Senior class president Jesse Menchaca sits near the center of his AVID class and speaks about the changes he wishes to see within his class of 2017. Menchaca wants to see more participation from his classmates during his term as class president. “This is your last year of high school. Enjoy it,” he exclaims.

And while school has only been in session for a few short months, Menchaca wasted no time coordinating events for his classmates. He started off big with the senior sunrise. He says, “It was the first senior sunrise, and I felt like our school never gives back to our students, so I wanted an event directed to the students.” And Menchaca shows no signs of slowing down.

Although Menchaca and the ASB/REN team have more events planned, he currently wants students to focus on their academics so they can “be encouraged and participate” when the time for the events arrives.

While it may seem tough to some, Menchaca has been able to find success in balancing academics and his position as class president by making classwork his top priority. “If I need to be out of class, I will, but if it isn’t mandatory I will stay in class.” Menchaca has more in store for the seniors, but as for himself, “My goal for the rest of the year would be to maintain a good GPA and get accepted into my dream school UCSD.”