SAN BENITO — The time has come for two San Benito seniors to say goodbye to high school and hello to Notre Dame and Yale universities.
As transitions go, valedictorian Jennifer Torres and salutatorian Aaron Adame, both 18, admit being a part of two hugely popular institutions will be a great and exciting adjustment.
But these two are not scared.
In fact, they are both very confident in their choices.
Adame, who has visited Yale once already, described walking past the initial gates and feeling at home.
“When I entered the gates the bells were ringing and they sounded so pretty and it was in that moment I knew,” he said.
“It will be hard at first but I visited and already have friends there,” Torres said of Notre Dame. “My first falling in love experience was when it snowed there.”
Both have high hopes when they go off to school. Adame hopes to meet new people and Torres looks forward to the traditions and football games.
Being the top students of the senior class requires a lot of work and dedication. Like most, the journey to the top starts earlier, in 10th or 11th grade.
As a freshman, you don’t really worry about rank, said Adame.
“Eleventh-grade is when I started to worry more and I learned that AP classes were worth more, so I took all of them,” he said.
“You have to be really strategic about which AP classes you take,” Torres agreed.
A bulk of their time in high school was spent mostly on studying.
“Junior year, you go hard at studying,” Torres said.
While she climbed to the top, Torres said she also worked, putting more pressure to succeed on her shoulders.
However, there were those times during the year when they made time for friends and fun.
Adame and Torres have known each other since they were freshmen.
Although, they admit they are not very close, they agree, it helps, being in this together, to lean on each other for support, and cheer each other on.
In their respective colleges, both students will study topics in science, Torres, a mechanical engineering and chemistry major and Adame, a molecular biophysics major, who also is considering medical school.
As an engineer, Torres said she wants to lend a hand to Engineers without Borders, an organization that partners with developing countries to build a better world through engineering projects.
While Torres attends school at Notre Dame, Adame will attend school at Yale. Both say they’ll miss San Benito, their hometown, very much.
“I’ll miss the friends I’ve grown up with,” Torres said. “The teachers, I had many I liked,” Adame said.
Their teachers, they said, were a major support system throughout the years.
“They were more supportive than anyone else,” Torres said. “They would be there any time offering tutoring and help.”
Some, Adame said, offered their support on the weekends and whenever he needed that extra help.
