By Daniel Vega
Amarilis Rivas is a senior reporter here at the Golden Gazette. Along with being a senior reporter, she is also a member of the class of 2021 at Eisenhower High School and is expected to graduate this June. Here at the Golden Gazette, we know Amarilis as kind, smart, supportive, and a hard worker who has dedicated endless hours to this paper. Since Amarilis is graduating soon, what better way to celebrate her then with an article.
When Amarilis first started school at Eisenhower, she never imagined that her senior year would be virtual, saying that she was sad that she missed out on senior year and the traditional senior experiences. This is the same, unfortunately, for many graduating seniors who never got the senior year that they had dreamt they would. However, Amarilis has said that with all of the bad things that have happened to her, she wouldn’t change anything because they’ve all shaped her one way or another into the person she is today, and if she could describe her time here at Eisenhower, she says it was memorable, because she experienced so many things that she’ll never forget. In Amarilis’ opinion, Eisenhower has done a great job at preparing her for life after graduation, and while some students may disagree with that statement, Amarilis states that in order to succeed you need to take advantage of the resources available, like taking AP classes, pathway classes, college prep classes, joining clubs, and always asking for advice when you need it. While some people may not know what clubs to join since Ike has such a variety, Amarilis recommends that students join clubs that focus on particular subjects like journalism or medicine because they help you gain skills that you wouldn’t otherwise have, and joining clubs that you really enjoy and feel a part of. Amarilis joined journalism to help her improve her writing skills as well as to prepare her with skills essential for a college education such as how to do research and expand your vocabulary, which Amarilis says it did exactly.
After graduation, Amarilis is planning on moving to Irvine to attend UCI and work towards pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in psychological science. The people who Amarilis feels have really supported her throughout high school are her mom and sister, who she says always pushed her to do better, and while Amarilis feels that she’s learned from all her teachers, she feels that her avid teachers, Mr. Gonzalez, and Ms. Carreon have taught her the most, and her English teacher, Mr. Lim.
A few words of wisdom Amarilis would like to leave with remaining Eisenhower students are to enjoy your teenage years, do fun things like dances and football games which are things Amarilis wishes she had done and could do right now, maintain good grades because even if you aren’t planning on going to college a high school diploma will go a long way, and keep pushing and ask for help when you need it, whether that be through the wellness center, counselor’s, or others. Goodbye Amarilis, your Eisenhower family, and your Golden Gazette family will miss you, good luck on your next journey!