Related articles:

Student of the Week: Joe CoxStudent of the Week: Sean LoganStudent of the Week: Keesha RutledgeStudent of the Week: McKenzie WeaverStudent of the Week: Izamar MurrietaStudent of the Week: Jamie Barry

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION General
A1 Communications
Cable Techs Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator

Age: 16

Parents' names: Jose and Adriana Rincon

Favorite class: Gabriela, who has played the violin for 10 years and began taking piano lessons at age 4, said Advanced Placement music theory is her "all-time favorite class."

"To a lot of people it could be boring, but my teacher makes it fun, and it's something I'm very interested in," she said.

"I can be kind of reserved about some stuff, so music is a way for me to express myself without having to speak."

Activities in school: She's involved in Students Against Destructive Decisions and Key Club International, a high school service organization that recently helped stage a Christmas party to aid families of children affected by cancer.

Activities outside of school: Playing the violin and singing for Mariachi Brillante Juvenil, as well as participating in the National Charity League.

Whom would you have lunch with if you could have lunch with anyone? "My entire family." Gabriela said she wishes her extended family, throughout Arizona and Mexico, could get together more often. And she wishes she could have the time back with her brother, Jose Rincon, who was killed last January at age 14 when he was struck by a driver as he rode his bicycle on East Broadway.

"I think I miss always having a companion. We were so close — we were only 12 months apart — so we were a real team. I guess it just makes me feel alone sometimes, because I don't have that right hand there."

What books are you reading now? "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, which she is reading on her own and not as a school assignment. "The themes are really interesting to me, and I like learning about different cultures," she said.

Whom do you admire most? "I think it would have to be my parents," she said. "I admire them not only because of the people they are, but also because I always admired their relationship — more so this year when my brother died."

Gabriela said that after the tragedy, she did research on the Internet and found statistics that showed a large number of marriages break up after the death of a child. "I knew that it was going to be very difficult for them, but they're closer now than they ever have been."

What's your favorite song? "Imagine" by John Lennon, although she and her older sister "rock out" to "Sugar, Sugar," the 1960s bubblegum pop song by the Archies.

Plans after high school: Heading to the University of Arizona to double-major in music and education, with a minor in Spanish and business.

Dream job: Gabriela hopes to become a mariachi music teacher and compose music.

Dream car: Toyota Tundra.

Favorite place in Tucson: Her favorite place is her nani's house. "That's where our family gatherings are. At Christmas and Thanksgiving, everybody's together there, and I feel all the love we have for each other."

Hidden talents: She's great at baking chocolate-chip cookies, She can snap very loudly by doing a sort of double snap with her index and middle finger. And she can catch food in her mouth, once catching four shrimp launched by a chef at Sakura Japanese restaurant.

Vouch: "She has consistently been a superior student throughout her elementary and middle school years," said her grandmother, Esperanza Bejarano, who said her granddaughter is "always busy but always smiling."

"She continues to excel academically in spite of the recent tragic death of her younger brother. Gabriela is a loving daughter and granddaughter, always making family a priority. She is a great role model for her younger cousins, spending a lot of time caring for them."

● Student of the Week runs every Tuesday through May. In addition to being featured in the story, each student receive a plaque donated by Tuller Trophy and a certificate from the Office of the Pima County School Superintendent. If you'd like to nominate a deserving student, go to www.azstarnet.com/sn/ studentoftheweek and fill out the nomination form. Students also have to fill out a form. Find links to past winners at the same site.