GONZALES — Cecilia Trujillo and Alondra Urena, Chualar residents, rose to the top of the Gonzales High School graduating class of 2017 and will be headed to two big name schools, Harvard and UCLA, respectively.
“I knew I wanted to go to college since I was in elementary school, and coming in as a freshman, I decided I was going to be valedictorian of my high school class,” Trujillo said. “I was not sure exactly which college I wanted to go to, but I had an idea of where I was going to apply.”
Urena decided where she wanted to attend college based on the schools that accepted her.
“UCLA was one of my top choices,” Urena said.
Trujillo decided that she wanted to attend Harvard after an event for admitted students when she learned more about the campus and student life.
Trujillo and Urena are among a trio of students, including Fatima Patino, who reside in Chualar and attended Gonzales High School. The Chualar Trio were the top students in middle school and Trujillo and Urena repeated their rankings as the top two students at Gonzales High School.
“I’ve always been a good student, but it wasn’t until eighth grade when I really stepped up and became the student that I am now,” Urena said.
Urena and Trujillo are planning to major in applied mathematics, and Trujillo would like to pursue pre-med to become a dermatologist.
“Getting into UCLA is exciting and it makes me proud because I think that I’m representing a lot of people,” Urena said.
“I’m glad that the admissions officers recognized that I will do well at that school,” Trujillo said.
Urena and Trujillo are the oldest siblings in their families and are the first to attend college.
Both were thankful to their parents who have been supportive of their determination to succeed in school.
