This week’s Farmer Focus is on junior Jairo Rodriguez, a student who’s in AVID and Student Council.

SNAPSHOTS

Least favorite year of high school: Sophomore year

Dream car: 2019 Dodge Charger SRT

If you were a color, what would you be?: Navy

What animal would you be?: Lion

Activity you could do for the rest of your life: Soccer

ZOOMING IN

Q: What’s skills have you learned from AVID?

A: “The skills I’ve learned from AVID would be that AVID stands for many things. It teaches you to be organized, helps you in multiple ways, and it can ensure your path in different directions. It helps keep me focused on one thing and keeps me on track. A second thing I learned was to keep your head on one assignment and one assignment only. It has also helped me prepare for the PSAT.”

Q: How has AVID changed the way you think about your future?

A: “All throughout my years of not being in AVID, up until now, my goal was just to get good grades and see where the path takes me. Since I’ve been in AVID, it has shown me a bunch of paths I could take, such as giving me opportunities to go on college trips, see how college life is with universities, how commissions can be earned through scholarships, as well as many other things.”

Q: If someone were to join AVID, how would you explain it to them?

A: “I would say it’s the most wonderful thing that guides you on the right path. Even though it might seem kind of boring at first, I can assure them it is such a wonderful thing. I could tell them how it can actually help keep their mind on one subject. To me, AVID means staying neat and organized.”

Q: How has AVID helped you in other classes?

A: “AVID has helped me in my other classes by keeping stuff on track. AVID also makes me look at my due dates on my planner, which has made me realize I have a test. It helps me keep on top of all my classes.”

Q: If you were to start a new project or group, what would it be?

A: “If I were to start a new project, the project would be to help students who are in the shadows and don’t know what to do, where to start or where to reach out for help. It’d be a club where people can gather to help each other out, such as tutoring, going to colleges, a second AVID in a way, but it isn’t seen as AVID because students see it as boring, so instead they are similar.”

Q: How has AVID changed your thoughts on college?

A: “AVID has shown me the difference between college and university, how many degrees there are, how social norms in college work, and how it’s way different from high school.”

Q: How has joining StuCo impacted your school spirit?

A: “You can get points [for] dressing out and then you can get a graduation cord, which seems pretty cool. And also, it shows you it is not about the points you earn. It shows you the great impact you have in your community, such as volunteering.”

Q: How do you balance StuCo and other responsibilities?

A: “I balance them out using my planner. I have a job, and I balance them out with my calendar. I just make time to stay on task, use my time wisely and get everything finished in classes, and then worry about my extracurriculars.”