STOCKTON -- As Paulina Martínez prepares for starting UC Davis, she leaves Chávez High School knowing that she met her mission of making history not only for the recently built high school, but also for the whole school district.
While she was part of varsity volleyball, the team won its first league championship since 1976 for the entire school district, and they also made playoffs two times.
"I set my goals since the beginning of my first class. I said 'We have to make history,'" Martínez, 18, said. "I felt I had to be a leader and a role model."
The 5-foot-3 Martínez proved that her skill and passion for volleyball strongly out-measure her size. She was named the varsity team's most valuable player three times; all-area setter of the year in 2006-07 and 2008-09; The Record's Athlete of the week during the 2006-07 and 2008-09 school years; Max Preps California Athlete of the Week; and Academic All-American.
"I feel really proud of myself," Martínez said. "I love playing volleyball."
Martínez, who was assistant coach for Chávez High's freshmen volleyball team for 2008-09, also plays with a Lodi travel team which will compete in the Junior Olympics in Miami, Florida, on June 29.
Sports aren't the only activity Martínez excelled in.
Martínez, whose parents describe as a self-motivated athlete and student, matches her kinesthetic abilities with champion brain power.
With a 4.33 GPA, Martínez was among her class' top 2 percent at the time of her May 29 graduation.
Her grades qualified her for the No. 5 ranking in the Mayor's Top Twenty, the Distinguished Pinnacle Award by The Record and the Scholastic Achievement Award.
"Everybody's life is how they make it. Me, I chose this path. I haven't spent much time with friends, but I don't regret the work I've done," Martínez said.
"For me it was like you always have to be a student first. That was my philosophy."
Her parents instilled in her that value. Martínez was not allowed to practice or participate in games unless her homework was done, said her parents, who work for the state's child support services division.
"We have those Mexican values, and values never go out of style," said her father Juan Martínez, 48.
"She's always been responsible and today she's seeing the fruits of her labor," said her mother Martha Martínez, 47.
Martínez didn't receive a scholarship to play volleyball at Davis, but she plans to continue playing through other avenues.
In college, her focus will shift more towards her educational goals, because she said she wants to have a solid career, rather than relying on the uncertain volleyball prospect.
Martínez, who took part in high school mock trials, learned she enjoyed performing discovery and arguing her points. "It gave me a rush to do all that," she said.
At Davis, she will major in psychology with the intention of moving on to law school.
Now that she realized her high school goal, she has another lined up. Martínez wants to attend a top law school in the East Coast.
"I know this is my ticket to doing bigger and better things," Martínez said. "It seems like a long ways away, but I always shoot for the best."
Overcoming the odds, language barrier
Susana Yáñez graduated from Weber Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology's Medical Academy at the top of her class in May with a 3.91 GPA. Her hard work earned a full ride to University of the Pacific, an education she will begin this fall.
But things didn't always seem so bright for the 17-year-old Yáñez. She was transplanted into a new world where she didn't understand the language spoken at school when her family uprooted from Michoacán, México, and migrated to Ripon.
Her father, who became a U.S. resident through the amnesty program, had long been laboring in the county's agriculture areas during the work seasons, then returning to México to spend time with his family when he wasn't working.
Once he received his citizenship, her father ended the frequent visits to México and brought his wife and five children to Ripon so they could live together in 2000.
That was a unifying life for the family, but also the beginning of a daunting experience for the children in a new school system that didn't have an English-language transition program.
"I wanted to go back," Yáñez said.
Yáñez was 8 years old. She recalled sitting in a fourth grade classroom, surrounded by children and a teacher who couldn't communicate with her.
Yáñez was placed in the back of the class, where for three months she colored on coloring packets given to her by the teacher.
"I remember thinking 'why am I here coloring, while everyone else is doing work?'" Yáñez said.
In retrospect, she thinks that school system was unprepared for dealing with migrant students at that time.
After that three-month experience, Yáñez's family moved to Stockton, into a school that offered a migrant education program.
"It was a little rough since we didn't have much time to get assimilated. It took a couple of years," Yáñez said.
But after a couple years at Fillmore Elementary, her potential in this country started showing as she brought home good grades and her English communication skills were vastly improving.
Yáñez realized early on that she wanted to be a nurse to help people in vulnerable situations, so she opted to start high school at Weber Institute. There, she learned biology, anatomy, medical terminology, and received hands-on experience to become a nurse's assistant while she earns a high school diploma.
"I always I wanted to be a nurse. I thought I would get a head start," Yáñez said.
As part of her training, Yáñez interned at Good Samaritan Rehab Center and Golding Living Center, a senior living facility.
"I enjoyed helping others do things that sometimes we take for granted, like feeding yourself, walking or showering," Yáñez said. "We help them do those things, and that was very rewarding."
Yáñez's interests expand into two more passions: creating art and playing soccer. Yáñez, who paints and molds sculptures inspired by her family and the issues she cares about, also received a scholarship from Pacific to pursue art.
She will also continue being involved in community soccer, as she attends college. Yáñez plays with the Valley Vipers in Manteca, and with the Real Latinas in Stockton.
Away from school, nursing and hobbies, she enjoyed spending time with her family, including her 15-year-old sister, three brothers and her mother and father.
"I hope she accomplishes her goals. It was my dream since I came from México," said her mother Martina Yáñez, 40.