Hollister High grad bound for Cornell University

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Cristina Terrones has joked with her family about the difference between her and her future roommate’s journeys to the Ivy League’s Cornell University. 

“She had an internship at Stanford, and I just moved from Mexico to the United States,” Terrones told them. 

In March, Terrones was accepted at Cornell in Ithaca, New York, where she’ll be studying statistics. Graduating this month from Hollister High School, she said she wasn’t expecting to get into the school.

“When we went touring all of the out-of-state colleges in February, I remember my dad kept telling me, ‘Buy a shirt, buy something from Cornell.’ And I’m, like, ‘No, I don’t want to spend money, because they’re not going to accept me,’” Terrones said.

Now, Terrones wishes she’d bought a shirt. 

In the running joke with her family, Terrones is alluding to the challenge of not only learning a new language, but also adjusting to a new environment. She immigrated when she was 12, though her parents separated when she was four. Her father moved to the U.S. for better economic opportunities. 

After years of visiting him during holidays, Terrones decided she wanted to relocate permanently. Eventually, she got her citizenship. 

However, her first year in the U.S. wasn’t easy. The pandemic hit when she was in seventh grade. Later on, while visiting Mexico for the holidays, three of her relatives died, two of them from COVID. She contracted the virus herself and couldn’t get back into the U.S. while she was still testing positive. 

Terrones said she was a quiet student for her first few years in the U.S.

“I was really shy, because I was also learning a new language and trying to adapt to a new everything, new environment, new everything. And so I didn’t get involved at all.”

This was not her approach to school before she’d moved. In elementary school, Terrones said, she was very involved.

“I was a classroom leader, and I was always trying my best to have First Place in my class and everything,” she said. “I always liked to participate in the shows that we had. I always wanted to be the kid that got to talk in the microphone.”

One comfort that she found at school after immigrating was math. Her love for math came in part from her father, who is a civil engineer.

“Learning math and just looking at the numbers, it felt familiar,” she said. “And so since seventh grade, that was my strongest subject at school. And also, in Mexico, I remember when we had math and we would have competitions. I was the most competitive student in that classroom.”

High school was where Terrones came into her own as a student. She gradually began breaking out of her shell, trying out new activities. She joined Hollister High’s Ritmo Latino Dance Team during her freshman year, which she said gave her a stronger sense of community. 

Terrones said she is grateful for the many opportunities Hollister High provided her. As one who relishes the opportunity to try new things, she was able to go for multiple leadership positions, including water polo, which she’d never played before. She eventually was elected Junior Class president, and Student Congress president the following year.

Terrones said her approach to life is to embrace new experiences, even if they’re scary. 

“Because, of course, you’re gonna be scared, it’s natural, but I think being scared is also part of growth. So I think if you’re not scared, then you’re not growing.” 

That is also how Terrones approached Advanced Placement classes. She saw them as a positive challenge. 

Her drive for new experiences is partly why she wanted to attend college outside of California. She said she’s both nervous and excited to move across the country. Terrones will move to Ithaca later in June. 

“I’m scared about not knowing my way around,” she said. “But I’m also really excited to build a new routine and get used to another environment.”

The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour, United Way, Taylor Farms and the Emma Bowen Foundation.