‘Hall of Fame’ Ceremony Inspires Seniors

By Alexis Vargas & Emely Villanueva

On Sunday, Nov. 5, Pueblo High School held its 6th annual “Hall of Fame” Induction ceremony at the Desert Diamond Casino Conference Center.

Select Pueblo students and faculty members were invited to a morning entertainment by Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School, brunch, and the opportunity to meet all 10 of this year’s inductees as well as to hear their inspirational acceptance speeches.

This year’s inductees were part of PHS Classes ranging from 1959 to 1999 and have carried the “Warrior” role to greater heights in life, many of whom attended prestigious universities and received their doctorate degrees.

Sadly, one inductee, Rudy Valenzuela (Class of 1979), recently passed away, but his daughter gladly accepted the award.

While delivering their speeches, Pueblo students were inspired by their words of advice, insight into personal hardships they were forced to overcome, and return to Tucson after making accomplishments.

Aritza Nunez, a senior in the Pueblo College Preparatory Academy, said, “I felt proud of the Hall of Fame inductees because in learning their stories because they made me realize that even throughout all their hardships and challenges, they were still able to be successful despite facing adversity.”

Another senior in the Pueblo College Preparatory Academy, Paola Salazar, said, “I was moved by the inductees at the Hall of Fame ceremony—their stories and struggles and how they were able to persevere and still accomplish their goals and be successful in their own ways.”

She added, “I will take those inspirational speeches by this year’s inductees with me into my own college career and persevere as they have.”

Congratulations to our new Pueblo Hall of Fame inductees (in alphabetical order):

Manuel A. Amado (Class of 1981), Jody A. Corrales (Class of 1999), Dr. Evangline M. Ortiz- Dowling (Class of 1987), Dr. Jose Ignacio Duran (Class of 1974), Dr. Frank L Rincon (Class of 1963), Dr. Rogelio Samorano (Class of 1995), Juan Soto (Class of 1972), Larry D. Stark (Class of 1983), Edward G. Trejo (Class of 1959) and Rudy Valenzuela (Class of 1979).

Future Wildcats Honored At Assembly

By Emely Villanueva

On Thursday, Sept. 28, Pueblo High School seniors were treated to an assembly to celebrate their acceptance to the University of Arizona. At that time, 63 Warriors had applied and been accepted.

Among the 63 seniors was Aritza Nuñez, who found out she had been accepted to the U of A earlier in September.

“It’s surreal that I’ll be attending the University of Arizona,” Nuñez said. “I’m glad that I’ll be in good condition when I start my college career next fall as so many of my friends will be with me.”

Students who were accepted to the U of A had an opportunity to see different programs and centers at the U of A. The Guerrero and SALT Center, Financial Aid Office, Housing Office, and the Frank Honors college as well as many other organizations offered information for future Wildcats.

Seniors were also given many “goodies” from their U of A admission counselor, which included a tote bag. Students were also able to receive lanyards and candies. Students were free to snap pictures with different U of A props and their friends and family. This event was orchestrated by College and Career Center coordinator Mr. Manuel Avala-Miranda and the U of A Admissions Office.

Since late September, approximately 30 other Pueblo students have been accepted to the University of Arizona, said Avila-Miranda.

“Another 100 or so seniors have applied to the U of A,” he added, “and we’re working on getting even more students to apply.”

He added, “I feel very proud of students who have decided to apply to Ivy League colleges and universities because I believe all students have the potential to apply to top-tier learning institutions. It makes me feel proud for students to discover their potential and confidence, and those students can represent our community and go on to make a bigger positive impact in our society from earning their college degrees.”

Ms. Victoria Leon, one of the Next Steps advisors at the University of Arizona, said, “We’re all so happy to know that even more students are applying to the University and other colleges. This reflects Pueblo’s College and Career goal of having 99.99 percent of students having a plan for post-secondary educational goals—whether it be at a college or a trade school. We’re here to help students choose the right path.”

Paola Salazar, currently ranked number one in her PHS senior class, found out she was accepted to the University of Arizona in mid-August.

“Even though I’m a senior, it doesn’t seem possible that I’ll be in college in less than a year,” said Salazar.

She added that she is flattered to have been accepted to the University of Arizona but is keeping her collegiate options open, including Ivy League colleges on the East Coast.

“I haven’t signed anything in ink yet,” Salazar said, “but I’ve always loved the U of A.”

Pueblo Administration Cracks Down On Tardies

By Dulce Florez and Aileen Ortiz

It’s hard to ignore the long lines formed outside the front office each morning, often exceeding 200 students.

These students are not there for exercise; they are tardy.

Beginning Oct. 23, Pueblo administration began enforcing the new tardy policy.

Assistant principal Meg Tully, who helps enforce this policy, said, “We [administration] needed to send a message to students about their excessive tardies.”

Students who arrive at 8:10 a.m. or thereafter (on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; and on Wednesdays after 8:50) will have to stand in line in order to receive a time-stamped color-coded pass when they at last arrive at the health office lobby.

“Tardies have been a huge problem for Pueblo for many years,” said Tully. “We administrators are helping out teachers in terms of hopefully changing student behavior.”

Once students arrive at the health office lobby after standing in line for as long as 20 minutes, students will need to have their ID or Student Vue scanned, at which time they will receive a time-stamped colored pass to be admitted to their classes.

Not everybody is happy about the policy.

Junior Jessica Palomares said, “This new tardy policy is stupid. It’s all a waste of time because it’s making students even later to their first period of the day. I don’t understand why it’s so inconvenient for teachers to mark students late.”

However, some students see the logic in the policy.

Jose Urquijo, a junior, said, “I think that the new tardy rules are better because we will see better behavior among the students, and thus we will have a better education and more control over the students who have a really bad habit of coming to school late.”

However, Tully and the other administrators are very “enthusiastic” about the new tardy policy and remind students that this policy will continue “indefinitely”.

“We have seen a drop of tardy students over the past few weeks,” Tully said. “In the beginning, there were an average of about 260 students tardy, and now that number is about 220 students, which is still high but still an improvement.”

Ms. Ramirez Strikes Again: Becoming An Author

By Alexis Vargas

As a mother of two sons, a beloved teacher, and owner of Calle Coffee, Ms. Celisa Ramirez is now fulfilling her dream of being an author.

She said that her book is about grief and a certain club, and one enters this worst club in the world.

“When I was 17 years old, the day before my senior year of high school started, my mom unexpectedly passed away,” Ramirez said.

Since her loss, Ramirez has been moved to help those enduring a similar hardship in their life because it is what she feels she needed to do during that time.

“My new goal is to have my book written by the 20th anniversary of my mother’s death,” Ramirez said. “I’ve written part of it, but I still have to have my nana, who is a published author, read it because she’s my peer editor.”

Ramirez said that her students have been her biggest inspiration and a constant motivation to continue working on the project.

Over her years as a teacher, Ramirez said that she loves offering advice to her students who are lacking the confidence to begin their own aspirations.

Ramirez said, “You can be more than one thing. All the parts of you matter, even the parts that you are not very proud of. What happened to me wasn’t anything I wanted to happen, but I’m trying to make something positive from my own traumatic experiences.”

CBI Warriors Strike A Pose On Halloween

By Adam Bonillas

Students (and teachers, too!) love it when Halloween falls on a school day (this year, a Tuesday)—as they have the opportunity of boasting some very creative costumes to their peers and teachers.

This year was no exception.

Some of the most Halloween-spirited students were PHS’s CBI students, who definitely showed off their costumes to the Pueblo community.

CBI teacher Mr. David Hooper said, “Our [CBI] kids had a great time playing different games on Halloween and at the dance—as well as showing off their great costumes.”

New Dean At PHS Receives ‘Big’ Welcome

By Jonathan Redondo

The 2023-24 school year is definitely a school year of “new hires” at PHS. One of the more than two dozen new faces to grace our campus is our new Dean of Students, Mr. Simon Arriola.

Coming from Austin, Tex., Arriola is bringing “big” plans from the state where everything is bigger. He oversees all disciplinary actions at Pueblo, focusing on keeping students productive and maintaining order on campus.

“If you aren’t in trouble, there’s a good chance you don’t know me,” Arriola said half-jokingly.

Arriola said his first impressions at Pueblo were positive.

“It was clear from my first few days at Pueblo that this great school has many diligent students, and they have multiple opportunities to be successful,” he said. “The sheer number of students hoping to graduate and move on in their next chapter of life is very impressive.”

He added that the College Preparatory Academy is one example of offering students big opportunities for success.

“I already feel like a Warrior,” Arriola said. “I’m excited about helping students strive for excellence and success.”