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Scholarship winners
From the homecoming queen to a mother of two to a reformed gang-banger, this is a diverse group of young people.
What they all have in common is that each has won $2,000 through the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Newspapers and Sam Levitz Furniture Scholarship Program.
These seniors have faced hardships, but they've persevered to stay in school and make a difference in their communities.
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Patricia Urias
Two babies and a beat-up '84 Oldsmobile can't keep Urias from finishing high school.
The 22-year-old is determined to graduate from Mountain Rose High School's Fort Lowell Campus next month, even as she juggles motherhood, a full-time job, school and helping care for her four younger brothers.
"It's really hard to get a good job without a high school diploma," said Urias, who plans to study accounting at Pima Community College.
She was on track to graduate from high school and had even earned a scholarship when her son was born two months premature, weighing just under 2 pounds. With Alejandro, now 4, in the hospital for weeks, Urias quit school.
"I couldn't think of anything else but him," the single mother said.
Then her youngest son, Guillermo, 2, came along and her longtime boyfriend abandoned the family. As much as she struggles, Urias refuses to go on welfare and is determined to finish school and set an example for her boys.
These days, her biggest roadblock is her mother's not-so-dependable car.
"Sometimes it doesn't start," Urias said. "I'll call in and tell them 'I'll be late, but I get a ride to school.' "
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Percingula Elyse Lopez
All she wanted was a trip to Phoenix. Instead she ended up on a journey to a new life.
A few years ago, Lopez was headed nowhere, ditching school and partying. Then she tagged along with friends to a Tribal Images Youth Council meeting. The council - which teaches young American Indians leadership skills and how to help their communities - needed a corresponding secretary, a position that came with a Phoenix trip. Lopez, who is Tohono O'odham and Hopi, took the job.
The 18-year-old Cholla High Magnet School senior has since traveled the country for conferences. Now Tribal Images president, she's credited with waking up a sleepy club of five members and helping it grow to an active crew of 35.
And the formerly shy girl who used to hide her heritage has grown as well. "(Tribal Images) helped me to be proud of who I am," said Lopez, who plans to study accounting in New Mexico.
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Matt Maynard
He does it all. The Patagonia Union High School senior is a poet, math whiz, athlete, elementary school mentor and, in his spare time, taught himself Web design to create a site that explores the history of Patagonia through longtime residents' eyes.
What else would you expect from a guy who had an "I am God" bumper sticker stuck on his backpack?
Maynard, 18, has always been a doer. As a 5-year-old, he started a soccer team so he and his buddies could play competitively. This year, in addition to juggling a full load of classes, he often teaches geometry class - the same one his 16-year-old sister takes.
"Math is like second nature to me," Maynard said. "Whenever (the teacher) needs to do something else, I teach the class."
After he graduates, Maynard will go from being big man on a campus of 160 to the University of Arizona, which at about 35,000 students is bigger than some towns. He's not worried.
"It's just going to be another step for me," said Maynard, who plans to put a psychology degree to use as either a psychologist or lawyer. "I'm not nervous about it, but I don't really like to think that far in the future. Live in the present."
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Delfina Gaxiola
Her resume doesn't mention that she's the youngest of nine siblings. But it would be easy to mistake it for the combined accomplishments of nine people.
"I don't like sitting around the house when there's always someone out there who needs my help," said Gaxiola, 17, who says cheerleading taught her maximum effort and perseverance.
The Sunnyside High School senior and homecoming queen also credits Student Council with helping her overcome her shyness and gain the confidence necessary to make a difference in her community.
Gaxiola, a mariachi, has been involved in youth councils to study crucial issues like education, diversity and violence.
"It made me realize that other people cared about these issues, and that we did have the power to change things," said Gaxiola, who will be a premed student at the UA this fall.
Gaxiola's big brothers and sisters have always rallied behind her and taught her this important lesson: "You've got to use opportunities when you have them, because they might not be there later."
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Rocky Buelna
He didn't get off to a good start in high school.
The Catalina High Magnet School senior regularly skipped school. His counselor had to drag him to class - no easy task, being that Buelna stands 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds. Trouble at home with his mother, who is deaf and mute, and his older brother meant that he lived with different friends for months at a time.
Buelna racked up a string of arrests, including one for stealing a car and driving it into a house. He even resorted to dealing drugs to score money for food.
"I had to do what I had to do," said Buelna, 18, who has never met his father.
Then he discovered football his sophomore year.
"Football helped me out a lot," said Buelna, who will be the first in his family to finish high school. "It taught me a lot of discipline."
Playing football meant he had to boost his grades. His GPA shot up from a 1.7 to about a 3.8. Buelna, who was voted homecoming king, even made the honor roll last semester.
"I'm planning on doing it again," said Buelna, who plans to study physical education at a junior college and become a football coach. "I'm going to do it again."
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