Swim team manager Kerry Archer with coach Brittany Yanetti, Nicholas Abraham and Keely Lopez. At right, School 2 students Sebastian and Gabriel helped show their kindness by conducting a food drive.
not a lot they could work on without having the cars in front of them. If anything, the pandemic has opened her mind to the different possibilities that await her once she leaves the halls of Colfax Avenue. “I was kind of set on just one [plan] … but then I realized that maybe this isn’t the industry that I really want to go into when I don’t know what I’ll have access to actually learning,” said Archer. “So, I got more of an idea of all the different options because at this time, you really have to search everything because you don’t know what’ll happen next year.” Archer’s focus and discipline does not go unnoticed by those around her. Brittany Yanetti, a gym teacher and the CHS swim coach, admires Archer’s commitment on all levels. “I love how reliable she is [as student manager],” said Yanetti. “She’s always willing to help and come to practice every day or a meet with a positive attitude.” Yanetti also approves of Archer weighing her future options. She said that she and Archer have spoken about college because Archer is contemplating community college as an option. Yanetti similarly said that she attended a county college before later transferring to a four-year school. “I really appreciate that she’s thinking about her options, especially moving forward and paying for col-
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lege,” said Yanetti. “It might all be virtual and she understands that … and I appreciate that she looks at the bigger picture and doesn’t just jump into situations.” Above all else, Archer offers some simple advice to her peers. “Find what motivates you,” she said, “and try to connect that to everything you have to get done.”
Kindness & Respect Learning to make the best out of an unusual situation is something that CHS seniors are incredibly experienced with doing by now. For Nicholas Abraham and Keely Lopez, finding the positives is what keeps them motivated in a less-than-typical senior year of high school. For the soon-to-be graduating Mustangs, the key is looking ahead and not to the past. “These times are unfortunate, but we just have to make [do] with what we have and keep on moving forward,” said Abraham, 17. “We can’t keep on thinking about what could’ve been - forget about [that] and look at what is now and move forward from that.” Speaking separately, Lopez echoed that sentiment. She also stressed the importance of reaching out to others and spreading kindness as much as possible. “Any moment you can, be kind to others,” said Lopez, 17, “because you never know what someone is going through.”