Miguel Torres

Parents: Mariana Lopez & Miguel Torres Sr.

Cumulative GPA & Class Rank: 3.714 (24 out of 99)

Activities: Band (Marching, Jazz, Concert) Drama, Speech, SEIBA Band, Archery, Student of the Month.

Future plans: I plan on going to the University of Iowa. There, I plan to major in Computer Science and Engineering with possibly a minor (music, or something else that I will decide after having been in school for a bit). After I graduate, I hope to get a job that involves my major, maybe working on the newest cutting edge technology for computers, phones, and all sorts of things.

How will your high school experiences help you in coming years? They will help me in some ways, like ways to study, how to do my finances, and to balance a busy schedule with school work, and how to have fun in classes.

Fondest memory of high school: Going to McDonald’s after a band concert, it was always just fun to get to eat with all the band kids. It's always fun, and loud, but it's always the best time. Another would be the cast parties after any of the plays. Just like the McDonald’s, it was always fun getting to hang out with all the people in the arts stuff.

Which teachers have had the biggest impact on you and why? Jim Peterson: Peterson was a teacher that I didn't really have until my senior year in pre-calc. But Peterson was a teacher who was always there. Before my senior year, I would go into his home room every 5th block and be able to do my work in a fun environment. Then in Pre-Calc, he made learning the material easy, he would go through everything in a detailed way and would answer every question a student had. As well when I was in 5th grade, he was the head Archery coach at the elementary school. He helped every archer figure out their faults, and helped us fix them and encouraged all of us to do the best we absolutely could.

Steven Ray “Captain” Culk: Captain is in the top of the most fun teachers in the school. Captain knows how to get his students engaged in the material he teaches (History), and makes learning everything really fun. He is also a teacher who most students feel the most comfortable with, he jokes with every student and tries to engage with every one of his students. In class, he also jokes with everyone, and does fun things in his class like reviewing games after notes, re-enacting the trenches and no man's land in WW1 with nerf guns, and letting us make silly videos for projects. As well for his modern history classes, he keeps up with everything going on in the world today, and informs the students about the happenings of the world. He made history probably the most memorable class for me, and would always joke with me, or say something to me in the halls as I passed by.

Don Hughes: For all the Band kids, Hughes is someone that everyone knows. He conducts the 5th grade band, the High School concert band and Jazz band. He helps his students a ton in lessons and in class, he also tries his hardest to motivate and encourage all the band kids to practice and get to their full potential as a musician. Hughes also teaches extra music classes like FUNDIES where he goes into music theory in a simple way that the kids in there know and understand everything. He also makes sure that every student understands when he goes over it. He also teaches a class about Jazz soloing where it builds on and reinforces our knowledge from FUNDIES and helps us get more confident in soloing by giving us all the tools we need to improve them. He teaches a music composing class, helping students better understand how every instrument fits together. Hughes is a big player in my high school life, and was a teacher who helped me get better and better at saxophone.

Who is your role model and how did they influence you: I wouldn't say I really have a role model, unless you count all my friends. Seeing them succeed and encourage me in everything I do helps me a ton in getting things done. They all make me work harder and do things that I wouldn't normally do on my own. As well, my friends just make school much more enjoyable. Most of my friends are in the extra things that I do so I get to see them a lot and that makes doing everything worth it in my eyes.

What's special about your High School? A majority of the teachers are amazing, they encourage their students to work hard and do their best. They help the most they can, and are people that students feel comfortable with, people that can joke with students but also be strict and keep them focused.

If you go back to when you were a freshman, what advice would you give yourself?

Take your required classes as soon as you can, so you can do the classes you want senior year. Join Speech and try out for the plays, you’ll make some of your best friends there. Lock in and take band seriously, you’re better than you think, practice, try out for All-State, do honor bands, learn your stuff, get better.

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