This year’s graduating class is the class of 2024, and seniors have made some exciting decisions regarding their future schools and fields of study! Take a look at choices made by students here at Canyon Hills and elsewhere.
Daniel Jarquin
Senior Daniel Jarquin has announced his commitment to San Diego State University (SDSU), and is excited for his future after high school.
“I’ve been wanting to go to college since I was ten,” said Jarquin. “I took a tour of SDSU and really liked it.”
He declared his major as astronomy, so that he could further his interest in space.
“I’ve always been interested in science, specifically space, since I was little,” said Jarquin. “I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
Ian Williamson
Senior Ian Williamson will be attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) this upcoming fall and is pursuing a major in aerospace engineering.
“It is really good for hands-on engineering experience, which is something I’m looking forward to,” said Williamson. “I actually toured Cal Poly’s aerospace sector and it is what inspired me to pursue the field.”
The college is far from home, but Williamson’s excitement overpowers his nervousness for his next chapter.
“I think it’s just going to be very hard to grow accustomed to a completely new area,” said Williamson. “However, it is going to be fun and extremely rewarding in the long haul.”
Mason Sautter
Senior Mason Sautter is looking forward to his upcoming fall semester at UC San Diego.
“It was close and a very accredited college,” said Sautter. “I enjoy the campus and know it has a lot of educational opportunities.”
He will be pursuing computer engineering.
“I didn’t know what field of engineering to choose, and thought computer engineering sounded interesting,” said Sautter. “I know things about it already, so I went with it to see if I end up enjoying it.”
He is looking forward to his high school graduation in just a couple of weeks.
“I am excited to graduate high school because I’ll get to be more independent,” said Sautter. “I’m also just excited for school because I want to meet new people and set myself up for the future.”
Haiven Smith
Senior Haiven Smith has accepted her offer of admission to UC San Diego (UCSD) for the class of 2028.
“UCSD has been my dream school since I moved to California,” said Smith. “I love the atmosphere and the campus, and it’s one of the best schools in the country for my major, so it’s been something I’ve dreamed of getting into and I’m so happy I got accepted.”
She will be pursuing a major in marine biology.
“It’s something I’ve grown interested in over the past couple of years and it’s something I’d love to pursue,” said Smith. “I also am pretty much open to most of the jobs in the field so I feel like I have a lot of options and can explore them throughout my career.”
She is excited to start this next chapter in her life.
“I’m excited for graduation but also nervous because it’s such a big change,” said Smith. “But I think it’s something no one will ever be ready for until you take that leap, so I think it’ll be good for me to start this new chapter after high school and go on my own way.”
James Mah
Senior James Mah has committed to UC San Diego, joking that he felt “that they needed more important people added to their roster of students.”
“I chose this college because it was close to home,” said Mah. “It’s also kind of a family tradition, as my brother, sister, uncle, and assorted cousins all attended UCSD.”
He will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in human biology.
“I chose my major of human biology because I love drawing superheroes and understanding human anatomy and wanted to pursue a career in art, but my parents were very against the idea,” said Mah. “So, I chose the next best thing which was to study human body systems and how they work.”
He is excited to move beyond high school and look forward in his life, even if it’s bittersweet.
“I am way more excited for graduation than I thought I would be. The public education system really wore me out and I doubt I would be able to do a few more years of it even if I had to. My mind would shatter,” said Mah. “I thought I would be constantly crying and saddened over leaving this safety net of lower education where I have close friends and ties to teachers, but I am excited for what is next and came to terms with how this couldn’t go on forever. I can’t wait to be on that grind set with a job where I make money and try to support my future life. It’s like a mobile game but with higher stakes.”
Cecilia Moxley
Senior Cecilia Moxley has committed to the private school California Institute of Technology (CalTech) for her undergrad schooling.
“I chose it because of its close knit community, academic rigor and excellent research opportunities,” said Moxley.
Moxley has been admitted to the school’s mechanical engineering program.
“Mechanical engineering has been my passion since I discovered it in our school’s engineering program,” said Moxley.
She is looking forward to her time at the school during the next four years.
“I am excited to meet new people and learn at the college level,” said Moxley.
Beyond Canyon Hills
There are many excelling graduates across the country who are also moving on to great opportunities that they deserve to be recognized for.
Lexi Ford – El Captain High School
Lexi Ford, a prominent theater kid at El Captain High School in San Diego, has been accepted at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in Los Angeles, California.
“I chose AMDA due to their focus on the performing arts,” said Ford. “There is a wide range of performing-related subjects as well as minors pertaining to business, psychology, and visual arts.”
They were accepted into the Theatre Arts major, and will be pursuing a minor in performance psychology with their degree.
“I originally auditioned for the Musical Theatre BFA, but I ended up being accepted into the Theatre Arts BA,” said Ford.
Even with the change of plans, Ford is still looking forward to this next chapter in their life.
“I’m excited and hopeful that my future will be filled with more opportunities and with people that I can create long-lasting friendships with,” said Ford.
Carlos Olvera – Notre Dame High School
Carlos Olvera, a student from Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles, has accepted his offer of admission to Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.
“In all honesty, my reasons for choosing Oberlin aren’t that exciting,” said Olvera. “My other two options were Kenyon College and Brandeis University, and all three schools are very similar in almost every aspect. Oberlin was the least expensive of the three and I had just been flown out there and made friends, so it made the most sense for me to go to Oberlin.”
He will be pursuing a major in Latin Language and Literature to further his interest in the classics and humans of the past.
“Languages have always interested me, seeing as how they are a window into how a culture and a society expresses itself,” said Olvera. “Latin is then how a long lost society expressed itself, and that’s something that fascinates me.”
He is looking forward to having a fresh start in a new state and school after high school.
“I am definitely excited for graduation and college life,” said Olvera. “In all honesty, high school has gotten very stale and I think a fresh start is just what I need. Several months ago I dreaded graduating because it meant I would no longer get to see some of my closer friends at school, but I have now realized that I will spend the effort to maintain the friendships that are worth keeping and only lose artificial friends. So, I look forward to meeting new people at college and adapting to the new environment.”
Julyan Rustom – High Tech Los Angeles
Julyan Rustom, a student from High Tech Los Angeles, will be beginning his undergraduate studies at UC Los Angeles in the fall.
“This university is within driving distance of my home, making it cheaper than most other universities requiring me to dorm,” said Rustom. “It also has a very good neurology program, and very prestigious professors that I hope to work under during my time at UCLA.”
He will be majoring in neurology.
“I want to go into neurosurgery, but in case med school doesn’t work out, I still want to be able to fall back and get my master’s degree in neurology so I can do lab work,” said Rustom. “I’ve loved neurology since I was a kid, and I hope to one day work in nerve repair and study the formation and topography of memory in the brain.”
He is eagerly anticipating this next part of his life, even if things don’t completely change at first.
“I am excited about graduation, mainly because I don’t have a lot of attachments to my high school,” said Rustom. “Life after high school probably won’t be much different, except probably busier, if anything. I’ll still be living at home for a good while, and I’ll mainly just be studying for most of the day, like I do already. I’m excited to finally learn about topics that interest me, but I don’t really think there will be a change of lifestyle.”
Alyssa Watts – Lawrence High School
Alyssa Watts, a history extraordinaire from Lawrence High School in Kansas, has announced her commitment to Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.
“I fell in love with Washburn’s campus back when I was thirteen years old in eighth grade AVID,” said Watts. “Since then, it’s probably been my dream school.”
She will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in history, her favorite subject.
“I’ve been in love with history since sophomore year, mainly European history such as the Tudors, the Victorians, and the Romanovs,” said Watts. “But I always want to know more and different topics in history, so I felt like it was obvious for me to major in history.”
She is looking forward to life after high school and to expand her knowledge and explore the world of history.
“I really hope to work abroad in those subjects that I’m familiar and obsessed with,” said Watts. “Hopefully as an archivist or a historian, those are my dream jobs.”
