by Marina Garcia, Staffwriter

The Devils’ Advocate

There are about 2,000 students attending Sweetwater High School. All of these students come from different places and have different stories to tell. However, there is one story in particular that deserves to be shared. Senior Antoine Serrano’s story is one worth listening to. He was born in Chula Vista in April 1999. He lived in Tijuana for most of his life until his family moved back to National City in 2013. His first year at Sweetwater wasn’t a walk in the park. Coming from Mexico, Antoine spoke very little English, so trying to fit in was a challenge. Students would bully him for not knowing how to speak English and would make fun of his accent. “I was trying to get better with my English, but those people didn’t know that I was struggling so much. I still tried to learn from my mistakes so that they would not know that their comments affected me,” he said. However, that didn’t stop this bright student from achieving greatness. By the end of his freshman year, he was placed in ELD 7/8, a regular English class and moved from bilingual math to a regular math class. He also received an award for having the highest GPA in his class.

As a result of his hard work and dedication, Antoine has had many opportunities and has attended many summer programs throughout his high school years. He was accepted and received full financial aid for the programs Upward Bound at UCSD, and the COSMOS program for Engineering Design and Control of Kinetics Sculpture. He also went to Stanford Pre-collegiate Studies and learned about Engineering.

Antoine is the first in his family to plan on going to college. He wants to attend Stanford University and hopes to major in Aerospace Engineering. His goal is to go to college and always try to become better; this has made him stay focused on his grades. His teachers, especially Ms. Claudia Tellez, have been there to provide support for him since 10th grade. Today, he is currently taking four AP classes, and is President of the Robotics Club at Sweetwater High School. Antoine didn’t expect to be where he is today. His advice to underclassmen is to set goals for themselves, take advantages of the opportunities offered here in the U.S., and always stay confident.

Antoine’s story is living proof that anyone can accomplish anything. He continues to surprise his peers and teachers with his determination and wit. Thank you, Antoine, for being an inspiration for hopefully many generations of Sweetwater students to come.