As of May 22nd, 2024, 2 days of school remain for our Senior class here at Buena Park High School! The Class of 2024 is coming to the final moments of their school year. This exciting time is filled with plenty of speculation and discovery. Now, it’s time for the Class of 2025 to step up and go through the whole process of being a Senior!

Merging into Senior life is not easy. There are plenty of differences between Junior and Senior year. For example, students will have to start preparing for College Applications! According to the King Street Chronicle, 60% of high school students admit to feeling “overwhelmed” during College Application season. Also, other factors such as AP Exams, sporting events, or volunteer work could become a lot to handle. Although this could be stressful, our Junior Coyotes are showing their strengths and making the most of their educational opportunities.

Paw Prints reporters decided to interview two students that are heavily involved with Buena Park’s everyday life. Firstly, the students went to talk with Leyna Nguyen. Lenya is taking the mantle as next year’s ASB President, which is a title she plans to take very seriously! Following this paragraph is some insight as to how Lenya feels about her upcoming year as a Senior and steps she’ll take to ensure the success of herself and peers around her. 

Danny (Interviewer): So you’ve been here for the past… how many years have you been here? 

Leyna: Well, I’ve been here since Freshman year. 

Danny: And now, you’re going into your senior year. How does that make you feel? 

Leyna: I’m so ready to graduate. I’m really excited for senior year. I’ve just been waiting, waiting for all these senior events that I haven’t been able to go to. I mean, it’s about time.

Danny: Let’s discuss your plans for next year. What are your classes that you’re planning on taking? 

Leyna: So, I’m planning on taking AP Lit, ASB, Honors Video Production, Human Anatomy, Physiology, College Government, Econ, and maybe College Psychology!

Danny: Okay, that’s a long list. Can you tell me a little bit more about the ASB portion? What are you looking forward to?

Leyna: Definitely winning Senior Pep Week. We’re gonna win this time. I mean we lost last year but we’re gonna have a comeback. 

Danny: Do you have any goals for yourself both academically and personally? 

Leyna: Academically, I just want to finish off strong with a high GPA. In Senior Year, I personally  want to maintain consistent relationships with the people I love and want to invest in myself first before I give 100% to my relationships.

Danny: Are there ways you envision challenging yourself in the next school year? 

Leyna: Yeah, I think really the challenge is finding the balance between college coursework, AP coursework, and hanging out by using all my free time for Senior year. 

Danny: And finally, how do you plan to make the most out of your Senior year? 

Leyna: Oh, for senior year, I’m going to take as many pictures as I can, especially for the Gram. I have to go to every single game, every event, activity, Senior Breakfast, Senior Sunrise, Senior Sunset. I’m going to be cheering at all the games. You know, I’m going to dress out because that’s the ASB Kid in me. But yes, just take as many pictures as possible. 

Danny: Yes ma’am. Well, that’s our interview folks. 

Leyna has high hopes for the next stage of her life. The stats definitely show this. Through her Freshman-Junior year, she’s maintained a 4.27 weighted GPA and embodies the definition of rising up to the occasion when needed. We hope to see her stride for great things during her final year of high school!

Furthermore, many of her peers have also shown great signs of success for next year. Izabell Saldivar is a member of Link Crew that shines inside and outside of the classroom. Besides Link Crew, she’s a member of Girl’s Flag Football, Softball, and even will hold a leadership position in JROTC next year. 

Paw Prints reporter Danny Washington also took time to interview her as well.

Danny: So, hello Izzy. How do you feel about going through your Senior Year?

Izzy: Well, it’s been a long three years. 

Danny: How do you feel about going into your fourth? 

Izzy: I feel pretty confident. I have a lot of stuff to do, so I’m pretty confident in it. 

Danny: Let’s assess your plans for next year. What are the classes you plan on taking on your senior year? 

Izzy: I’m planting on Vet Science, JROTC, Dance, Flag Football, Softball, and a higher math class. 

Danny: Can you elaborate on JROTC? 

Izzy: Oh, I recently just made their top position, top One Wing Commander, coming after Sergeant and Colonel, so that’s pretty cool. 

Danny: Nice! So, do you have any goals for yourself academically and personally? 

Izzy: Oh, academically,  I’ve got to get straight A’s. I got to be on top of that because this year was not it, but next year for sure. Personally, just to stay on top of everything that I have, like all the things I’m involved in.

Danny: Okay. Also finally, how do you plan to make your senior year memorable?

Izzy: I just started making a photo book for all events for Senior year!

Danny: Alright, thank you very much!

As you could see, making the most of your opportunities is very important in the 4 years we have of high school. This time in our lives doesn’t last forever, so it’s key to not blow off the advantage of time. These two Coyotes are an example of just two of the pathways students could take!

If you’d like to learn more about our Juniors and the Class of 2025, watch the video attached to this article!