In one of the West Florida High School auditoriums, there’s a poster on a wall that has three words: Dream, Believe, and Achieve.
It’s the same auditorium where standout Jaguars track star, Jennifer Mims, signed her letter of intent on Friday to compete at Division I Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dream. While Mims started running track in seventh grade, the dream to run track after high school began her freshman year, primarily thanks to “the great coaching” she’s had, including her primary coach, Valentino Espinoza, who’s been coaching at West Florida since 2012.
Believe. That’s also thanks to Espinoza, Mims added. “Seeing the accomplishments I’ve been able to make under his coaching, made me believe that this was something I could take pretty far,” she said.
Achieve. This one is obvious, achieving her dream that Mims believed in once she officially signed the papers in front of friends, family and coaches, with her parents by her side.
“The hard work that I’ve put in, it feels good to truly see what came of it,” Mims told the PNJ.