By Dr. Alison Hanks-Sloan, aka Dr. AHS
It’s the most wonderful time of the year” are words often associated with the winter holidays. I would have to argue that it’s the end of the high school year when our seniors are shining at their brightest.
While I could fill this newspaper with awesome individual stories, here are four particular 12th graders who have become young adults ready to debark from the Aptos High ship.
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Natasha Newcombe, a top scholar who also played flag football and participated in track and field, is heading to UC Davis to major in animal science. Her dream is to become a wildlife veterinarian. She also plans to travel abroad to Costa Rica and other countries to work alongside experienced veterinarians to enhance her knowledge in the field. She also would like to study entrepreneurship in order to open her own animal rescue or possibly a bakery in the future.
Natasha said her best memory at Aptos High School was playing in the first Homecoming flag football game. “I loved representing AHS on the inaugural team and enjoyed the vibrant crowd of friends, family, and teachers who came to support us,” she said. “I also scored the winning touchdown of our game! I had so much fun playing alongside my friends and made many memories along the way.”
She started high school after being online for almost two years during the pandemic. “The most challenging part of 9th grade was transitioning from virtual learning straight into high school,” she said, as it took time for everyone to adjust to learning in person.
Natasha believes that her biggest high school accomplishment was balancing a positive academic record with athletics. “I maintained straight As in all my classes (including AP courses) while playing multiple sports, such as soccer, flag football, track & field, and taekwondo. I was also honored as team captain for Varsity flag football and JV soccer!” said Natasha. “To succeed in my endeavors, I maintained a positive mindset and motivated myself to never give up. I also surrounded myself with compassionate people who encouraged me while reminding me to enjoy the little things in life.”
Her advice for students is “to put yourself out there, have confidence, and don’t be afraid to try new things. One of my favorite things about high school is all the opportunities you have to join clubs, play new sports, meet new people, and overall have fun experiences — so don’t miss out!”
Ramón Gimeno-Herrera is UC Berkeley bound to study architecture this fall. Ramon is an artist and a scholar. He said his best memory of high school is hanging out and playing card games with his friends during calculus which is the counter to his biggest challenge in 9th grade: Making new friends after the pandemic.
He thanks his mom for being one of his greatest supports. He also admits that he strategically planned around getting into a college he wanted, so he started his own club, the tabletop roleplaying game club. They meet and play games like Dungeons and Dragons.
Art teacher Joe Smith described Ramon as an amazing graphic design student and a member of the Art Honors society, helping with fundraisers and activities. He was awarded a paid internship to do graphic design at Digital Nest.
Smith said, “He continues to make T-shirts, book covers and fine art. Ramon takes on leadership roles in history class and during mock trial, too. He is an overall outstanding student and very active in his community in many positive ways. He has come to board meetings, volunteered to help with art shows, and come through on time with designs when needed for the art club.”
Ramon’s advice to other students is to “be responsible and follow through on any commitment you have, be it in or out of school.” After college, his goals are “visiting new places, finding a fulfilling lifestyle, and getting a job.”
Chloe Luis, an athlete who is referred to as the athletic director’s assistant, will be attending Cabrillo College where she is going to play indoor and beach volleyball.
Her accomplishments include numerous scholar athlete awards, a leadership award for volleyball, defensive player of the year, student athlete of the year, CTE Department award, and honorable mention in the SCCAL league. She plans to become a nurse practitioner and one day start a family.
Her greatest challenge as a 9th grader was adjusting to such a big environment compared to the smaller middle and elementary school. She added that the support from friends, family, and staff, and especially dedication and hard work, helped her accomplish so much.
Chloe said, “If you want to accomplish something, it’s not going to come to you on a silver platter. Work hard and put in all the effort you can. Enjoy yourself along the way and step out of your comfort zone. You miss all of the opportunities you don’t take.”
Brett Swertfager, a varsity football player and scholar taking several AP classes, said his best memory about AHS is the homecoming skit and float. He especially enjoyed participating in the skit with most of his friends and spending time with them designing a float. The biggest challenge was “getting used to finals for several classes all during the same week.”
He is proud to be a scholar-athlete who has earned medals. He attributes his success to finding classes that interested him, so he could manage his time. He said that “support from both teachers and coaches to try in both aspects helped push me to try my best in class and in my sports to earn my accomplishments.”
Next year, he will attend UC Irvine to major in biology. He also hopes to stay involved in sports. When he graduates, he hopes to “secure a good job to enjoy life with my friends.
His advice to other students: “Make sure to enjoy everything you do, if you’re stressing more than enjoying something, maybe step away from that activity and pursue something else you would enjoy.”
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Aptos High School’s graduation is at Cabrillo College at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 5. Congratulations to all the seniors! Keep SAILing, Mariners!
Dr. Alison Hanks-Sloan has spent 30 years in education as a principal, district supervisor, teacher, college instructor & program leader, & Peace Corps volunteer.
