Class of 2023 – Pueblo High School

December 2023 Grads: On Their Way

By Briana L. Barreda

On Tuesday, Dec. 19, more than a dozen Pueblo High School students earned their secondary education diploma, and most attended a graduation ceremony the same day—held at Catalina High School, along with more than 100 other students from across TUSD.

Congratulations to the following December graduates:

Bryssa Alcantar; Jacob Amado; Angel Avalos Dorame; Kara Bertsch; Daritza Bravo Zavala; Moses Carpintero Sainz; Mariana Heredia; Krystal Hidalgo-Enriquez; Adrian Perez; Esteven Ruiz Hong; Steven Redondo; Jaime Rivera; Nathaly Salazar; and Senida Santiago.

Most of these students needed an extra semester to fulfill credit requirements, and a few, like Kara Bertsch, graduated a semester early.

Bertsch said that she has saved enough money to live on her own and to attend college and eventually join the military.

“College is my ultimate goal, and so is serving my country in the military,” said Bertsch. “I decided to graduate a semester early because I feel mature enough to do so.”

Bertsch describes her three and half years at Pueblo as “exciting” and “fun”. She enjoyed her participation in sports, including swim and football as well as being part of Student Council and enrolling in AP classes.

“My experience here all of my four years went really well, considering all the positive experiences and opportunities I have gained,” Bertsch said.

Despite an amazing high school experience, Bertsch said that she has also endured some hard times and acknowledges Mr. Abel Escalante for support and encouragement.

“I thank Mr. Escalante for being there for me during my toughest times and encouraging me to meet my goals and graduate early,” Bertsch said.

As a Pueblo senior graduating early, Bertsch would like to give advice to her fellow Warriors struggling with challenges.

“I want to let everybody know that high school is important for you before going into the real world, so it is very important to finish strong. You’re almost there.”

Winter Sports Assembly Blows In The Wind

By Victoria Cazares

Pueblo High School’s second assembly of this school year, hosted on Feb. 17 on the football field, focused primarily on the successes of winter sports and generating school spirit for the triumphant programs this season.

Due to bad weather conditions—strong winds and very cool temperatures—some students did not enjoy the experience. Construction projects in the gym prevented the assembly from being inside.

Student Council President Marina Martinez said, “The wind made it hard to decorate, and having the assembly indoors would have been better. Usually the weather is beautiful in February. Unfortunately, we can’t predict the future when planning assemblies.”

The assembly was initiated by senior Gabriel Aguayo playing the National Anthem on his trumpet.

“I was very excited to play [at the assembly], although I was a bit nervous,” Aguayo said. “However, the hype from everybody inspired me to be my best and ended up sounding amazing.”

Throughout the assembly, winter sports were highlighted, and two games of “musical chairs” were played between each class, which helped students focus on school spirit instead of the windy, cold weather.

STUCO President Martinez said, “Everything ended up turning out great, and we hope we can generate even more school spirit at the next assembly.”

The Student Council representatives kept their class enthused, and in the end, the senior class of 2023 retained the “spirit stick”.

“My seniors really showed a lot of energy, excitement and pride for their class,” said senior Mia Rodriguez. “We were all serious about keeping the spirit stick.”

The assembly was curtailed about 15 minutes, and this disappointed a lot of students.

“We didn’t want to go into ‘overtime’ again,” said Martinez, “so the assembly ended long before it should have. Next time, we’ll need to come up with a ‘Plan B’ to fill the entire assembly time.”

Despite the bad weather and challenges with the assembly, students were still elated that they had a chance to show their Warrior spirit.

“The energy and excitement at the assembly was one of a kind,” said senior Mason Weisbrook. “I’ll never forget the chalk and baby powder and all of the seniors’ chants. We made the most of a rough situation [the weather] by having the assembly outside.”

Pueblo students look forward to the next assembly to commemorate the springs sports programs, which will be held sometime in April, according to Martinez. This final assembly will also celebrate the seniors, who will be just weeks away from graduating.

Class of 2023 Freshmen Finding Their Way Through First Semester

by Ismael Angulo & Alina Cuen

Every new school year at Pueblo High School, many freshmen seem to struggle to transition to high school—from being “kings/queens of the hill” in middle school to feeling insignificant as ninth graders in a new environment.

Even though we’re close to the end of the first semester, several freshmen admitted that they were challenged by their first few days at Pueblo back in August—including getting lost finding their classes or being confused about which lunch to take. Now, at the near-end of the first semester, most freshmen have found a routine and admit to enjoying their new school. Truly, they have found their ways…

Kortez Rodriguez, one of the more than nearly 500 freshmen this year at Pueblo, said, “This first quarter wasn’t as confusing as it could have been for me because a lot of upperclassmen helped guide me. Not all upperclassmen hate freshmen!”

Transitioning from a middle school to a high school can be a big milestone for many freshmen.

Freshman Eve Woods feels proud of herself to have earned a perfect GPA for first quarter, but she admits that she had her share of personal challenges.

“It was difficult to put myself out there,” Woods said. “But, in the end, I found that being involved in volleyball really helped me to meet new people.”

Woods suggest that all freshmen should become involved with an activity because it will help them to establish new friends and to help them feel that they are part of a community.

Another freshman, Issac Palomo, said that making new friends has been his biggest struggle.

“I came to Pueblo from Pueblo Gardens, and only friend from that school came with me here,” Palomo said.

“I plan to get involved with sports,” Palomo added, “and this will hopefully help me to make more friends at Pueblo.”

Pueblo counselor Ms. Marian Finley said that freshmen have many opportunities to transition smoothly into high school.

“Freshman Experience is a great program for incoming freshman, and this past summer, we had a record number of participants,” Finley said. “Each student gained high school exposure and one-half credit to start off their freshman year.”