Mission Collegiate High School introduces their Top 3 Students for the Class of 2021. This year Anapaula Barba has been named as valedictorian, Katia Lynette Marquez is the salutatorian, and Frida Nicole Cantu is the third ranking student. Congratulations to these students and the Class of 2021 for all their academic achievement.
Anapaula Barba
Mission Collegiate High School names Anapaula Barba as the Class of 2021 valedictorian. She is the daughter of Liliana Flores and Jorge Barba. When she was younger, she had set her goals to not only excel academically to also attend Harvard University and she found out recently that it paid off. She has not only been officially accepted to Harvard University, but she will attend on a full ride and at no cost to her parents. She plans to major in Computer Science and her interests include software development. She is extremely passionate about helping her community, so sometime soon she will be helping in that capacity.
Her plan for the summer is to spend as much time with her friends and family before she leaves for Cambridge, Massachusetts. She wants to create memorable moments with the people she cares about the most. Barba is looking forward to exploring the various clubs and experiencing campus life. She not only concentrated on her studies throughout the year but was also involved in extracurricular activities, although because of the type of year it was some activities were scaled back to virtual participation. Her extracurriculars include: UIL Science and Journalism, Business Professionals of America - Economic Research team and SQL Database, and Student Council President.
She has a few words she would like to leave to the 2022 seniors; “There will be many moments of uncertainty and as long as you know you put in the work to get where you want to be in the future then everything will fall into place.”
Katia Lynette Marquez
This year’s Mission Collegiate salutatorian, Katia Lynette Marquez, is the daughter of Oliva Treviño and Marcos Marquez. She will be attending Texas State University where she will double major in Theater and Business Marketing. Her goal is to continue to perform on stage starting in community theater and then moving on up a bigger production on Broadway. She will be busy at TSU since they put on two productions a semester.
As far as her summer plans, she plans to get organized for the new school year at the university and spend time with her parents. Katia looks forward to getting back on stage once she starts her fall semester. She really loves performing and can’t wait to begin since the pandemic cut her performances short this past year. She states the hardest thing for her while she is away is missing her parents, sister, and friends. Katia was involved in Theater, Business Professionals of America – Digital Media Production, Color Guard, and Destination Imagination. She received the Texas State Merit Scholar, and K.S. The Scholarship.
She has a few words she would like to leave to the 2022 seniors; “To keep going no matter what you face. This year has taught that many things can go wrong so always push forward. If you have a dream, go for it because there is nothing that can hold you back.”
Frida Nicole Cantu
The third ranking student for Mission Collegiate High School is Frida Nicole Cantu for the Class of 2021. She is the daughter of Diana Lopez and Marin Cantu. This fall she will be attending the University of Rio Grande Valley where she will be seeking a Computer Science degree. After the completion of her degree, she plans to seek employment at a software development company. Her plan for the summer includes relaxing as much as she can before she starts college and plans to get in some time to paint. She is looking forward to meeting new people and participating in some college activities or clubs.
Frida has participated in several extra-curricular activities; UIL Calculator, Science, Computer Science, and Number Sense, Business Professionals of America National Qualifier- Advanced Word Processing, and Culture Club. She received two award offers from the University of Texas in San Antonio and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
She leaves the Class of 2022 with a few words, “Don’t turn in your work late and it is not a great habit to have because it is very stressful.”