December Graduation – 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.”

Senior Graduates Early, Off To The Marines

By Aubrey Medina & Dania Navarrette

Before Pueblo High School student Jacob Amado develops “senioritis” next semester, he has decided to graduate early and begin a five-year military commitment in the United States Marines Corp.

Amado, still 17, will earn his high school diploma at the end of this semester and head off to “boot camp” for three months in San Diego, Calif., next month.

“I have been committed to the military since the end of my sophomore year,” Amado said. “I had a feeling two years ago that I wouldn’t be able to stay focused in college, so my decision to serve my country has been a wise one. I don’t want to waste any time or money in college when I’m still not sure what life career I want to pursue.”

After boot camp and a brief break, Amado said he will then be stationed in Virginia for approximately five months before finding out his next assignment which could involve guarding American embassies around the world and a few years of infantry.

“Nothing is as hard as you might think it is,” Amado said, advising his peers that they should never abandon their dreams no matter how challenging they may seem to be.

Amado worked especially hard this past semester to complete his high school credits early.

“The moment I committed to a future in the military, I stayed focused on completing this [Pueblo High School] chapter of my life,” he said.

Amado said that he does plan to attend the district’s ceremony for December 2023 graduates at Catalina High School so that he could officially have “closure” to this part of his life.

Although he said he will miss his family, friends, dogs and the “comforts of home”, Amado is eager to venture to boot camp on January 8, 2024.

“There will always be something [in Tucson] to return to,” he said, “but this [military commitment] is the next chapter of my life.”

[Amado is the grandson of campus monitor Ms. Nellie Rivera.]

Pueblo Congratulates The Class Of ‘2021.5’

By Dayanara Gonzalez & Isaiah Sotelo

Like every school year, students come in as freshmen and graduate as seniors.

This school year, a handful of last semester’s seniors needed an extra four months to finalize their credit requirements before heading off into their next chapters of life.

Pueblo High School congratulates the following five students for their dedication and tenacity to earn their last few credits: Brian Soto Flores, Jason Daniel Cantua Beltran, George Cavin Molina, Miguel Alberto Perez and Juliana Eleanor Norris.

These five seniors will graduate on Dec. 16 along with other graduates across the district at a formal ceremony at Santa Rita High School at 6 p.m.

“I’m excited about graduating,” said Flores. “I’m looking forward to graduating because there were a few times I wanted to give up. Through a lot of self-dedication and encouragement from awesome teachers, I will be holding my diploma soon. I can then start my new life.”

For each of these five students, their adventure and commitment to graduate was a different story. Each student had his or her own obstacles to overcome and conquer.

“I might be graduating later than I had hoped, but sometimes other events intervene,” said Juliana Norris. “I just want to say that COVID-19 impacted a lot of people—especially me.”

Having a little more time than most seniors to ponder the future, all five of these graduates have definite plans for their futures.

“I am committed to joining the Marines,” said George Molina. “I’m going to have a few months to prepare for this new adventure before heading off to bootcamp.” He added, “My plans are to eventually become an audio engineer.”

Flores said, “I hope to leave Tucson and head up to Phoenix and begin a new life there.”

As these five graduates are ready to venture out into their new worlds, they are not without gratitude for their teachers who pushed them to this golden moment.

“I want to thank Mr. Medhi for the last four years,” Flores said. “I’m glad I got to spend time in his classes, learning how to be a better writer. He allowed me to be myself, and he always supported my love of music and astrology.”

Class Of 2016 Winter Graduation

By Yamilex Garcia and Omar Quintana

This semester, 12 potential Pueblo students will be marching to the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” at Catalina High School Auditorium on Thursday, December 22, 2016 at 6:00 p.m., along with all other December graduates in T.U.S.D.

Noah Kowaleski is one of those proud seniors who will be attending the ceremony.

“It’s about time that I graduate,” Kowaleski said. “LAZINESS and PROCRASTINATION—with capital letters—were my two best friends. Luckily, they moved away, far away, and I was able to focus on finishing my credits this semester.” He paused and said, “I plan to attend Pima next fall, after saving some money.”

Another senior on track to graduate, Hugo Reyes, said, “Noah [Kowaleski] and I had the same best friends last year—laziness and procrastination. Thank God these ‘friends’ moved, and I was able to stay on-task with my necessary classes and graduate.” He, too, said that he will attend Pima in the fall of 2017, eventually pursuing a degree in computer engineering.

Francisco Enriquez will be part of this ceremony, too. “My mom inspired me to finish. It was very important for her to watch me graduate because neither her nor my father graduated from high school. I also want to be an inspiration to my younger siblings. They should be able to see their older brother graduate from high school.”

Enrique paused and said that he plans to attend Pima Community College to pursue a career as a medical assistant. “I want to help others—it’s important that I fulfill this commitment,” he said.

The Pueblo Community holds out its hands to shake these students who have committed to graduating as Warriors, and we wish them the best of luck in their prodigious futures. The following 12 Pueblo students are potential December graduates:

Jose Manuel Aguirre Jr., Manuel Iram Burruel Leon, Danny Jesse Carpio, Francisco Ismael Enriquez Gonzalez, Irma Aide Garcia Corona, Cristian Garcia Del Villar, Giselle Mariscal, Noah Gabriel Montaño Kowaleski, Eathann Ahlexys Puentes, Hugo Reyes Jr., David Sanchez Figueroa & Alejandro Noel Selis.