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Valedictorian Korteney Urquijo and Salutatorian Jesse Aguilar have a little fun before heading full steam ahead into their futures. (Mila Besich Lira photo)
By Mila Besich Lira
Kourtney Urquijo and Jesse Aguilar have been named the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for the Superior High School class of 2013. The two have bright futures ahead and both are planning on becoming registered nurses.
The two will address their class, faculty, family and friends on Friday, May 24, 2013. Urquijo has had her Valedictorian speech prepared for several weeks. Aguilar is still working on his.
While they have had a relatively small class, only 22 graduating seniors, the two reminisced about their school memories during their interview. When asked what advice they would give to incoming freshmen, Urquijo said “Work hard, your freshman year counts the most, and make lots of memories.”
Both agreed that high school is a great time to make memories and they will miss the carefree days of high school.
“College will require us to be more responsible,” explained Aguilar as the two discussed their college plans. Urquijo has been accepted to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, where she recently received a $40,000 scholarship. Aguilar plans on using his Promise for the Future scholarship from Central Arizona College then he plans on transferring to GCU as well.
The two are looking forward to the new responsibilities college will bring. “You have to be responsible for yourself in college,” Urquijo said.
There is no doubt that these two have what it takes to succeed in college. The two have held leadership positions in various clubs and organizations at SHS and have excelled athletically all while remaining in the top two spots in their class.
These distinguished positions did not come without having role models and support systems, “My role model is my older sister, Christin,” explained Urquijo, also a graduate of SHS and is currently in her Junior year at GCU. “She started with nothing and has worked hard for what she has earned”
For Aguilar, his role models and biggest supporters are his parents. “They always push me to do my very best,” he said. “I like making them proud.”
Both of the students agreed that they see a lot of potential in Superior for the future but are not sure there will be jobs for them in their future. The duo plans on keeping in touch with their classmates and the community through social media such as Facebook.
In an instant, their high school years seemed to have flown by and in a few weeks they will leave SHS as graduates. There is no doubt they will miss friends but they are excited to move forward into the future.
“This is just the beginning it is a whole new chapter,” Urquijo said. “We finally made it,” Aguilar added, “thanks to everyone who supported us.”
Urquijo is the daughter of Jennifer Urquijo. Aguilar is the son of Tommy and Cassie Aguilar.
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