Lesley Iyamu Wins the 2022 Wonder Girls Wellness Scholarship

Each September, Wonder Girls hosts a month-long Wellness Campaign to teach self-care and healthy habits that help our Wonder Girls stay strong both physically and mentally, adding significantly to their self-worth, confidence, and self-esteem.

This year, we offered our first annual $1,500 Wellness Scholarship to a female student who is interested in studying within the fields of medicine, science, health, wellness, fitness, or mental health.

We are thrilled to announce that this year’s winner is Lesley Iyamu, a senior at Mt. Vernon High School. Lesley was granted the scholarship at the 2nd annual Wonder Girls Wellness Day | Fitness Fundraiser at Varsity House on Friday, September 23, 2022. Lesley and her mother migrated from Nigeria due to a dangerous situation. Since then, she has dedicated her life to her education. She has a 4.0 GPA, is head of a number of organizations in her school, has over 100 hours of community service, and is part of the swim team at her school. Learn more about her passion for wellness and mental health:

Why do you want to or are you currently studying within the fields indicated above? What is your motivation?

My family is from a third-world county, Nigeria, there was always a lack of medical resources and often uncomfortable discussions like Mental Health that were not talked about. Leaving there for almost half of my life, there wasn't a mention of Therapy, counseling, etc. It was always the question: Are you physically sick or not? The unawareness and ignorance of brushing topics like Mental health and psychological behaviors under the table made me even more curious. I enjoyed studying people and always wondered how specific patterns growing up could significantly affect a person and who they are, and how each person could be so different from the next. It fascinates me when I realized I wanted to specialize in all things brain, trauma, and child development. However, the intricacy and specialty of this major as it was not provided in my home country led to a lack of proper information in certain groups. Looking at studies, I found there was a lot of bias. Most patients were often white and elderly men, leaving no room for other groups such as minorities, women, and a much wider variety of age groups like myself. That was when I began to acknowledge the challenges that Medicine brings and the lack of representation/diversity in Medical studies. Hence, my motivation for studying this specialized field in Medicine is to combat that lack of representation by conducting less biased research in Medical labs and be a voice to people of change for people who look just like me. I believe it is very important to bring more medical awareness to underserved groups of people, especially in necessary discussions where lower-income communities can play a role in Child development and trauma, varying from one person to the next.

What do you plan to do within this field of study when you graduate from college?

Because biopsychology is quite specialized and is not as broad of a major as biology, etc, I plan to go to Medical School to further my knowledge and research in this particular field of study. Still, for the next 4 years, I really would like to get internships/shadow in therapies and clinics, and also somewhere where I can work alongside children.

What is your self-care routine and why do you think it's important to take care of yourself starting when you are young?

As someone who is a perfectionist and prone to heavy amounts of stress caused by myself, I couldn't preach more about the importance of Self-care. It's been truly a journey to really find balance in my life and come to that middle ground but one way, I've always calmed myself down is by writing my thoughts (journalling) and just speaking out loud but to myself. I think it is imperative to take care of yourself starting when you are young or else you will be forced to learn later. Like what my mom always said: Whatever you do not learn now, you will learn later and it will be much harder. I believe that finding peace within one's self and taking care of yourself at a young else is beneficial because it helps you know yourself more and your boundaries ----when is it okay for me to stop? Is it better for me to rest or continue this assignment? Asking such questions allows you to appreciate yourself and honor your limitations, which could even reduce the tendency of perfectionism when you're older.

Why is it so important to take care of your mental health and how do you check in with yourself to make sure you feel strong mentally?

It is important to take care of your mental health because it affects other aspects of your health as well. Oftentimes, people do not realize that mental health is also health and is treated as a commodity but taking care of your mental health can positively influence other parts of your life: your relationships, physical health, well-being and so much more. It’s been such a journey to realize when to pause and take breaks but I check it in with myself by simply doing things that can make ME happy in the spur of the moment as cliche as it might sound. Even if it is as little as taking a 30-minute nap or playing silly iMessage games (Game pigeon) with my friends. Checking in with yourself starts with finding balance in life and genuinely knowing your boundaries. I also go for a swim in my school's community pool every Saturday so that little activity has really helped me reduce anxiety levels from the stress of school and just be in the present moment and from all the chaos the world brings us.

What is your favorite form of exercise and why?

As a swimmer, what other way to promote my sport than to say my favorite form of exercise is Swimming? Swimming for years, I’ve just grown to love being in the water. I can’t pinpoint what I love about it apart from it being extreme cardio but it allows me to be ME. So uninhibited. It’s also one thing in my life that I genuinely love doing. No control. No obligation, just pure passion for the sport. I love the people I’ve met through swimming: my amazing teammates and especially the way the water feels on my skin as I glide through it. I just love everything about it.

If you win this scholarship, what will you do with the money?

If I win this scholarship, I plan to use the money to pay for college move-in, dorm necessities, and so much more. I will also be taking out loans for college because my mom doesn’t have enough to fully pay so it would really mean the world to me to help out my mom!