Celebrating Our Graduates 2020

TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2020 SALUTING THE CLASS OF 2020 | 5
Five students lead Orestimba Class of 2020
NEWMAN - Five Orestimba High seniors
will graduate at the head of the
Class of 2020.
Doreen Dyt, Ana Fuentes, Sarita Tello
and Maxwelle Tartaglia are co-valedictorians.
Corina Chico is the salutatorian.
DOREEN DYT
Dyt said her overall experience at
Orestimba went well beyond academic
achievement, helping hone leadership
skills and reinforcing the importance of
serving others.
Dyt, whose older sister Callista was
the Orestimba salutatorian during her
sophomore year, said being at the top of
her class was a goal.
She said her parents, Rich and Jacquie
Dyt, emphasized the importance of education
in broadening future horizons.
Dyt took that advice to heart, and worked
hard to be able to attend the college of
her choice - Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
“My parents instilled in me pretty
young that academics are very important,”
Dyt shared, adding that she appreciated
the educational opportunities
afforded her.
“Not everybody gets a free K-12 education,”
she pointed out.
Dyt was involved in a number of activities
at Orestimba. She was active in student
council, serving as class president
during her sophomore and junior years
and executive student body president as
a senior. She was also heavily involved
in FFA, serving as chapter president as a
senior, and belonged to Interact and the
Adventure Club. She played volleyball
and tennis as well.
Outside her school activities, Dyt has
been involved in Newman 4-H and is the
reigning Miss Newman.
“I loved our small school vibe,” she
said of her Orestimba experience.
“School spirit was really fun, especially
my senior year. I also loved that, going to
Orestimba, I had the opportunity to be in
so many clubs and organizations.”
Raised on a family dairy, Dyt’s passion
for agriculture has helped shape her
career goals. She will major in ag business
and hopes to add a political science
minor.
Dyt said she plans to pursue a career
which allows her to be an advocate for
agriculture.
“I find my passion in fighting for farmers,”
she shared. “I have a huge passion
for the ag industry, and it is definitely
something I want to pursue.”
ANA FUENTES
Fuentes, the daughter of Victor and
Maria Fuentes, said she has long been
driven to succeed academically.
“I am motivated by making my parents
proud. I always looked forward to going
to college,” she shared. “I really like
learning. I just like to know a lot of facts.
I like to know what goes on in the world.”
Her activities at Orestimba included
FFA, Interact, PHAST (Protecting Health
and Slamming Tobacco) and, during her
senior year, student council. She was senior
class secretary.
“It was something I never
thought I would do,” Fuentes said
of her student council experience.
“I decided to run just to
break out of my shell more,
and I really enjoyed it.”
Student council
and
FFA both
helped
Fuentes
further
her communication
skills, she
said, which
will benefit
her in the
future.
Fuentes
said she has
also learned
to better handle
stress and
manage her
time while at
Orestimba.
While she was
disappointed at
losing the opportunity
to take part
in many traditional
senior year activities
due to the school closure,
Fuentes said she is trying to keep that in
perspective.
“We still worked really hard and did it,
and we got our diploma,” she pointed out.
“We still have our future ahead of us.”
For Fuentes, that future will start with
attending Stanislaus State, where she will
major in psychology.
SARITA TELLO
Tello’s parents encouraged their children
to pursue dreams of a higher education.
“Education was always important in
my family,” said Tello, the daughter of
Cecilia and Saul Tello. “They wanted
their kids to go to college.”
She was also motivated by close bonds
with older brother Saul Tello Jr., who
was valedictorian of the Orestimba Class
of 2012.
“I always just wanted to excel the most
I can to make my family proud,” Tello
shared. “I have always had an inside joke
with him that I was his twin. He told me
that he would accept me as his twin if I
was also valedictorian. That was a big
motivation for me.”
On campus, Tello has been involved
in the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) and
PHAST club. She also worked as an after-school
program leader at Bonita and
Hunt schools.
Tello said friendships forged at Orestimba
and the support of her teachers
made her high school years
a growth experience.
“I didn’t expect to
meet the type of
people that I did.
I felt so much
more comfortable
and
happy,” she
commented.
“I feel happy
with who
I am and
became.
I used to
be really
shy. It
was hard
to talk
to other
people, but
because of
teachers and
friends I have
become more outgoing
without fear of
being judged.”
Tello plans to attend San Diego State
and major in finance, with the goal of
becoming an accountant, budget analyst
or similar professional.
She said the logic-based nature of
mathematics suits her.
“I have always been good with numbers
and math,” Tello explained.
MAXWELLE TARTAGLIA
Like her fellow valedictorians, Tartaglia
is motivated academically and encouraged
by supportive parents.
Tartaglia, the daughter of Jeanette
Kobak-Tartaglia and George Tartaglia,
said her mother made sure that she knew
how to read and write going into kindergarten,
helping set the foundation for
academic success.
While her parents have always been
supportive and encouraging, Tartaglia
said, she is also extremely self-motivated.
While she kept a focus on academics,
saying that she took a business-like approach
to high school with grades and
college opportunities a constant goal,
Tartaglia was also involved in GSA,
Sports Club and Gaming Club at Orestimba.
She also appeared in Newman-Crows
Landing Unified School District Musical
Theatre productions of “Newsies” and
“The Wedding Singer.”
Through high school, Tartaglia reflected,
she grew from positive friendships
and learned from those which were not
healthy.
“The people who I met really shaped
who I am today, whether it was a good
friendship or a bad friendship,” she
shared. “I learned what I liked. I learned
what I would not stand for. Even if there
is a bad experience with a person, you
learn from that experience.”
Tartaglia plans to attend Cal State
Monterey Bay. She has not declared a
major, deciding instead to initially keep
her options open.
CORINA CHICO
Chico, the Class of 2020 salutatorian, is
the daughter of Josie and Bill Chico.
She said she views education as essential
to her future.
“I want to make sure that I have a secure
future for myself. That is what my
parents instilled in me,” Chico stated. “I
want to be self-sufficient.”
At Orestimba, Chico has been involved
in FFA, PHAST, Interact and Warriors
for Christ.
Chico said she strove to remain at the
top of her class. But, she explained, she
views academics more a matter of meeting
and exceeding her personal expectations
than competition with other students.
Chico is an avid reader and journals
regularly. “I like to have memories to
look back on. I value that kind of thing,”
said Chico.
Her years at Orestimba boosted her
self-confidence, Chico shared, including
the confidence to take the AP courses
which she initially found intimidating.
“I learned that anything I put my mind
to I can do,” the salutatorian commented.
“I have God by my side, and I am not going
to let that go.”
She will attend Stanislaus State, and
plans to become an English teacher.
“I could see myself doing that and enjoying
myself,” Chico explained. “I would
rather do that and love what I do than
make a bunch of money and hate what
I’m doing.”
Her years at Orestimba were enjoyable
and will always be remembered.
“No matter where I go I will always
have my roots in Orestimba,” Chico reflected.
“I can’t forget where I come
from.”