Preuss senior Elbert Cortes will be graduating this June. Cortes, an actor in drama, was featured in Shakespeare Festival and will be featured in the upcoming Jazz June live performance. He spends most of his time at the gym bodybuilding and cherished moments spent with friends and family. He is a hard working individual who has committed to CSU San Marcos and will be majoring in Business Administration. He has practiced his passion for business through his sneaker reselling business and stock trading.

Q: What’s your proudest accomplishment?

A: “Ending first semester of senior year with a GPA I could be proud of while balancing work and personal life. I’m proud of this because I was able to prove to myself that I could do better than I previously had, if I put in the effort to do so. I also got nominated by my advisory teacher for the La Jolla Golden Triangle Student of the Month Award, which was a self gratifying experience.”

Q: What’s something you would do differently?

A: “Not blaming events out of my control on my lack of effort; instead, working around them and learning how to adapt. I stopped caring about my academics during 10th grade and used quarantine as an excuse.”

Q: What is a highlight from senior year?

A: “Spending time with my friends at school and at the gym.”

Q: What was the most challenging task as a senior?

A: “Research paper! One of the most stressful things I had to do, and I spent a lot of time in other classes working on it. I had never written a paper that long and I chose a topic I was familiar with thinking it’d make it easier, which it did, but I struggled to find credible sources that supported my argument because it was so specific. Meeting the deadlines was also difficult.”

Q: What will you miss about Preuss?

A: “The structure and familiarity that comes with going to high school. Although I hated having to wake up early and getting home late, school creates stability in the day. The sense of community, going to school and knowing you’re going to see the same group of friends everyday, though it will be cool to meet new people in college. Some friends, however, I’m only connected with because of school, and I will miss seeing them because I know I will lose touch with some after we head off to different colleges.”

Q: Which teacher had the most impact on you?

A: “Definitely my advisory teacher, Ms. Tiojanco. Although I would disappoint her sometimes, she would continue to be my biggest supporter and push me to do my best. Not only did she help me academically but she also helped me with personal issues. She has been a person I could rely on for the past seven years

Q: Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

A: “My goal is to own or have a management position in a company, be a good and profitable investor, and have stable incomes to be able to support a more than comfortable lifestyle.”

Q: What is advice you would give to underclassmen?

A: “Stay on top of deadlines because it’s hard to catch up once you miss a few. Take research seriously because although it was time consuming, it was a good experience.”