Photo by Samantha Bengtson
Gonzales High School seniors Katrina Cervantes and Jacqueline Trujillo have been friends since middle school. They have been in band together and are happy to share Saturday’s graduation stage with each other. “You are who you hang out with,” Cervantes said.
GONZALES — Gonzales High School has selected Katrina Cervantes and Jacqueline Trujillo as valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.
“To me being valedictorian means that all of our hard work, blood, sweat and tears, coming in on Saturdays, all worked out and weren’t for nothing,” Cervantes said. “It just means we’re being recognized for how hard we are working and it’s truly an honor to be named the top of my class.”
Trujillo felt similarly about her selection as salutatorian. She felt these past four years in high school meant something.
“It’s really going to help us in our next four years of college,” Trujillo said.
Cervantes’ favorite subject in school is band. She was in band for eight years and has known members of the program since her family moved to Gonzales in 2002. Her favorite subject academically is English.
“I just love writing and reading,” she said. “It’s so much better to feel something in your hand and read it then watch a movie about it.”
Trujillo’s favorite subject is cinema arts, filming and broadcasting news.
This is her first year in the elective class and spent time feeling frustrated with the class because it was so new and took a lot of after-school time.
“It’s allowed me to get more skills filming, editing, being able to talk in front of a camera, and has allowed me to meet new people,” Trujillo said.
Both Cervantes and Trujillo take the Introduction to Media Careers and found that it was time consuming with how long it would take to film, edit, turn in a draft, receive critiques from their fellow classmates and turn in a final draft.
The two top students also take Transition to College Math, and Trujillo said that class was her most difficult class this year.
“It’s not just math,” Trujillo said. “It’s math plus a bunch of other college stuff we’ve never learned before.”
When asked what it takes to be the top students, Cervantes said studying has come somewhat naturally but credits discipline. She will sometimes put not getting tasks done or getting a grade on her shoulders more than her parents and teachers would. Cervantes also emphasized knowing what style works for her learning.
Trujillo said for her it took perseverance to be the top student and how much she wanted to be in that position.
Cervantes will attend California State University Fresno in the fall with a major in criminology and behavioral science. Trujillo will join University of California Davis as a political science and public service major.
