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Superior’s Valedictorian Allison Martinez is cool and calm while Salutatorian Dominic Perea jumps for joy.
Superior High School’s 2017 Valedictorian Allison Martinez and Salutatorian Dominic Perea are two students who have big plans for their future.
Allison Martinez, this year’s Superior High School Valedictorian, is an articulate and very bright 18-year-old who is excited about graduating and taking the next steps towards her dreams of one day becoming a Doctor. The daughter of Alfredo and Lorena Martinez, Allison was born and raised in Superior. She has two siblings, an older brother who teaches pilots for a living, and a younger brother, who will be a Junior next year.
When asked what she enjoyed most about high school Allison says, “Participating in DECA because we get to travel around the US.” Allison was the President of DECA this year, and during her time in DECA, she traveled with the group to Seattle, California, and Nashville. But it’s not just the traveling she is going to miss. Allison goes on to say, “I’m going to miss being able to compete and being able to meet other people and network and going to workshops.”
The Graduation Ceremony is right around the corner and when talk turned to cap and gowns Allison mentioned that many Superior students decorate their caps with words or even bedazzle them. Allison was not sure if she was going to decorate her own cap, but if she did the word Belle would be on it. Belle is the Disney character in Beauty and the Beast. When asked why Belle, Allison explained, “I like Belle because she is not afraid to be herself, she likes to stand out, she likes to read, and she doesn’t want to fit in with the norm that anyone has, and she doesn’t care what people say about her.” It’s obvious that Allison has many of these traits herself, a young woman who is not afraid to speak her mind and has clear goals for her future. When Allison was younger she wanted to be a Veterinarian, but as she grew up she realized she wanted to help people and her dreams turned to medical school.
Valedictorian Allison Martinez and Salutatorian Dominic Perea.
After graduation Allison is heading off to Grand Canyon University for the Fall of 2017 enrollment. She is entering college as a premed student with hopes of one day graduating with a degree in Science and Biology. And after college, her education will not stop as she plans to take the MCATs and continue onto medical school. But the college route is not going to be an easy one for Allison since now a day’s full ride scholarships are hard to come by. Allison has been given the Chancellor Scholarship from Grand Canyon University that will only pay a portion of her college tuition. To pay for the rest of her schooling, Allison is currently applying for more scholarships, and she plans to work. This summer you will find her working as a lifeguard at the local Pool.
Allison says the advice she wished she had gotten while still in high school, “I wish someone had told me to start applying for scholarships freshman year.”
When Allison comes back to Superior after graduating medical school, she hopes to see that the high school has, “A lot more programs and a lot more classes for kids to expand their knowledge, so that way when they go to college or university, they’ll know what they are dealing with, and they won’t struggle. They will be prepared to go to college, and they will have more opportunities.”
This year’s Salutatorian, Dominic Perea is both an athlete and an academic. A focused and driven young man, during his high school career Dominic played Football, Tennis, and Basketball. He was also involved with DECA, FCCLA, The National Honor Society, the Student Body, as well as the Robotics Club.
Born and raised in Superior, Dominic is the son of Michael Perea, and Step Mother Brianne Fernandez, and the late Mary Lant. A very active student, who successfully juggled both sports and academics, Dominic says a big motivation in his life is his mother Mary Lant who passed away of Cancer when he was just 12 years old. Dominic works hard every day to make his mother proud.
In his Junior and Senior years, Dominic’s football team made the Semifinals, this year his basketball team made the quarterfinals, and his tennis team beat one of the number one teams in the state. One of the things Dominic enjoyed most about his high school years is building life lasting bonds with his teammates. When asked about his teammates Dominic says he considers them brothers, “I wouldn’t consider them as friends anymore, they are family to me. They have always been there for me.”
When it comes to his academic world, Dominic’s says, “My biggest help was my Step Mother Brianne.” His Step Mother was there all along the way to keep him on track and help him stay focused. Academically Dominic’s favorite class was Mr. Palmer’s History class. Dominic says Mr. Palmer is, “probably more like a college teacher. Your work is due each day no exceptions.” Which brings us to the advice Dominic would give to incoming freshman students, “Do not procrastinate.” He realized his freshman year he needed to stop procrastinating. He went on to explain, “I’ve always been good grade wise since Junior High, but I procrastinated a lot, and I wasn’t getting out my best work.” That’s when he realized his Freshman year he needed to stop doing last minute work, and start really trying and giving his best efforts in the classroom.
Dominic knew he wanted to be an architect/engineer early on. He says his family would “always buy Legos and all this cool stuff that had to do with building, and it just sparked something in me.” It made him realize he wanted to build things when he got older.
Dominic is heading to Central Arizona College on two-year Academic Tuition Award by the CAC Foundation. Once he is finished at CAC, Dominic plans to move on to finish his degree at Arizona State University.
When Dominic comes back to Superior after college, he says, “It’s not really that I want the town to change when I come back, I want to change the town myself. I want to be an architect engineer. I want to leave my footprint in Superior. Build something that will stand for years after I’m gone.”
The two students will speak at the commencement ceremony set for Friday, May 26, at 7 p.m. at the Superior Football Stadium.
We wish these two students and the rest of the Class of 2017 the best of luck.
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