Andres Cano has "an incredible drive," says City High principal.

Related articles:

'Student of the Week': Guillermo Sainz

General
MOUNTAIN VIEW RETIREMENT VILLAGE
MAINTENANCE ASSISTANT Engineering
SCHNIPKE SOUTHWEST
PROCESS ENGINEER Finance and Accounting
Tohono O'odham Nation
Controller and Assistant Controller Engineering
IOTA ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL INSPECTOR Health Care
CONMED HEALTHCARE
RNS General
.
MYSTERY SHOPPERS Driver/Transportation
DRIVERS

Age: 14

Parents: Patricia Ronquillo and Guadalupe Cano

Newspaperman: Cano is a modern-day William Randolph Hearst. The summer after his freshman year, he helped start the Pedestrian Press, the charter school's quarterly newspaper. Cano can be considered the editor, publisher, copy editor and advertising director. The page design is left to another City High student. Stories are written by student contributors.

"The hopes are that it (journalism) will be an elective and more people will be involved," Cano said.

His attraction to journalism goes as far back as his preteen years, when he often read the newspaper at his grandmother's house. In fifth grade, he began contributing to his elementary school's newspaper. When he attended the Tucson Academy of Leadership and Arts as a middle school student, his involvement with newspapers grew.

Upon arriving at City High School, 48 E. Pennington St., as a freshman, he was amazed that the new school, now with 140 students, didn't have its own publication.

"I've always been the kind of person who was a go-getter," he said. "If I see something that's missing, I go for it."

Cano wants to work in journalism, but he's not sure if he prefers a newspaper or a television station. He enjoyed his internship last year at KVOA News 4 and contributes columns to the Tucson Citizen.

Advocate for change: Though Cano admits that running the school's newspaper keeps him busy, he's also one of 39 teens involved in the Governor's Youth Commission, which advises Gov. Janet Napolitano on issues affecting Arizona's youth. The commission focuses on one issue yearly, and it now is discussing substance abuse.

"It's amazing to have that kind of impact on state law," said Cano, who discovered the opportunity on the Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona's Web site.

Role model: "Anyone who sets goals for themselves and achieves them," he said. He also admired his grandmother, Rosa Maldonado, who passed away last year.

"There's always that person in your family that you look up to, and she was it," he said. "She's always been an inspiration. I wanted to make her proud."

What he's reading: "The Confession" by James McGreevey.

Favorite place in Tucson: Downtown. "People can expect a lot of great things in Downtown soon," he said. "It's starting to become a place where people can gather."

Sound bite: "I think our school has given him a great forum to be active, but he came in with that kind of fire," Principal Carrie Brennan said. "At a very young age he has an incredible drive and a strong image of his future and is excited to get involved and work toward some goals that he has for himself."