-major\/\">environmental science and health<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/Menendez_InStoryA-3210.jpg\" alt=\"Abbie Menendez on pebbly shore\" width=\"300\" height=\"467\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Abbie Menendez on a visit to Denali National Park in Alaska. (Photo: Megan Emswiler.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThat major correlates exactly with what I\u2019m passionate about,\u201d she said. \u201cI think climate change is one of the main issues that needs to be addressed globally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She found the chance to share this important message while volunteering with JEP, instructing a local middle-school class about environmental topics for eight weeks. By the end, she was gratified to see how much the students had learned. Menendez continued volunteering with JEP, also worked with USC Dornsife\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/calis\/tirp\/\">Teaching International Relations Program<\/a> and later joined the JEP staff as a student program assistant.<\/p>\n<p>Along the way, Menendez discovered her passion for teaching. After graduation, she\u2019s going to continue to explore it \u2014 and to serve others \u2014 as a volunteer with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teachforamerica.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Teach for America<\/a>, a nonprofit that recruits recent college grads to teach public school in low-income areas. Menendez looks forward to her two-year assignment as a science teacher in Los\u00a0Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>She plans to apply some strategies she saw firsthand during her classes at USC Dornsife \u2014 particularly in lectures on sustainability from Victoria Petryshyn, assistant professor (teaching) of environmental studies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the topics seemed as though they\u2019d be difficult, but she made them fun and interesting, and it connected,\u201d Menendez said. \u201cI want to take her approach with me when I become a teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mendendez\u2019s love of teaching may end up keeping her in the profession, but she also has other ideas in mind long-term: Law school may be in the future, with an eye toward a second career in public service.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to try to take a big role where I can effect change, becoming governor of California or mayor of L.A.,\u201d she said. \u201cI set these really crazy goals sometimes because when you work toward them, whether you achieve them or not, you still better yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then again, those goals may not be so crazy for someone like Abbie Menendez \u2014 diligent since her youth, resilient to adversity and devoted to service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For environmental studies and health major Abigail Menendez, a U.S. Navy veteran, serving others is its own reward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":25848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,24,17],"tags":[542,97],"class_list":["post-2740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commencement","category-social-impact","category-student","tag-class-of-2020","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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