Colton High School sophomore, Ashley Chavarria, is a dedicated young lady who has big plans for her future. Chavarria has received an award for being one of the top ten students here at CHS. Another word to describe her besides dedicated is busy. Her top classes are AP World History, Honors English II, Honors Chemistry, and Honors Algebra II. Chavarria has described those four specific classes as her “most challenging classes.” However, another interesting and important fact to know about her is that she is in Colton High School’s marching band, meaning more time after school before she can go home and start homework.  

“I’m always studying. I study and do homework from 4:00pm to 9:00pm the earliest.” That is six hours of hard work. To have good endurance is very important because then you can believe that you can overcome all your work. “With every class and assignment, I always try to find a purpose for it even if it may be for a small goal like trying to fix small mistakes.” Chavarria gave a good point, she mentioned that it’s all about purpose and to remember you’re not in school for nothing. However, she did provide helpful tips for many students who need advice, one being don’t give up after the second step. Look at your notes, watch videos from Khan Academy, and ask questions if you need clarification. Then the second tip provided is always make time for your school work. This means to set specific times for each class or assignment. Then finally the third tip is to prioritize. “Is Algebra more important than English? Is English more important than History? Ask yourself those types of questions.”

Chavarria’s core classes always come first, primarily her AP World History and Honors Algebra II. She enjoys band and absolutely adores her “drumline babies.” She can’t always put that first, though. Going back to last semester, she remembers that she prioritized band a lot and her grades didn’t drop bad but they also did not change to a higher percentage. She included, “I found my breaking point, that’s not to say that you should find yours but all I say is that I try not to overwork myself or fry my brain.”

Now leading onto her dream school which is UC Irvine and Stanford University because of their amazing marching band. She wants to study music as a major but also computer science or computer engineering. Now these majors are all good because she is leaning towards them right now with her decisions in classes for next year.

Finally, Ashley concludes that there is no secret to getting good grades like her. Just do everything that is required from you and try your best. “To me, top ten doesn’t mean anything besides being one of the top ten students. I grade my own effort, and if I feel like I’ve done well then I’ll congratulate myself.”  Quality over quantity is something important to remember.