During last Friday’s rally, Don Antonio Lugo’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian were announced. Both of these students have demonstrated the utmost of dedication to this school for the past four years by devoting many hours at home to studying while still finding the time to stay involved with multiple programs around school. With all of the work both have put towards this school, it should be no surprise they are receiving these honored distinctions.

The student announced as Salutatorian for Don Antonio Lugo High School’s class of 2016 was Meghna Patel. While at Lugo, she’s been involved with the basketball team, Key Club, CSF, and National Honor Society . Of the programs she’s been a part of, she said basketball and Key Club would have to be her favorite as they have have been a big part of her life and have had the most impact on her.

After high school, Meghna plans to attend UCLA and major in psychobiology so she can work towards a career in the medical field. What attracts her to medical field the belief that one’s health should never impede someone from achieving goals or finding happiness, which is why she wants to help provide care for others to ensure they reach their full potential.

When asked how it felt to be receiving the distinction of being this year’s Salutatorian, she said,  “I don’t really know how that happened. But I guess I’m just happy that all the stress and hard work paid off in the end, and I’m honored to be named class salutatorian.”

The student announced as Valedictorian for Don Antonio Lugo High School’s class of 2016 was Evelyn Guerra. During her time in Lugo, she’s had involvement in National Honor Society, Key Club, and Academic Decathlon. Her favorite being Academic Decathlon as she enjoyed being able to learn about a more diverse set of subjects than she would have seen in a traditional classroom setting and formed a lasting bond with her teammates.

She plans to attend Cal Poly Pomona after graduation and would like to major in computer science in order to pursue her dream job as a statistician. What attracted her to this line of work was an insatiable curiosity as she is always wondering what’s going to happen next. She feels that with statistics, although not always completely accurate, she can have a grasp of what the future holds and that it feels almost like a superpower using numbers to her advantage in such a manner.

When asked how it feels receiving the honor of being Valedictorian, she said, “I’m not sure how to describe it. I can definitely say that I am proud of myself for proving that I was able to make it this far even when I felt like all my homework and responsibilities were getting overwhelming. And I can also say that it makes me extremely happy to know that my parents’ hard work toward helping me accomplish my educational endeavors has paid off.”

As the school year comes to a close, the school prepares to say farewell, not only to the class of 2016, but to these two bright young students as well. Their four years of work, stress, and dedication have put them well on track to achieving their goals. I have no doubt that the school was proud to commend the most hard-working students Lugo has to offer.