Natalia Zamora Zeledon, San Jacinto High’s Valedictorian for 2019 with a GPA of 4.64, is originally from Costa Rica. Her family moved to San Jacinto when she was 12 so she and her brother could pursue their passions for learning and education. Natalia has taken high school Advanced Placement courses and had concurrent enrollment at Mt. San Jacinto College beginning as a sophomore. She has participated in the Upward Bound college motivation program and the Early Academic Outreach Program at University of California-Riverside. Besides being active in the campus’ National Honor Society, she founded an SAT Test Preparation Program for classmates. Natalia was part of Loma Linda University’s ABC Program, an eight-week biomedical research program on health disparities and participated in Stanford University’s Clinical Summer Internship, a two-week immersive program about medicine. She plans to attend Stanford in the fall to major in bioengineering and minoring in human biology with emphasis on global health. “My goal is to become the best physician I can be, the best researcher I can be, and to improve the quality of health care people receive around the world,” said Natalia.
Salutatorian for San Jacinto High’s Class of 2019 is Rodrigo Villa with a GPA of 4.53. Rodrigo has been a student in San Jacinto Unified schools since first grade and started his freshman year in San Jacinto High’s Biomedical Sciences pathway, completing all four years of the program. He is a member of the school’s National Honor Society chapter and a member of the Patriot Tigers, a club focused on awareness and fundraising for veterans. “I plan on attending the University of California San Diego to pursue a career in Biology, and eventually nursing, with the ultimate intent of becoming a Nurse Practitioner,” said Rodrigo. He chose this career path due to his passion for helping people and his fascination with Science. “Plus,” he noted, “I am in an eternal competition with my older sister, whom I greatly admire and (she) was also Salutatorian of her graduating class last year.”
Nancy Romo, San Jacinto High’s Historian for the Class of 2019, holds a 4.51 GPA with courses in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate and concurrent enrollment at Mt. San Jacinto College since 2016. Nancy was recognized as the area Fall Female Athlete in 2018 (The Valley Chronicle newspaper) and a part of the SJHS 2019 Mountain Pass League Champions team in Women’s Track and Field. Nancy also earned 1st Team All League status in tennis this year, and selected by SJHS as co-Most Valuable Player. She participated in varsity softball and is a member of the SJHS Disability Awareness Club helping with Special Olympics Student Games. Nancy plans to attend UCLA in the fall for Physics and Literature (College of Letters and Science).