Nathaly Merida has been playing badminton for three years at Armijo High School. As a senior, this will be her last year on the Armijo team. “It’s a bittersweet feeling,” she said. She would love to play badminton in college but, unfortunately, the colleges that she is interested in do not have badminton team. She has already been accepted to SF state, Sac state and Fullerton, which do have gyms nearby where she could continue playing badminton for fun. Whichever school she chooses, Merida hopes to pursue a degree, and later a career, in nursing.

Her most memorable game so far was when she played at the Montibello Empire League (MEL) against a Rodriguez player where it would be decided that she would go to the next round. She was very nervous but ended up winning with a point to declare herself as winner. “My teammates were watching and so were my coaches,” she said. “They were just as anxious as me. My boyfriend who I met because of badminton even yelled out a nice WOOHOO and that made me so happy, cause I realized how far I have gotten in badminton.”

Merida only chose to get into badminton because one of her friends really liked it and she decided that she wanted to give it a shot. She had been wanting to do something on the side for fun.

Being in the International Baccalaureate (IB)  program and having a job, leaves her little time to pursue her hobbies. “I actually love art, I am adequate and it takes my mind off things which I think are amazing,” she said. While hobbies are important, Merida also hopes to do more community work, even after graduating from high school.

If someone was considering getting involved in sports, Merida had some good advice: “If a person really is up for the time consumption that a sport takes then they should join. If they have enough ambition to get better at whatever sport they plan to join, then they should. It’s all up to the person’s mentality. Remember it’s all about having fun and getting better at it. Sports are fun, because there is always room for improvement.”

Merida has two siblings. Her brother Josiah is 3 years old and her sister Lizveth is 11. She considers herself a big motivation for her siblings, while her motivation is her coaches and the alumni who have always done great and push her to do better.

As she celebrates her last season as an Armijo Indian, Merida believes that badminton has made her a better person and feels that it will stick with her throughout her life.