Like any high school seniors in June, those from the American School of Guadalajara are atwitter these day with graduation festivities, none more so than Natalia Velasco and Mauricio Moel, the school’s valedictorian and salutatorian.
Natalia and Mauricio, selected from the ranks of 80 students set to attend an eye-popping list of universities from Asia Pacific in Japan to Vassar in New York, have distinguished themselves by grades and altruistic community activities, but also by some hard-to-define qualities as well.
For example, Natalia’s interests in language and in editing the school’s literary magazine suggest she thrives in an academic environment. Yet she has nevertheless put off the question of attending university, describing herself as “someone who has always liked to reflect before I make a decision.” She would like to travel, she said, adding that a favorite school project was working with a Latin American service organization in constructing emergency homes for poverty stricken families just outside the city limits.
“I’ve put in something like 400 hours going every weekend to a slum to work on this.”
Similarly, Mauricio’s trajectory reflects interests that set him apart from standard notions of what high school seniors should be doing.
At Boston University, where he will receive a full scholarship as a “trustee scholar,” an honor given by BU to 20 students annually, he plans to combine a study of both philosophy and science
“I consider philosophy to be a prelude to science and I’ve always wished to understand things fundamentally,” he explained.
His community service activities at the American School included teaching in an orphanage and helping a local Jewish group, Comunidad Hebrea, plant trees in a park and along a major road.
“We planted over 85 trees,” he noted.
The two gave speeches at the school graduation ceremony Saturday at the Fiesta Americana hotel near the landmark Minerva statue.
In sync with the road less traveled that Natalia has chosen, she advised her fellow students “to embrace what you truly care about, without lying to yourselves. Convincing yourself that you want something that deep down inside you don’t want will only lead to you regretting your decisions.”