Courtesy of San Benito High School:
#10: Madison Smith will be attending UC Irvine with a double major in chemistry and criminology. In 10 years, she hopes to see herself as a forensic chemist working either for the FBI or a major city’s Forensics lab. One of her most memorable accomplishments during high school has been getting into almost all of her top choices of college after working so hard. She will miss the access to free education that San Benito High school provided her and all the teachers who nurtured her love of learning and who inspired her to become a chemist. She would like to thank her family for all the support and motivation and also to all her teachers, especially Mrs. Maria for the extra encouragement and guidance during her three years at San Benito High School.
#10: Ella Pascua is excited to be attending California Lutheran University next fall and will major in Communications with a minor in Business Administration. Her determination sees herself working in the Television/Film Industry alongside fellow activists who want to highlight the stories of minority communities and marginalized backgrounds. Ella is very proud of her accomplishment here at San Benito High School when she was the lead in raising a new all-time record of $28,000.00 for the ASB Beneficiary during her term as Commission of Community Affairs. Ella would like to thank her family, friends, and teachers who gave her the roots to grow and the wings to fly. But most specifically she would like to thank her mom and dad, who crossed oceans to leave the life they always knew to give her the life they never had. Mom and Dad- this is for you. “Have some fire. Be unstoppable. Be a force of Nature”
#9: Isabella Rivas is thrilled to be attending UC Davis and will enter as an English major with a Pre-Law Emphasis. Her dreams are to be working closely with the youth and minorities in the judicial system. She will miss all the conversations she had with some of her favorite teachers during the AFT’s and also Mr. Johnson’s Swinging 60’s AFT’s. Isabella’s most memorable accomplishment during high school has been learning how to time manage and finally procrastinate less. She would like to thank her sister for always staying up with her when she had a lot of homework, her mom for knowing when she needed a pep talk, her grandma for always making her cookies and her dad for always being there for her.
#8: Madison Rodrigues will be attending UCLA this coming fall and will major in Human Biology & Society on the Pre-Med Track. In 10 years, she will be so excited to finally be finished with school and beginning her career. One of her most memorable accomplishments here at San Benito High School has been being in the top ten of her class every year. Madison will miss being with all her best friends next year and being a part of San Benito High School ASB. She would like to take this time to thank her Step Dad Brian for always supporting her and her grandparents for always getting her everything she ever needed. She would have never been able to accomplish her success without them all. She loves you all.
#7: Abel Macias will be attending De Anza College in San Jose. He will be majoring in Engineering.
#6: Nicole Gidding is excited to be attending UC Irvine in the fall and will be majoring in Criminology. In 10 years, Nicole hopes to have a stable career, hopefully, be able to travel a lot, a special dog, and maybe even a spouse and just live a comfortable and happy life. Some of her treasured memories at San Benito High School are staying in the Top 10 all 4 years of her high school career and her personal biggest accomplishment is coming out of her shell and getting a better grasp of the true person she has become. She will miss making memories with her friends, from dressing up for dances to watching the football games. Nicole would like to thank her parents for the unconditional love always. Mr. Edwards, for letting me rant about my stresses, Mr. Schleeter for chatting with me about English and giving me the love of it. Mr. Moore for forgiving me for the large mistake I made in his class. I appreciate these teachers and others for helping me stay on track and keeping myself in check. She also wishes to thank all her friends for always being there during this high school journey and will cherish all the memories that have been made. Considering being in the Top Ten has been an aspiration of hers since Nicole was in the 4th grade and would like to end with Walt Disney’s quote. “If you can dream it, you can do it”
#5: Kayla Sanchez will be attending UCLA and will major in microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics with a minor in pre-mathematics applied. In 10 years, she hopes to have experimented with her career from science data analysis to a genetic counselor and finally to an epidemiologist where she would love to have her own clinic focusing primarily on genetic counseling. Some of Kayla’s most memorable accomplishments at San Benito High School were to balance all her extracurricular activities and her academics. She is so proud of the impact she also made in all the clubs she has been involved with and not allowing her grades to slip during these times. She will miss all the teachers and peers at San Benito High School and she is so happy she was able to grow, laugh, and enjoy every moment of her 4 years here. Kayla would like to thank her parents and her siblings for always supporting her dreams, her teachers who never seemed to get tired of her enthusiasm to learn, and all her friends for the memories and laughs that will never leave her side.
#4 Kaitlyn Dickson will be attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and majoring in Statistics. The sense of community at San Benito High School is what she will miss the most.
#3 Alexia Lizett Rocha is happy to be attending UC Davis next fall and will major in Applied Mathematics. Her dreams are to be working in a medical career and making a positive impact on people’s lives. One of her most memorable accomplishments is getting perfect attendance for all 4 years here at San Benito High School. She will definitely miss the routine, the teachers, and spending time with all of her friends. She would like to take this time to thank her teachers, her friends, and her siblings for believing in her and always supporting her. But most important wishes to thank her Mom and Dad for guiding her and shaping her in the person she is today.
#2 SBHS 2020 Salutatorian Jeffrey Ong will be attending Brigham Young University in Utah. He will major in Biology with an emphasis on Applied Lab Sciences. In the future, Jeffrey hopes to be a lab technician in the medical field helping to research new medicines and diseases. He hopes to be married by then to a woman who shares the same values as him. He will never forget all the fun moments he had here at San Benito High School and also Mr. Quinn’s stories and jokes. Jeffrey would like to thank all his teachers, especially Mr. Moore, Mr. Lasley, Mr. Quinn, Mrs. Vandercook, and Ms. Bonner for being the greatest teachers ever and of course to all his friends who helped him through this interesting time he is being faced with right now.
#1: SBHS 2020 Valedictorian Maila Dang is happy to announce that she will be attending UC Santa Cruz this upcoming Fall and will major in Biology. Her hopes that in 10 years she sees herself as becoming a doctor or pursuing a career in biological research, particularly in the field of neuroscience. Her most memorable accomplishments during her time here at San Benito High School have been receiving straight A’s throughout all four years of high school and also passing all the AP tests she has taken so far with either a 4 or 5. Maila will definitely miss all her close friends along with all the amazing teachers who believed in her and supported tremendously. She would like to thank all her family for their continued love and guidance.
