Angie Perez is a sophomore student at Granite Hills High School.
Perez is known for her active lifestyle, honesty, and kindness. Growing up in Porterville, Perez has always been passionate about animals. At 16 years old, she started balancing school and her love for sports. Perez shines in the classroom, with chemistry being her favorite subject.
Outside of academics, she is involved in water polo, wrestling, and track, where she has achieved discipline and dedication as well as new goals to look forward to.
Her favorite teacher is Coach Scudder for he has inspired her because he’s always supported her when nobody else would and would never let her give up. Scudder is one of the reasons Perez keeps pushing through and makes sure to never give up when she wants to.
This year, Perez is determined to have good grades while still giving it her all in sports as she never wants to give up.
When Perez isn’t focused on school, she enjoys working out and sleeping. Something unique about Perez is when something falls apart, she’s able to make something new from the situation or transform it into something better, which makes her stand out.
Perez only joined wrestling because during her freshman year. She tried to join soccer but it was too late. All the spots were taken. Then she got the idea of joining wrestling. People would tell Perez to not join which would make her rethink her decision. Then, coincidentally, wrestling was the only choice she had left. She turned to wrestling as a last resort but she ended up really liking it in the end. Now, it’s one of her favorite sports.
She likes a lot of things about wrestling, like the adrenaline, the excitement, the anxiety. It’s all such a unique and thrilling feeling to her. She can’t explain the feeling of your hand getting raised after winning a match. She explains it as being one of the best rewarding feelings.
“It’s like getting a big fat cookie after winning a race,” Perez said.
She also likes that it’s a little bit more of a one-person sport. She likes knowing that she’s responsible for what she’s doing and that she can do more to fix something instead of having to rely on her teammates. She did say, “I love my team though don’t get me wrong, they’re all super helpful and supportive.”
Inspired by her teammates, she aims to medal in wrestling. Perez has shown resilience as she is surrounded by friends who share their passion for sports and also help out when needed. She is an active part of the school community, participating in many extra-curricular activities.
She dreams of becoming a trauma surgeon and is working hard to have the future she plans to have. To reach that goal, she plans to attend college after high school. So, in 5-10 years she sees herself with a house of her own and a job as an emergency room paramedic.
As Perez says, “Growth isn’t always comfortable, the future is in your hands and the past is in your head. So quit carrying the same bricks around because you’re only going to keep building the same house.” This quote perfectly reflects how she views life itself.
