February Junior Student of the Month: Maria Calderon!

The February Junior of the Month is Maria Calderon! A wonderful and charismatic student, Frazier Mountain High School has been excited to invite her back after she was diagnosed with ALL leukemia in November 2015, which caused her to go on independent study. Maria is a junior this year, though she says that she doesn’t think being an upperclassmen this year makes much of a difference. She thinks that the students make it a bigger deal than it actually is, and that the teachers still treat people the same way. However, she does enjoy being able to specialize into an Academy pathway this year. Maria’s pathway is yearbook. She was the Head Editor of Yearbook at El Tejon during her eighth grade year, and she says she has “always enjoyed putting pictures together like in a collage, and really loves taking pictures and photography.”

Maria’s other hobbies include playing sports. She used to play soccer, starting when she was really young, but now she is more into basketball. Right now Maria is just practicing with the team to work herself back up, but she says next year she wants to play volleyball, basketball, and softball. She enjoys being back at the high school, and says she missed her friends the most. Beforehand she felt like she had nothing to talk about with them because she was just stuck at home watching TV, so now school has made her days more interesting and eventful; and everyone is happy to have her back.

Last year, Maria said her favorite subject and teacher Biology with Miss White, but this year it is Art with Mr. Ellis. When we asked why she said, “I really love to do everything because it's not just drawing, and even the drawing is not just drawing; it is looking at things from a new perspective. I think it is really cool. We also asked her the most important question of the day: Are you a tea or coffee person? Maria responded by saying she likes “Arizona tea and frappuccinos, so they’re both not really tea or coffee.They are fake versions of both. I’m not really supposed to have coffee, but if I had to pick I think I’d go with coffee.”

One thing about Maria is that she has a reputation for being very upbeat and kind to everyone. When asked about a life motto or philosophy, she said “I just got it this past year. So I got these little bracelets and they say NEGU, which means Never Ever Give Up. And I thought ‘wow, that’s really inspiring.’ It’s just four simple words, but when put together it just really speaks to me.” This is something that Maria has been applying to her own life and recommends other people at least think about applying to their own lives to help them push through when things are difficult. Another factor that has helped Maria is her amazing support group of family and friends. Her mom, sisters, and friends all cut their hair short for her. Maria said her younger sister cut hers so short that she had a “pixie cut.” This was a gesture that meant a lot to Maria and made her challenge easier.

Thank you Maria for your time! The Falcon Beat would like to wish you well and we hope to see you on the volleyball court next fall!

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