The Hemet/San Jacinto Student of the Month program held its final recognition breakfast of the 2024-2025 school year at the Maze Stone at Soboba Springs Golf Course on March 6. Nine local high school seniors were recognized and honored for their character, love of learning and commitment to academics in addition to their involvement in school and community activities and their ability and resilience in overcoming difficult life challenges. And they do this all in a setting that honors God, country, family, community and free enterprise. Students are nominated by teachers or other school personnel for making a difference in their homes, schools and communities.
Local program founder and Student of the Month Committee member Karena Zermeno emceed the event. Each student was invited to the podium to share their personal story, past and/or current challenges and future goals with a room full of supporters that included principals, teachers, peers and family members, as well as community and school district dignitaries.
March’s students of the month from Hemet Unified School District are Crista Graf, Josiah Mills, Parshv Patel, and Luci Washburn. San Jacinto Unified honorees for March are Aubriana Boyer, Joshua Coleman, and Cole Wilson. Arionna Ward from Noli Indian School was also honored.
Hemet Unified School District
Crista Graf
Hemet High School Assistant Principal Hannah Plaza said Crista is an active leader in numerous groups on campus and an accomplished AP student who has been in AVID all four years. Her AP psychology teacher Jamie Killebrew is also teaching student leadership this year and said as a PLUS (Peer Leaders Uniting Students) leader, Crista single-handedly organized this year’s toy drive. The outstanding senior is also part of the Breakfast Club, the Multicultural Club and Ballet Folklorico, where she consistently demonstrates initiative, leadership and a willingness to take on challenges. “Being the oldest daughter in my family, I was always taught to be independent and to take care of others,” Crista said. “My dad was my number one supporter. He was the one who taught me perseverance, but never would I have guessed that I would have to use that perseverance to deal with grief.” Four days before Christmas 2023, her father unexpectedly died. “Grief consumed my every thought for months,” Crista said. “I soon realized that instead of learning how to live without him, I had to learn how to live for him.” She decided that everything she did would have a purpose that would make him proud. “I found my purpose while struggling with loss,” Crista said. She plans to become a pediatric oncology nurse and eventually a nurse practitioner.
Josiah Mills
Alessandro High School Principal Matthew Centofranchi introduced Josiah by saying that many, like himself, grew up taking a lot of things such as health and a solid place to live, for granted. He said speaking with Josiah, a student that has faced adversity, provides a whole new perspective. “In talking to him, you’d never know what he stood up to,” he said. Josiah’s teacher Ashley Yazarloo said she uses the words of Duke University’s women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson as a theme in her classroom. It’s about not waiting for life to get easier because life is hard and learning how to handle hard better. “Josiah’s essence is determination, perseverance and an unstoppable drive to achieve his goals,” Yazarloo said. “This is a kid who has shown that he can handle hard better.” Josiah said his journey has always been a bit rocky and that while all his experiences were not traumatic, they definitely left a mark. From homelessness, fires, epileptic seizures and so much more, he said all his experiences led to helping him shape the perspective he now has. “While some may settle for quick fixes or temporary solutions, I believe in reimagining possibilities,” Josiah said. He wants to attend Palomar College to pursue a degree in engineering for a career as an architectural engineer. “I plan to create spaces that bring people together, hopefully fostering a more positive and inclusive environment,” he said.
Parshv Patel
West Valley High School Principal Gerardo Zavala introduced Parshv as a student who is deeply passionate about math, physics and data science, seeing numbers not just as equations but as tools to shape the real world. “His drive for learning goes beyond the classroom where he has completed 12 self-taught college courses, six specialized data science certificates and over 350 hours of programming courses from top universities and companies,” Zavala said. He plays varsity tennis, is president of the Math Club, is a LINK Crew member and a dedicated after school tutor. When his family moved to America from India two years ago, Parshv said he felt behind and took seven classes in his junior year, all while navigating a new culture, an unfamiliar education system and financial hardships. “I had no friends; I felt like an outsider, and I was depressed,” he said. “My confidence began to crumble.” Parshv said thinking of his family’s sacrifices for his future fueled his ambition and led to him being ranked number one in his senior class. He wants to attend Stanford University to major in data science and statistics. “For me, university is an opportunity to transform my curiosity into innovation and impact,” Parshv said. “My passion for data science is driven by a desire to solve real-life issues in climate change, health care and insufficiencies that hold communities back.”
Jorge Silva
Tahquitz High School Principal Andrew Holmes said, “While faced with challenges early in his high school career, Jorge has demonstrated incredible resilience, excels in advanced Spanish and CTE classes and is the starter on the school’s varsity soccer team. His Spanish III teacher Virginia Shaw said that despite starting high school with a .07 GPA due to circumstances totally beyond his control, he was able to get back on track. His mother was battling cancer three years ago, which is why Jorge’s schoolwork suffered, but she is alive today and grateful to see her son be honored as Student of the Month. Jorge said, “I believe my greatest contribution ever was to my family.” The most difficult challenge he had to overcome was his credit deficiency. When he arrived at Tahquitz as a freshman, he was missing more than 60 credits. But by taking seven periods a semester and classes over the summers, he overcame that obstacle and is graduating with his peers. He plans to attend UCR and become a child psychologist. “A life lesson I will take with me to college is to always have the most faith in God’s timing,” he said. “Maybe it’s not for today, maybe it’s not for tomorrow or even next month, but when it’s truly meant to be, it will come.”
Luci Washburn
Hamilton High School music teacher Lovina Leon introduced Luci. “As a music teacher, I have the opportunity to see students grow, develop skills and make a difference and Luci has truly stood out,” she said. “She’s had to deal with a lot of challenges, not only here at school but at home, caring for her mom and helping extra around the house.” Luci said she doesn’t recognize challenges and just pushes through like something normal is happening. She said she enjoyed spending a lot of time home alone while her mother worked and her father was busy helping others in the community. When her mother broke her foot at work on New Year’s she was forced to stay home every day and all day – the complete opposite of what this active woman was used to doing. Luci had to step up to clean everything and take over making dinner, all on top of school, sports and band obligations. Everyone was stressed out and then in February, her grandfather was in a serious truck accident in Anza that put him in the hospital. Luci spent weeks helping her grandmother and parents get through it all. She has plans to become a civil engineer.
San Jacinto Unified School District
Aubriana Boyer
San Jacinto High School agriculture teacher Jill Scott met Aubriana two years ago in her Introduction to Floral Design class. She said the program offers a lot for students but it’s up to them to pursue the opportunities, and Aubriana has done that. “The biggest obstacle I’ve faced in my life is overcoming my mental health,” the senior said. “For most of my life, I was emotionally and verbally abused and that really affected my mental health and overall view of the world.” She said during her first two years of high school she didn’t see a lot of hope for her future and didn’t see the importance of school. She failed many classes and had difficulty getting out of bed each morning. “Going into my junior year, my mom moved out and my dad moved back home,” Aubriana said. “I joined floral design and felt my passion for school come back. The FFA program has given me many opportunities to give back to my community.” She plans to major in business at MSJC. “I never thought I could go to college due to how badly I did in my first two years of high school, but I joined AVID this year and it’s helped me see a lot of the resources and opportunities that I have,” Aubriana said. “In the future, I would love to be an agriculture teacher like Ms. Scott.”
Joshua Coleman
San Jacinto Leadership Academy Principal Michael Luna recalls meeting Joshua when he was a teacher at SJLA and Joshua was in sixth grade. Joshua started his speech by saying, “I believe everyone has a choice in life; everyone in and outside this building has the opportunity express themselves whether that is through their academics or in my case, creativity.” He said that during his elementary school years, he endured challenging times of adversity at the schools he attended. “I was bullied continuously and stuck to myself not knowing what the best option was,” Joshua said. “I felt alone, nervous and out of control as if I was not living in my own body. My grades were negatively affected as a result, and I fell into a depression.” He turned to his family and found solace in watching movies, YouTube videos and playing video games. Joshua said his life turned around when he joined the Lion family at SJLA in sixth grade. “My teachers and friends gave me the mental boost I needed to learn that not everyone in life is after you nor are they trying to belittle you,” he said. He began developing his creativity through Photoshop and slide shows and has decided to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, possibly as a film director. “Everyone has something unique they can be talented at,” Joshua said.
Cole Wilson
Mountain Heights Academy chose to honor Cole, who has been accepted to five colleges already where he plans to study astrophysics. He said his greatest contribution to his community is working at the Western Science Center where he prepares fossils for display and teaches science to elementary age children. After suffering a brain injury at birth that caused hydrocephalus, leading to multiple surgeries and hospitalizations, Cole has more than one learning disability and poor vision. “Recently, I was diagnosed with a rare nerve condition that reduced my mobility and caused me to move to online classes,” he said. “The most significant life lesson I will take with me to college is to not put limitations on yourself just because you have a disability.” Cole said he recently found out that doctors had told his parents that he would probably be severely mentally disabled and that his prospects for a normal life were dim, but they never told him. “I never thought to limit myself other than maybe I shouldn’t be a pilot, but that still didn’t stop me from taking an aviation course,” Cole said. “I plan to give back to my community by expanding our understanding of the universe and our role within in.”
Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
Arionna Ward was chosen to represent Noli Indian School as Student of the Month. Principal Donovan Post said her mother had been a student of his when she attended Noli. A member of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians and the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, she has been commuting from Mountain Center to San Jacinto to attend Noli since her sophomore year. Arionna has already been named as the school’s salutatorian for the 2025 graduating class. “I believe my greatest contribution to my community is being a traditional cook with my family,” Arionna said. “Being a traditional cook is a challenging task due to cooking for wakes, funerals and other celebrations.” She is planning to continue her education in business management and finance and has received acceptance letters and scholarships from UCR, University of Redlands and Northern Arizona University. Obstacles she has overcome include her father leaving the family when she was five years old and her grandfather, who stepped into a father figure role for her, passing when Arionna was 13. She also suffered the loss of her great grandmother when she was 16. “Although I did not have a great childhood growing up, by Native standards we had it pretty good,” she said.
Closing remarks
The breakfast ended with guest speaker Ed Delgado sharing his personal story with all the students. The Moreno Valley City Council member and 10-year U.S. Coast Guard veteran retired after a 25-year career with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. He continues to give back to the community through his work as an Adjunct Instructor for Moreno Valley College, where he teaches leadership courses to young adults within the law enforcement profession. He also speaks at special academy engagements and ceremonies. Delgado noted all of the opportunities he was given and all of the advancements he received in both his military and public service positions. “I don’t tell you all this to brag but to show you what’s possible,” Delgado said. He had a rough start in life with a father who didn’t work and a mother on public assistance. After his mother left the family, he stayed with his father because he wasn’t forced to attend school. His teen years were spent drinking and ditching school. In 1989, he saw a Coast Guard recruitment commercial on television and earned his GED so he could meet the enlistment requirements. At 19, he was stationed across the country and said, “I had to prove to myself that I was better than I was raised.” He said he was grateful for all the opportunities he was given to make a difference and feels his life experiences prepared him well. “Do not ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do something,” Delgado told all the students in the room.
For more information, www.studentofthemonth.net.
