Hollister High School announces Top 10 students in the class of 2024

Information provided by Hollister High School, which first appeared in its May 22 newsletter. Lea este articulo en español aquí

I am proud to announce Hollister High School’s Top 10 students in the Class of 2024, based on grade point average and other academic factors. The Top 10 seniors, in alphabetical order, are: Maryam Baryal, Alexandra Favela, Lucas Fowler, Emily Hinchberger, Kendra Melching, Isaac Nordstrom, Noah Ramirez, Estevan Rodriguez, Maya Rosette, and Grace Sugiura. The academic success of these students is just part of their story. They not only excel in the classroom, but on the athletic field, in their community and with local clubs and organizations. They are examples that every day is a great day to be a Baler!

Maryam will attend the University of California, Berkeley and major in political science and economics. Her most memorable accomplishment in high school was winning an award for courtroom journalist at the California State Mock Trial Competition. She also enjoyed working alongside community members at San Benito County’s election polling places. Maryam said she will miss seeing her best friends and teachers every day in class. In 10 years, she sees herself “working as either a lawyer or in public policy research.” Maryam thanks her parents for their sacrifices and her siblings — “especially my brother Nouman — for being my best friend growing up.” She said the support of teachers at Hollister High “made a world of difference in my education.”

Alexandra will attend the University of California, Santa Cruz, and major in environmental science with a minor in math. Her most memborable accomplishment during high school was receiving National Hispanic recognition from the College Board. She said she will miss her friends, the experiences she got to share with them in class and at events outside of school. In 10 years, Alexandra sees herself with a Ph.D. in environmental science, working toward a successful future in sustainability. She also wants to “travel the world to broaden  my knowledge on different environmental issues.” She thanked “all of my teachers who have guided me and gotten me where I am today, Especially Mr. Gauvreau, my AP Environmental Science teacher, and Mrs. Vandercook, my AP Calculus teacher,  who both had a huge impact on my upcoming college plans.” Alexandra also thanked family for their continuous love and support. She added that “Hollister High school and its teachers offered me many opportunities to excel and grow in my education,” while also helping her enjoy what she was learning.

Lucas will attend the University of California, Berkeley and major in math. His most memorable accomplishment in high school was becoming the programming lead in the Robotics Club and “helping to create experienced programmers on the team.” In 10 years, “I’ll try to go to bed one night, thinking in math equations, and I’ll experience a eureka. Then, I’ll stay up the rest of the night pulling theorems out of who-knows-where, making a pivotal moment on an idea I was working on. Then, the morning appears, and I set out, drowsy, to teach a class of college freshmen how to perform partial fraction decomposition to find antiderivatives of certain rational functions.” Lucas thanked his parents for providing the environment he needed to succeed. He thanked his math teacher Mrs. Sigourney; Mr. Lasley “for making U.S. History enjoyable”; and Mr. Edwards for inspiring his passion for physics. Lucas added, “To learn unnecessary things is not a waste of time. The more one learns, the better one is at reasoning, conceptualizing, and learning. I feel like I’ve taken a lot of classes that aren’t really going to matter much to me in the future, but, in each of them, I strengthened my ability in each of these things. My AP English classes have heightened my ability to make arguments about specific literary or rhetorical choices. My AP history and science classes have improved my ability to think about and relate to foreign ideas or concepts. All of my classes have led me to have a greater understanding of approaching the unfamiliar. And, overall, it is simply fun to learn, so I have no regrets in learning the useless.”

Emily will attend Brigham Young University, where she will major in physics and astronomy. She said that “As cliche as it is, I am going to miss my friends. I have become so close with so many amazing people in my time here and I will be parting ways with a majority of those people. I am sad to move away from them, but I am so excited to see who we all will become.” She said that in 10 years, she hopes to have “built a life for myself that I love, with a degree, career, and — above all– people, that I love.” Emily thanked “all my amazing teachers that I have had throughout my time here. I appreciate you all so much for the support and the motivation you have given me. There are far too many wonderful teachers to fully list, but each and every one of you have had such an immense impact on me and the lives of all of your students.” She did give a special thank you to her ASL teacher Spenser Simmons, “who was such an amazing source of kindness and support. I appreciate your guidance so much and am eternally grateful for the love you show all of your students every time we step into your classroom. I hope to carry such a bright and kind light within myself as I go onto my next adventures.” Emily also thanked her AP Physics teacher, Tate Edwards, whom she called “such a motivating presence for all of your students, pushing us to challenge ourselves and step out of our comfort zone because ‘only when you step outside your comfort zone, living begins and existing stops.’ So again, thank you for pushing us to not just exist, but to live.” Emily added that “education has always been one of my biggest priorities, and I am grateful to have attended a school that has given me many opportunities to pursue my education to my fullest potential.”

Kendra will attend the University of British Columbia, majoring in applied biology. She said she is proud to have captained the cross country team this year. “My teammates all have a special place in my heart, and we worked so hard to win Gabilan League this year. I couldn’t be prouder.” In 10 years, she hopes to be a geneticist, as her time at Hollister High, “developed my love for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and gave me the resources I needed to pursue it.” Kendra thanked her parents “for their relentless encouragement, my brother for always listening to my rants and staying up late to teach me math, all the teachers that kindly answered my endless questions, Coach Chavez for his genuine support, and my best friend Jimena for making me smile through it all.”

Isaac will attend Brigham Young University, with a currently undeclared major. His most memorable accomplishment in high school was being named first-team all-league in water polo. He said he will miss his friends and Mr. Edwards and in 10 years he hopes to be graduating from medical school. Isaac thanked his dad, mom, family and Mr. Edwards, whom he recalled once said “Be 100 percent devoted to the people you love; that’s the meaning of life.” Isaac said that during his four years at Hollister High, “I received not only an outstanding academic education, but also an education on many life skills that will be with me my whole life such as being responsible, having integrity and the value of hard work.”

Noah will attend the University of California, Davis, majoring in mechanical engineering. His most memorable accomplishment during high school was “not giving up,” he said. Adding that he will most miss performing with his band, “Spanish Feelings.” In 10 years, Noah hopes to be “contentedly employed, and living somewhere with lots of trees.” He thanked his parents for “gifting me their work ethic and compassion” and cited a quote Mr. Edwards shared with him: “Never let the moment be bigger than you. You’re bigger than than.” Noah said “The value of my education as a top 10 student at HHS is not what school I will get into. The true value of my education at HHS is worth less than a 4.0 in this school system. That’s because a decent bulk of my GPA consists of scores in classes that in my opinion won’t contribute much to my success as an engineer. I did more than anybody expected of me in order to end up in the top 10. More importantly, I did more than I needed to in order to be a successful person. For that reason, the true value of my education is just as much as that of anyone who doesn’t make the top 10, but works hard and learns enough to have a career.”

Estevan will attend Santa Clara University, majoring in mechanical engineering. He said he is “most proud of how I’ve balanced academic excellence, extracurricular activities and responsibilities, and a social life all throughout high school. Along with strong performance in school, I prioritize being with my loved ones. Finding a way to achieve a balance between the two was very important to me.”  He is proud that he’s been able to “maintain strong grades in the school’s most challenging courses, go work out and compete in after-school sports, lead the school’s California Scholarship Federation club, and spend hours laughing and talking with friends and family.  Although I might balance my responsibilities differently in the future, I know my priorities won’t change; I’ll still value my loved ones, my professional and academic work, and my determination to excel in all I do.” Estevan said that in 10 years, he hopes to have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering and hopefully will be “travelling throughout the world, implementing technology in different regions to help those in need.” He said his time at HHS “has largely set me on the path I am today.  I’ve been so lucky to meet such great friends and teachers.  I have my roots planted at this school and I’m excited to grow as a student and person moving forward.” He thanked Christine Dukes for her guidance and for treating students in her class “not just as students, but as extensions of her family, often connecting with them on personal levels and providing guidance wherever and whenever needed.” He also thanked AP Spanish Literature teacher Iris Orozco for delivering curriculum “that connected me with my culture in a meaningful way” and Mr. Edwards for “motivating students to be the best versions of themselves; to never quit.”

Maya will attend the University of California, Berkeley, and major in Environment and Society. She said she is most proud “of my time as a libero on the varsity girls volleyball team. Seeing myself improve at my position, mentally and physically, was one of the most rewarding things I accomplished throughout my high school career.” Maya said that in 10 years, she sees herself “either working for or running a nonprofit that focuses on spreading environmentalism and sustainable concepts to disenfranchised communities.” She also wants to travel the world. She thanked her family, “especially my mom and sisters who’ve given me their unconditional support throughout these years. I truly wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I also want to thank my best friend Mckayla, for bringing laughter and happiness into my life when I needed it the most. I know we’d be best friends in every universe, and I’m so glad I get to share this one with you. Lastly, I want to thank all my teachers for the time and care they pour into their classes; it really does make a difference.” Regarding her time at HHS, Maya said, “I got to understand the value of my high school education my senior year, when I started to see the subjects and concepts of each class overlap and lend themselves to each other. The value of my Hollister High education wasn’t in the grades I received; it was in the small pieces of information that I could take away from each class into my everyday life.”

Grace will attend Santa Clara University and major in finance. She said her most memorable accomplishment during high school was “getting Mr. Shores’ first clean 4.0 in my English 10A class.” Grace said she will “miss the teachers that helped shape me into the person I am today. I would not be where I am without the instructors who helped me.” In 10 years, she said she sees herself living contentedly with my spouse and our cat army. I hope to be successful. Success cannot be measured in money, but in love and happiness. Career-wise, I hope to have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in finance to become a financial advisor later in life.” Grace thanked Carissa Alvarez, her ninth-grade English teacher, “for helping me rediscover my passion for English. She pushed me to succeed when I initially lacked motivation. Additionally, I would like to thank Mr. Shores, who helped me realize that class is not just a place where you push out work but also have fun and genuinely savor the moment. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank Mr. Edwards. He is not only a remarkable teacher, but a masterful motivational speaker: ‘The most important thing you can do going forward is give your best effort every single day, take pride in everything you sign your name on, and don’t ever give up.’” Grace noted that the clubs at Hollister High School helped her find new opportunities. “I want to give a special shoutout to CSF (California Scholarship Federation) and its president, Estevan Rodriguez, who motivated me to get the State Seal of Civic Engagement. I would not have known this opportunity if it weren’t for him.”