The class of 2025 is counting down the days until graduation. Seniors will soon start their adult lives after they have spent more than half their lives growing up at The Preuss School UC San Diego. This year’s graduating class is full of ambitious leaders, and Klarissa Valdez (25’) is definitely one of them. Klarissa Valdez is the Girls Varsity Lacrosse captain, the class of 2025 ASB Vice President, and also involved in Interact Club, Ecology Club, Board Game Club, and Book Club.

“The thought of being the first person in my family to graduate from high school and attend a four year university where I’ll be graduating from, is what has kept me motivated. I have dreams I would like to pursue and accomplish which is what keeps me motivated. I want to make a change,” states Valdez (25’).

Klarissa is proud of being able to graduate and is ready to be successful. She hopes to help her family out financially, and have a brighter future than her family could achieve. She wants to make a difference in this world by contributing in the Medical Field. She believes that her choice of university is important for what she wants to accomplish.

“Universities that I considered were UC Davis, UC San Diego and Cornell University. I’ve decided to commit to UC San Diego…my major is Human Development with a Specialty in Healthy Aging. I will minor in Human Biology,” Valdez (25’) says.

Klarissa chose UC San Diego because she found out about the Chancellor’s Associates Scholars Program (CASP), a full ride scholarship only offered to low income students from e3 Civic High School, Gompers Preparatory Academy, Hoover High School, Lincoln High school, Morse High School, and The Preuss School UC San Diego. UCSD is also convenient because it is close to home. She then started to learn more about the campus, and it made her realize UC San Diego really is the place for her. She also chose Human Development as her major because it is her passion and she wants to know more about how children develop to hopefully pursue a job as a pediatrician.

During her journey at Preuss, Klarissa was very interested in high school sports and clubs because she likes to be involved on campus.

“For sports, I was in Varsity Cross Country (4 years), Varsity Soccer (one season), and Varsity Lacrosse (4 years), and I was captain for two years. I was also in Interact Club, Ecology Club, Board Game Club, and Book Club. I was part of the Athletics Website Crew. I was also part of ASB as Class Vice President (2025) and as Sports Director,” mentions Valdez (25’).

Klarissa is most proud of balancing her academics and extracurriculars, like sports and clubs, while maintaining a high GPA. She believes that she has good time management skills because she also has a job outside of school and because she is the eldest daughter, takes on more responsibilities. Taking on Preuss academics was difficult, but the endless help from teachers helped her push through.

“High school has prepared me by offering challenging opportunities and experiences that I will be exposed to in college. The teachers’ support has made me feel confident and prepared myself,” Valdez (25’) claims.

High school built Klarissa to become an ambitious young lady, from the academics, to the different relationships she got to build. Klarissa has high hopes for herself and isn’t planning to stop working hard for her dreams. She came to Preuss with a purpose, to be able to attend college. Now she gets the opportunity to achieve being in the healthcare field thanks to the CASP scholarship.

“In ten years I see myself working as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner or in Medical School to become a pediatrician. I see myself in the healthcare field,” says Valdez (25’).

She strongly encourages scholars to push themselves so they can reach their dreams.

“Do not procrastinate and continue working hard, but enjoy yourself because time goes by fast. Focus on yourself and make yourself happy to be able to succeed,” says Valdez (25’).