Written By: Samantha Reed, Staff Writer
CHANGE: Being a senior may mean being the end of high school, but for Ani graduation marks the beginning of something greater.
Many of you may know her as Arianna Soto, some may know her as Ani, but we all know her as an athletic and academic weapon with the skills of an amazing singer and link crew leader. Even though she has had her highs and lows just like everyone else, she was never discouraged and continues to work towards her goals of becoming a nurse practitioner, one day making enough money to buy her own Disneyland Pass.
Throughout Arianna’s time in high school, she endured several rigorous classes, one of them being AP Language and Composition. Arianna says that “Mrs.Yeyna pushed us in this class to become better writers.” Despite growing as a writer, she expressed “since it wasn’t my favorite subject it was hard for me to focus.” Every class has its struggles, especially AP courses, but Arianna persevered and overcame the challenges she faced by staying motivated.
While some classes seem challenging at times, she found some of them to peak her interest and keep her engaged. Arianna shares that one of her favorite subjects during her time in high school was Anatomy because “[she] wants to become a nurse practitioner.” She also expressed that Mrs. Mejia Rodillas has been a great influence to her as that class’ teacher, explaining that “[Mrs. Rodillas] really taught us effective ways to study and memorize the textbook… She made the class so much fun and helped me if I needed help.”
School is not just where kids go to learn, but it’s also where students go to bond. One of Arianna’s favorite Poly traditions is the famous Riverside Poly Homecoming festivities. She “always loves competition, so this tradition was right up [her] alley.”
Beyond the school courses and events that all students have in common, Ani had many different interests ranging across the spectrum of what Poly offered. While in high school, Arianna took a particular interest in choir, golf, and lacrosse. She joined Chambers Singers and absolutely loved it. One of her proudest moments in Chamber Singers was when they perfectly performed “this one song called Leron Leron, one of the hardest pieces we did all year. Ms. Walton constantly pushed us to make our singing better…At our festival we performed the piece and felt so proud of each other. There was a look we all gave to each other after we finished that song. The fact that everybody worked incredibly hard to make that piece so great is why I love being in choir. We always give 110% and the outcome is truly incredible. The bond that choir has is unlike anything I’ve experienced. We are all close because we all love making music together.” On the other hand, while on the golf course, Arianna had many great memories as well. She shares that her “favorite memories from golf was improving as a team. She recalls, “one match we were anticipating because they were going to be the hardest team we played in the season. We did not want to lose because we were undefeated at the time… In the end we beat them by a couple strokes… After the match Coach Shulte and Coach Chavez agreed that we should celebrate with Chick-fil-A!” It is truly incredible how Ani was able to juggle being a Varsity Captain for both golf and lacrosse as well as choir president while managing several AP courses.
In the end, Arianna made it through high school. With so many accomplishments under her belt, she is on the path to accomplishing much, much more. After high school she “plans to eventually become a nurse practitioner. Congratulations Arianna Soto, we all are so proud of what you have accomplished and cannot wait to see what you do in the future.