As she is wrapping up the school year, coming to events, and setting up spirit weeks, she is still running late to class and rushing through the doors at the end of the day. The excitement and nervousness of the approaching graduation day fill the air as she wakes up every day to make it count. 

Her mind is occupied by the thought of all the people ready to celebrate and express how proud they are of all her accomplishments. She is now making plans for her new chapter and finalizing life-changing decisions. The heat of the moment she has worked so hard for is growing as she continues to live life to the fullest and never look back.

Everyone’s favorite person, Roberta Rivera — known as Berta to her friends and family — is a senior who takes the role not just as a student but also as the 2021-2022 senior class representative, AVID member, and the varsity baseball team manager here at Agua Fria. Outside of school, she works just as hard if not harder getting ready to wrap up her hairstyling class at West-MEC. With a lifetime ahead of her, she prepares to live up to her expectations.

Berta is a great role model and a wonderful friend to all. She has a very bright and wild spirit that you can never get enough of. If you aren’t having the best day she will be there to uplift you and get a smile out of you. There has never been a dull moment when spending time with her.

She herself will talk about how much of an outgoing person she is. This allowed her to make many memories with the people around her. 

She told me about her favorite memories from this year with her friend Nathan. At this year’s school tailgate, they were both sitting on a chair and it broke. Through all the laughter they had to rush and do something with it so they wouldn’t get in trouble. The whole time she was telling the story she had the biggest smile on her face and laughed as she relieved one of her favorite moments.

Being a student here for all four years of high school has allowed her to make so many great friends, especially during her time as the baseball team manager. 

“Meeting the baseball team was actually the highlight of my high school experience,” Berta said. 

Senior year was her first year managing the baseball team. She did an amazing job at this and made it to every game to be there and support the boys that mean the most to her. 

Berta stepped up and took the role as Agua Fria’s senior class representative her last year here. She went out on a limb and took a chance at what she wanted and didn’t miss. 

Taking up many leadership roles at Agua Fria isn’t the only thing she does. She is also the president of West-MEC’s Southwest campus hairstyling program and competes as part of SkillsUSA with them. Competing in hair competitions and attending class in such an amazing environment has made a big part of her day feel like home. The people make her feel so loved and appreciated. She feels like she can be unapologetically herself around everyone there and the people will still love her the same.

One thing she found difficult in high school was “finding [my] path and what fits best.” As difficult as that may have been, she has decided her first step is to go to EMCC to pursue being a pharmacist. She is on her journey to figure out the best path for her in the crazy world around her.

Berta is truly an amazing friend. Nathan Dodson, one of the varsity baseball players, is a friend that has nothing bad to say about her.

He described her as “very expressive and someone who will always show she cares.” Berta is one of few people who will go out of her way to make sure you are okay, and if she can do anything to make you feel better you can count on her to do that. She is a very dependable friend who will never let you down.

Something Nathan can always say about her is that she is “very optimistic and full of life.” Her smile is contagious and always showing no matter what is going on around her, she never lets it bring her down.

Someone else that knows Berta very well is her hairstyling instructor Mrs. Bautista. While at West-MEC, she has been Berta’s teacher for the last two years, assisting her in every way possible to make her the best in this profession. 

Just like the rest, Mrs. Bautista Said Berta is friendly and has a great personality. Knowing her on a deeper level, she added, “She is very easy to like by her peers: therefore, she can be accommodating in the classroom.” 

Berta is the type of person that you meet and will always think about even at the most random moments. She has left such an impression on everyone around her, and for that, she will be missed by those who aren’t blessed with her presence after school.

There’s no doubt she will do amazing in everything she puts her mind to. We all wish her the absolute best of luck on the rest of her journey!