Recent La Junta High School Graduates--Where Are They Now? - By Catherine Mondragon

Description: 2022 La Junta high school graduate Paublo Bailon is a very hard-working person. His day starts by waking up at 5:45 and going to work at 6. He is a street maintenance worker. Learn more about him and other La Junta High School Graduates in this article by By Catherine Mondragon...

Recent La Junta High School Graduates--Where Are They Now?

By Catherine Mondragon

Have you ever wondered about what your life would look like after high school or are you scared to be an adult? I was wondering about some recent high school graduates, so I interviewed three former students--the first one I interviewed was a 2023 graduate, the second one was a 2022 graduate, and the last one I interviewed was a 2020 graduate.  

A 2023 high school graduate, Emilee Vigil starts her day with cosmetology courses at Pueblo Community College; she then goes to work at Red Lobster. She is a very busy, smart, amazing person to be around.

Vigil had always wanted to do cosmetology because she found out barbering was shorter and had more qualifications. She said she is happy being an adult; it is better than she expected because she is stable on her own and pays her bills. She said if she could change one thing in high school it would be “not care as much about what other people think. Enjoy high school--it goes by so fast.  Make sure to keep your grades up, but remember to have fun, make memories, and take lots of pictures because before you know it you're an adult.”

2022 La Junta high school graduate Paublo Bailon is a very hard-working person. His day starts by waking up at 5:45 and going to work at 6. He is a street maintenance worker.

Bailon did not go to college because he said, “College wasn’t for me, I always liked to work so I didn't care for it since I already have a good job.” He said he loves being an adult because he gets to do what he wants, has no curfew to worry about, likes the money he makes, and can travel places, but being an adult does have its moments, it’s stressful or there are new things you might have to do that could be challenging or scary.

He did say that if he could go back to high school, he would want to keep playing sports instead of working. Still, one thing he wanted to say is that “life is what you make it, you should always follow your dreams, don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you want in life, there will be times where life knocks you down but always remember to get back up because there is so much in life to live for.”

Orlando Estrada (21 years old)

Orlando Estrada is a 2020 LJHS graduate. He also graduated from UCCS College in 2023. He went to college because he thought it was something he had to do; he was the first generation in his family to go and graduate from college. His day starts with waking up and going to work, where he is a biology teacher at La Junta Jr/Sr High School. Then after 3:55 when the kids leave, he gets his plan period or free time to do what he needs to do.

Estrada said yes and no to being an adult because it is an interesting experience due to how independent he is, it's like a rollercoaster with good feelings, more responsibility, not always fun, but plenty of growth opportunities. He had said if he could go back to high school he would be more involved in school because he wasn’t as much as he wanted to be. One thing he wanted to tell students is to “trust yourself, take risks, life is too short to settle for less if you want to do something do it, have faith."

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