MAPSStudents plan for life
after high school Pages 8-11M IRADA
THE
Rio Americano High School • Sacramento, CAVolume 48, Senior Issue Graduating June 10, 2010
Graduation Countdown (7 more days)SENIOR CHECKOUT
June 9Assigned times
SENIOR BRUNCH
June 9Unitarian Church
2425 Sierra Boulevard
GRADUATION
June 10Memorial AuditoriumRehearsal 11am-1pmCeremony 3pm-5pm
GRAD NIGHT
June 10-118:45pm-4:30amStrikes Family Entertainment
Seniors “thrilled” to graduate as fashion show leads way to end of school
Senior IssueHuzzah!
RIOAMERICANOCLASS of 2010
seni
ors
2 Seniors 2010
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Senior Class20
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23Senior Index
Sponsors
SeniorMoments
Profiles
Senior Ball
Party in the USA
CaliforniaBound
Fashion Show
Seniors celebrate their upcoming graduation plans together
Models strut their stuff during a “Good Good Night”
Where will everyone in CA be next year?
Students venture beyond sunny CA
Seniors get their groove on at their last high school dance
Six seniors share their ambitious plans for the future
Favorite memories of Rio and more
Support those who support The Mirada
The year in review, by the numbers
Seniors 2010 3
The MiradaRIO AMERICANO
HIGH SCHOOL4540 American River Dr.Sacramento, CA 95864(916) 971-8921 ext. 80
Editors-in-ChiefAlex ReinnoldtMolly IngramAlexis ShenAlex McFall
News EditorAbbie Jennings
Features EditorChristian Oldham
Photo EditorAlex McFall
Staff WritersRiva Ballis
Jesse BartelsThomas Hemington
Eugene KwonScott McDonald
Elise Marsh
Business ManagerMolly Ingram
AdviserMichael Mahoney
The Mirada is the indepen-dent voice of the students and a forum for diverse ideas pub-lished by Rio Americano’s news-paper class.
The Mirada welcomes story ideas, comics, letters to the edi-tor and opinion pieces. Submit articles and letters to the box in A3 or the main office. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Mirada editorial board.
Opinion articles and let-ters to the editor are the views of the individual writer and not necessarily the views of the Mirada or Rio Americano High School.
We welcome advertising, but reserve the right to refuse any ad.
Letter from the editors
Dear Class of 2010,Our final days at Rio are almost over! We’ve enjoyed writing and reporting on your successes
in issues past, whether it be in theater, sports or music. Thank you to everyone who has ever sent in a letter or voiced their opinion by writing for the paper; we greatly appreciated your input. Also, thank you to our friends on the Tesoro staff for sharing photos with us and making the back room a more harmonious place for everyone!
Looking at everyone’s plans for after graduation, we wish you the best of luck, and happiness in all your endeavors!
Thanks for the memories,Alex Reinnoldt Alex McFall
Molly Ingram Alexis Shen
4 Seniors 2010
the class ofWe are...
RIO
Seniors 2010 5
Seniors
A Good, Good NightFASHION SHOW 2010
6 Seniors 2010
Top to bottom: Toni Smiley dances with Alan Eyster in the Phantom of the Oper-etta scene. Rhisa Muse and Fawn Press-Dawson strike a pose in the Finale lineup. Brittney Cracciolo and Eugene Kwon mambo cha-cha in the Commotion at Catwalk Cabaret scene. IIlisa Weinberg and Lauren Hotell strut around Harris Levin in the scene Night Fever in Disco Heaven.
A Good, Good NightShow Scenes
Scene 1: Midnight Thriller music: “Thriller” and
“Gotta Be Starting Something”
Scene 2: Evacuate the Dance Floor music: “Evacuate the
Dance Floor” and “I Gotta Feeling”
Scene 3: Cloudy with a Chance of Meteor Showers
music: “Umbrella”Scene 4: Mystery on the Orient
Express music: “You Don’t Know”Scene 5: Night Fever in Disco
Heaven music: “Night Fever” and
“Disco Heaven”Scene 6: Commotion at Catwalk
Cabaret music: “The Boys are Too
Refined” and “Break Your Heart”
Scene 7: Here Comes Good-Bye music: “Time of My Life”Scene 8: Phantom of the Operetta music: “Phantom of the
Opera” and “I Belong to You”
Finale: Raiders... It’s Your Night! music: “United State of
Pop 2009”
May 22, 2010
Seniors 2010 7
By ALEXIS SHENEditor-in- Chief
It was a “good good night” as the senior class worked together to complete Rio’s 27th annual Senior Fashion Show.
In an eight-scene event, seniors show-cased their talents from dancing and mod-eling to acting and acrobatics. The show covered a wide genre of dance styles, in-cluding disco, Thriller, mambo and tango.The event was brought to an end with a finale that involved all participating seniors.
“Even though I had the flu, fashion show was amazing,” senior Andrea Ott said. “Everybody just had a lot of fun and it was definitely a highlight from my years at Rio.”
The show was pulled off by a number of volunteers, including Beth Ruyak and Cin-dy Nolan, the event co-chairs; Lisa Schwan, the choreographer; and Linda Bender, the model coordinator.
The show provided both entertainment and PTSA funds with the support of stu-dents, families, alumni, faculty, local cloth-ing boutiques and department stores.
Top to bottom: Katie Montgomery poses with partner Brian Lee to the song “Break Your Heart.” Sheldon Freeman does an aerial flip in the Finale. Abe Leibovitz, Sherene Thompson, Jessica Dyatlov, Andy Bis-sel, Felicia Parra, and Kayloni Medina disco dance to the music “Disco Heaven.” Jorden Litchfield, Andrea Ott and Eden Young dance around Sheldon Freeman, Kyle McGill and John Butterfield.
8 Seniors 2010
California 1. AI Art Institute
of CaliforniaAndrew Bell
2. American River College
Rabtseva AlinaAlyssa Aragon
Ramish BahramandKatelyn Barrino
Jesse BartelsNick BaumbachJessica BehrensAmber Bibby
Christopher Booth-Hall
Joseph BraggWilliam Britt
Ashley BroddrickClark BrookoverRandy BrosharCassie BrownNicole Brown
Alicia BudreauxBrittany Budreaux
Kevin BushBrendan Cabe
Tyler CampbellMegan Carr
Nicholas CohmanschiBrie Conway
Ryan CreminsSommer Deboer-
MarinLindsay Dehm
Domenico De LucaMatthew Deterding
Sarah DevotoDaniele DowningDelanie Downing
Jens DrillerJessica DyatlovChris EdwardsMatt Fanfelle
Lyndsay Farley
Adam FeltonJoe Fox
Melissa FreitasOmid Ganji
Lydia Garcia-PotterKyle Goodman
Tanner GrafMatt Granroth
Tyler HannaClaudia Hernandez
Vinh HoNick Johnson
Cailin JopeAlice Joska
Mahyar KamalinafarGavin KinderEvan KubickiDanny Lacayo
Young LeeDylan Lemos
Jesse LeyvaJorden Litchfield
Preston LoganAntonio Lorta
Kirill LukinskiyRiley Matranga
Matt MartireRocker McCarter-
RibakoffJarrett McClain
Glynnis MorrisonMatt MouserMario Najera
Zachary NajjarLisa Neal
college bound
Seniors 2010 9
Gaelan O’NeillBrandon Odom
Kristian Olsen MockDavid Pacheco
Kathryn PalmerChase PattersonRahgeen PopeAlina RabtsevaAbra Ramirez
Jared Riffle-YokoiAshley Roberts
Marissa RodriguezJason Rucker
Patricia SalinasZoe SamborskiAlex Sanchez
Michelle SperaNick Stone
Nick ThompsonSuzan Velichko
Angelica VillegasHouston Vinci
McCallister WadeKevin Williams
Mayra Yaya3. Art Institute of
San Francisco Culinary School
Kristina Zmuda4. Biola University
Hanna Spano5. Butte College
Alix MedlinMasson Prowse
6. Cabrillo CollegeThomas Hemington
7. Cal Poly PomonaNick Storelli8. Cal Poly
San Luis ObispoLaura Martis9. Chapman University
Zach Nathanson10. Consumnes River CollegeMark Daniels
11. CSU ChicoChris BeattyTess CalneroKen Carter
Scott LedbetterScott MacDonald
Kara MorisonRhisa Muse
12. CSU FullertonShannon Morse
13. CSU HumboldtTaylor Hilton
Kaitlyn Werling14. CSU Monterey
BayAmy Abatemarco
Alex KeyserSherene Thompson
15. CSU Northridge
Brian Lee16. CSU
SacramentoMeghan Cohan
Brittney CracchioloDann Do
Ashley FerkoJacob Hall
Damon HeatonJongmin Kim
Marina KuznetsovEric Lambing
Lauren MugnainiRosa Ramos
17. CSU San Francisco
Adrian BaccelliSheila Emami
Anita FaridMolly Flanigan
Sheldon FreemanNatalie KassisAbe LeibovitzVera McBride
Whitney RandazzoKamila Saidova
Julia SchaberSteven Scordakis
Allison ThompsonRachel Tochterman
Maggie Voet18. CSU San JoseKristen CampbellAlexander Koumis
Eric LaviAustin Takechi
19. CSU SonomaAlan Eyster
Will HagedornIan Hutchison
Katie MontgomeryGarrett MunterEmily Norgaard
Andrea OttMayaan Shenhar
20. Cuesta CollegeMeg LewisZev MinowTyler Rood
21. Epic Bible College
Francesca Hulog22. FIDM
San FranciscoToni Smiley
Ashleigh Stevens23. Folsom Lake
Community College
Paula BartolomeVictoria BeyerKorrin BrooksAlex Bungay
Elyzza CarridoSpencer Curry
Fawn Press-DawsonJasmine Gonzalez
Chelsea GrecoShelby Hawkins
Bryan JonesAlexis Mendoza
Leslie MesschaertJeein Shin
Christina Tayeh24. Foothills Community
CollegeLouis Murray
25. Holy Names University
Rachel Vartanian26. Lake Tahoe
Community College
Gavin Marsh27. Laurel Ruff Center School
Stephanie Fonseca28. Los Angeles Valley College
Halie Crom29. Loyola Marymont University
Brian Eiselman30. Marymount
CollegeTori Viebrock
31. Occidental University
Devin Grubb32. Pacific Union
CollegeElizabeth Vaughn
33. Paul Mitchell Beauty CollegeCourtney Gove
Chanel Andrews
34. Pomona CollegeHarris Levin
35. Sacramento City CollegeAndy Bissell
Dylan DonnellyBrian Fernandez
Jenna ForsteTyler FowlerAlex Ibarria
Brandon KeithArlent Wisser
36. San Diego Mesa Community
CollegeAlyssa Plaat
37. San Francisco City College
Leah Chen38. Santa Barbara
City CollegeCaitlin Archibald
Jarett EvansLillian HicksJenner Long
Keyanna RaihaniMichael Whiting
Joey Woolston39. Santa Clara
UniversityMichael McClure
Alicia ShullHilary Stewart
40. Santa Monica Community
CollegeZara Sulzen
41. Santa Rosa Junior College
Nauzi MemarEden Young42. Sierra
Community College
Sean HaleyTaylor McGregorMako Uyekawa
Jocelyn Zidar43. Stanford University
John Butterfield44. UC BerkeleyPriyanka DadlaniDavid Kaufman
Elise MarshGreer Uu
45. UC DavisRiva Ballis
Aneil DhillonAaron Goodrich
Molly IngramJonathan KingEugene KwonAlex McFallAvi Mehari
Katelyn PetersonSeychelle Steiner46. UC Irvine
Nora AlajouDevika Nair
47. UC RiversideBrandon LiuIsrael Tamiru
48. UC San DiegoLaura Anderson
Govind RaghavanMarissa Ruxin
Alexis ShenBrian Wong
49. UC Santa Barbara
Katie CannonEmily ChildEj Fernandes
Vincent Hirtzel50. UC Santa Cruz
Jacob BlockZac Gunter
Joe HazelrothAbbie JenningsAllie Jennings
Dara Rouholiman51. Universal
Technical InstituteNathan JamesKevin JencoTyler Quilty
52. University of the Pacific
Teddi Triphon53. University of
RedlandsTed Burchett
54. University of Southern California
Grace ChediakGavin Moler
Alex ReinnoldtTristan Vincent
55. WhittierCollege
Cameron Santo
10 Seniors 2010
Collegeand beyond
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Seniors 2010 11
1. Arizona State University
Grant JohnsonAri Lightman
2. Berklee College of Music
Zach Giberson
3. Carnegie Mellon UniversityJohn Brieger
4. Clark Community College
Chase Traud
5. Colorado CollegeJackson Wagner
6. Colorado School of Mines
Nicolas Jimenez
7. Colorado University of Boulder
Micah MadorBrady Rosengard
8. Duke UniversitySam Friedman
9. Iowa State UniversityKara Langan
10. Johns Hopkins Uni-versity
Kyle McGill
11. London Community College
CeCe Al-Romaihi
12. Mesa State College of Colorado
Michelle Baker
13. Middle Tennessee State University
Erika Ose
14. Oberlin CollegeNathan Swedlow
15. Portland State UniversityAdam Foster
16. Seattle UniversityElena Townsend
17. Syracuse UniversityAaron Soskin
(year off in Israel)
18. Sweet Briar CollegeIlisa Weinberg
19. Texas Christian University
Michael Franz
20. Tulane UniversityMolly Heiligman
21. University of ArizonaKayloni MedinaLindsay Peabody
22. University of British Columbia
Mikaela Gregory
23. University of Nevada, Reno
Haley Val
24. University of OregonCarly Ashen
Zach DarfBen Egan
Lauren GrippiKirk Gylling
Lauren HotellSteven Katz
Ashley TaylorShelby Ostwald
25. University of Pennsylvania
Austin KinnTyler Kinn
26. Vassar CollegeAlison Burns
27. Willamette University
Elliot BartlettBriana Ezray
Christian OldhamDerek Sup
Andrew Spittler
28. Whitworth University
Aimee Eshoff
29. AustraliaTyler Silvia
30. BelgiumLinda Tilkin
31. BrazilTravis Ambrose
(Rotary Exchange)Guiherme Machado
32. GermanyCesar Perez
33. SpainKyle Eszlinger
WorkRolando Alvaredo
Robert DobreAlexio Mesica
Savannah ScottMichael Venturino
MarinesJavar Johnson
US Air Force AcademyRyan McKone
Natalie Mouzooni
US ArmyCasey HolgateRobert Avecilla
US NavyFelicia Parra
Patrick Heater
Year OffJessica CookDaniel Hong
12 Seniors 2010
A night in the cityDANCE
A night in the city
1
Skyscrapers, bright lights and good music surrounded this year’s senior ball, a “Night in the City” to remember. The graduating class arrived in their best attire to pass the night in a whirlwind of dining, dancing and laughing.
The last dance, that final night signifying the end of an era, is what the class has dreamt of for months. At last, an end to AP tests, homework and the stress of college decision-making.
A carefree attitude pervaded the room that Saturday night as the class came together under flashing lights and good music to dance one final time.
“It was a great night,” Brian Wong said. “But it made me realize how close to the end of the year we really are, and how much people have changed over the last four years.”
The music was generally well-received; the DJ offered simple but likable remixes of current chart toppers from art-ists like Taio Cruz, the Black Eyed Peas and Ke$ha, but also surprised the audience with a few throwback tracks from Journey and Michael Jackson.
“There were some really great songs throughout the night,” senior Mahyar Kamalinafar said. “There was an awe-some rave song towards the end that was fun. All in all, it was a great night.”
And, of course, the Cha-Cha Slide made the night com-plete. At that point, some of the teachers even joined in.
That, along with a fantastic graduating class, made this year’s senior ball a great “Night in the City.”
By ALEX MCFALLEditor-in- Chief
Seniors 2010 13
1. Jenna Forste slow dances with her fiancé Joey Young. 2. Senior Ball Queen Greer Uu and her date Prince Michael Franz enjoy the music. 3. Alyssa Plaat rocks out to the DJ’s remixes. Overall, the music was well-received by students. 4. Caitlin Archibald dances with her Jesuit date, DJ Fugina. 5. Amy Abatemarco en-joys the company of her date Cesar Perez while junior Elizabeth Eggert tries to join in on the fun.
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14 Seniors 2010
Flying, especially my first solo in my
Cessna 172, was surreal,” senior
Ryan McKone said of his first expe-
rience as a licensed private pilot.Because McKone “loved every
second” of his first solo last February, he was
influenced by his flying experience to attend the
Air Force Academy.Therefore this June, McKone will be flying
off to Colorado Springs, Colorado to begin his
new life as a fourth class cadet at the United
States Air Force Academy.As opposed to enlisting in the Air Force,
McKone was accepted into the Academy after
submitting an application during his junior year.
After going through the lengthy process, McK-
one finally obtained a nomination from Con-
gressman Dan Lungren after an interview with
Lungren’s review board.“(It was) the most intense situation I’ve ever
been in,” McKone said.However, McKone’s hard work finally paid
off.In just four years, McKone will become a
Second Lieutenant Officer in the Air Force.
“The Air Force Academy takes you from
bottom-of-the-bucket scum when you enter as
a freshman and builds you into a strong, char-
ismatic machine as a senior, on your way to Of-
ficership in the Air Force,”McKone said.
McKone decided on the Air Force Academy
rather than a typical four-year university because
of the benefits it will provide him with in the fu-
ture.“It’s a world class education supposedly on
par with Ivy Leagues, and it’s entirely paid for by
the US Government,” McKone said. “And, you
have an ensured career in a path of your choos-
ing upon graduation.”Although the Academy has a wide array of
different majors, including Aeronautical/Aero-
space Engineering which McKone plans to pur-
sue, he realizes that the Academy does have its
disadvantages.“I’d have to say the biggest con is the lack of
freedom and intense regulations expected of ca-
dets throughout their tenure,” McKone said. “I
will forever wonder about all the fun and free-
dom I’ll miss at a normal university.”However, McKone won’t be alone.
Fellow senior Natalie Mouzooni will also be
attending the Air Force Academy in August.
“Having two acceptances to a military acad-
emy from the same city is rare, not to mention
from the same school and same class,” McKone
said.McKone and Mouzooni, both CIVITAS se-
niors, are among the 150 recipients of the Let-
ters of Assurance, which guarantee acceptance
into the Academy.“We both attribute CIVITAS as having
helped us tremendously,” McKone said.
- Molly Ingram
McKone pilots path to soaring future
“
“The Air Force Academy takes you from bottom-of-the-bucket scum
when you enter as a freshman and builds you
into a strong, charismatic machine as a senior.”
Seniors 2010 15
Elbows out, she moves her arms in time with her feet, one after the other. The feel of the all-weather track beneath her spikes is familiar as she circles it lap after lap. With a determined look upon her face, senior Lauren Mugnaini defies expectations and blasts records.In her final running seasons at Rio, she qualified for the CIF Cross Country State Championships and took first place in the Track Section Finals two-mile event with a school-record breaking time of 10:59.08. She will contin-ue the success streak she created throughout cross country and track this year as she moves on to her next phase of running at the elite college level. Mugnaini has signed with the NCAA Division I track team of CSU Sacramento.“I chose Sac State because of their track program and I wasn’t really ready to leave Sacramento just yet,”Mugnaini said. “It was a hard decision because I was debating whether I’d regret staying here and miss out on other stuff. But, I think I made the right one. I don’t see myself any-where else.”One of the experiences Mugnaini is looking forward to is using the hyperbolic chamber in the Kinesiology build-ing. Since the team travels a lot for league meets, going as far as North Dakota and Montana, the athletes experience
a range of altitudes. The chamber mimics the oxygen de-privation in the mountains and allows the runners to train for those conditions.“I’m really excited to try it out,” she said. “It’s going to be weird because it’ll feel like I’m in the mountains, but I’m really just in a room. That will be cool.”Even though she has shown promise in both cross country and track, Mugnaini will only be running one or the other, at least for her freshman year.“The coach said that the first year I might do either cross country or outdoor track to start out because it’s a lot of work,” she said. “I’ll probably do outdoor track as a freshman and stick with the long distance races.”Running is a passion for Mugnaini, but it hasn’t always been easy for her. During cross country sophomore year, she struggled with shin splints. “I remember thinking I’m going to get through this,” she said. “It made me want to work harder because I ap-preciated it so much more once the pain was gone.”Practices with the team will start in July and she will push forward to improve and succeed at the college level.“I just like to run: that’s my motivation,” she said. “I just want to improve on my times and keep getting better.”
- Alex Reinnoldt
Mugnaini receives running scholarship
16 Seniors 2010
Aaron Soskin isn’t just another success-ful senior. His adolescent life has been marked by academic achievement. But his life is about to change.
On Aug. 31, his academic and sur-vival skills will be put to the test. Soskin will travel to Israel, a country he’s already visited twice. But this time he’s not going for vacation. Soskin was ac-cepted this year to attend Hebrew University in Je-rusalem with 100 other students the same age as he from around the nation. For four-and-a-half months, Soskin will study, speak Hebrew and learn about the politics of the Middle East first-hand.
For the next four-and-a-half months, Soskin will embark on another unique opportunity. He will live on a kibbutz.
“(A kibbutz) is a socialist society where every-thing done is for the good of the kibbutz,” Soskin said. “Everyone has their own job. I’ll find out what my job is when I get there. You can plant seeds, milk cows, etc.”
Soskin first became intrigued by the idea through his Jewish youth group as a freshman, but didn’t really consider it until this last year.
“I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I didn’t want to miss it,” Soskin said. “I’m going to have an amazing experience with 100 other teenag-ers, (unlike) other programs that only have (about) 50 people. I get to make my own community in Is-rael.”
Soskin is thrilled to embark on this adventure and feels no anxiety.
“I’ve never felt safer (than in Jerusalem),” Soskin said. “I love all of Israel’s culture, the food, the people and the atmosphere.”
After nine months in Israel, Soskin will return to the states to attend Syracuse University, where he has been awared an $8,000 Merit Scholarship. He’s not sure what his career plans are, but he thinks that he will eventually be in business in the non-profit sector.
Soskin definitely knows a good opportunity when he sees one.
- Abbie Jennings
Soskin to live on a kibbutz in Jerusalem
“I’ve never felt safer.
I love all of Israel’s
culture, the food,
the people and the
atmosphere.”
Seniors 2010 17
Senior Travis Ambrose has signed up to repeat his senior year with a new twist. He will be leaving the United States this summer to spend a year in Brazil as a high school student.
Ambrose applied to be a foreign exchange student through a program called Rotary Youth Exchange which will send about seven thousand United States students abroad.
“This is the perfect transition year to do something like this because once I come back I am going to college and then a career,” he said. “There is not going to be another year to do this so stress free, until retirement.”
As one of these traveling individuals, Am-brose will venture to Brazil and stay with three host families over the course of the school year.
“I am there to learn a new culture, see a dif-ferent part of the world and teach them a little about our culture,” Ambrose said.
Ambrose first heard about the Rotary Youth Exchange in his French class last year.
“At the time I didn’t have any interest be-cause it sounded like too much of a commit-ment, but over the course of the next year I mentally matured and was more prepared,” he said. “By September of senior year, I decided it sounded awesome and applied.”
To apply to be an “ambassador for the United States,” Ambrose underwent an initial interview, filled out a written application and had a final interview.
As a student enrolled in French classes, he listed his top three locations as France, Swit-zerland and Italy but was given Brazil.
“I told them I didn’t really care where I went, I just wanted to travel somewhere,” he said.
Now Ambrose is really enthused about this opportunity.
“I think I am more excited to go to Brazil than France now,” he said. “I can’t think of a single downside.”
With so much excitement, Ambrose also is
a little nervous for what is to come.“I don’t know any Portuguese and appar-
ently they don’t speak a lot of English, so the first two months I am going to be really frus-trated because I won’t be able to communicate that well.”
But even with this language barrier, Am-brose also finds a positive side.
“I’m excited to be fluent in Portuguese and I’m really looking forward to when I start thinking in Portuguese instead of English,” he said.
After this new and thrilling experience, Ambrose is planning to attend college. He is currently considering either Sonoma State or San Francisco State but knows that a year out of the country may change his mind.
While Ambrose knows that he will have to reapply for college during his stay in Brazil, right now he is focused on fully immersing himself in a foreign culture.
- Elise Marsh
“I am there to learn a new culture,
see a different part of
the world and teach
them a little about our
culture.”
Ambrose to repeat
senior year in Brazil
18 Seniors 2010
Life often changes unexpectedly, as it did for Govind Raghavan. He had set his sights high, determined to study at Stanford University, and was admitted. With his mind
made up, he had only to send in his S.I.R. to claim his spot at what had long been his dream school. That was when everything changed.
He had applied to one of the most presti-gious programs in the nation, the UCSD Med Scholar Program. Of the thousands that ap-ply every year, only a handful are admitted. Twelve were chosen this year, and Raghavan
was among them.Therefore, he had a tough choice to make.“(UCSD) is a great medical school with a
great science program,” Raghavan said. “But it was a very difficult decision.”
After researching the various opportunities offered by each school, he finally chose to at-tend San Diego in the fall.
“While it was difficult to choose, I believe that I made the right choice in choosing the Med Scholar Program,” he said. “It will allow me to pursue a vast amount of research abilities throughout both undergraduate and graduate
school.”According to Raghavan, while Stanford
may be one of the nation’s best schools, school rigor, competition and costs were detrimen-tal. Through his research he discovered that UCSD was a better fit.
Regardless of where he attends school, one thing is certain: Raghavan’s outstanding work ethic and desire for learning will carry him far in the years to come.
- Alex McFall and Eugene Kwon
Raghavan acceptedinto top med school
Seniors 2010 19
With only ten incoming freshman accepted to the University of Oregon School of Music each year, senior Zach Darf is
proud to say that he is going to be an Oregon Duck.
“Music is the only thing in school that I enjoy working hard on,” Darf said.
While academic classes were always something that he felt obligated to do, music never felt like a requirement to him.
Through concert band, jazz ensemble and small ensemble, Darf has received a lot of creative in-struction from teachers Josh Murray and Max Kiesner on how to improve. In addition to advice from teachers, Darf has be-come more indepen-dent with his music by
taking part in student bands such as Spaghett!.
“Just by playing in two or three bands every day, music became more than just a hobby to me,” Darf said.
As the AM Jazz Ensemble prepared to go to the Essentially Ellington Jazz Fes-tival in New York this past month, Loren Schoenberg arrived to assist them with the pieces they had selected to play in the fes-tival. Schoenberg is the curator of the Jazz Museum in Harlem, New York and is also a prominent educator in New York teaching at schools including Julliard.
“He talked to Julliard for me but it was so late in the year that there were no spots left,” Darf said. “I had also already accepted my of-fer to the University of Oregon at that point.”
Although Darf will not be attending Jul-liard in the fall, Schoenberg gave a very high recommendation for Darf to the Julliard fac-ulty. If anyone were to drop out, Darf would be high on the list of candidates to take the spot.
“I’m on Julliard’s radar,” Darf said. “I’m planning on going there for grad school.”
With Schoenberg’s seal of approval, Darf has a much higher chance than other appli-cants of getting into Julliard in the future.
In addition to Julliard, Darf also has plans to go to a conservatory on the east coast after he completes his undergraduate degree.
- Riva Ballis
Darf’s talents strike achord at Oregon
20 Seniors 2010
Senior
4
"The Jesuit vs. Rio games!" Antonio Lorta
"During volleyball practice, the coach had us sing 'I'm a Little Teapot' to the waterpolo boys during their practice while running around the pool."
Paula Bartolome1
5"Dancing in the parking lot for warm-ups before a softball game, usually to N*sync!"
Alyssa Aragon
"When Willie and I wrestled in Sumo outfits."
Tristan Vincent
3"Getting a Kings Royal Court dancer put on my lap by Slamson at the Kings Rally in front of the whole school."
Brandon Keith
2
Seniors 2010 21
6
10"Rapping the children's book 'Ten Little Dinosaurs' as the rest of the class read Shakespeare."
Michael Whiting
"Black Light Rally."
Caitlin Archibald
8"Teaching Louis Murray how to jerk in the hallways."
Melissa Freitas
7"When Changiz smashed into the bench by the flagpole, hit and run style."
Kevin Williams
"Mahoney getting hit in the face with a piñata was the highlight of his birthday party. There were four pounds of candy in the piñata too."
Jens Driller
9
Moments
22 Seniors 2010
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Seniors 2010 23
Number of CAL All League players for Rio fall sports: 24Number of yearbooks produced: 1,100
Cost of a Tesoro: $75Cost of an iPhone: $199
Number of goals scored by Austin Kinn in the boys varsity soccer season: 15Percentage of seniors from Rio attending a UC in the fall: 11%
Number of seniors going to college in California: 262Number of seniors going out of state for college: 45Number of Academy awards “Hurt Locker” won: 6
Revenue of Avatar worldwide: $2,721,006,645Number of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico: At least 6 million
Cost of the oil spill so far: $760 millionNumber of bikers that finished stage 1 of the Tour of California: 127
Number of bikers who finished stage 8 (the final stage) of the Tour of California: 63Number of stitches in Lance Armstrong’s face: 7
Number of seniors that ran in the CIM: 5Number of hours spent in each class period over the year: 180.65
Number of national awards won by Mirada staffers for the 2009-2010 year: 6Number of YouTube video hits Molly Ingram’s Aloha Rally varsity song routine video received: 26,128
Number of Facebook fans of The Mirada: 417Number of visits riomirada.com received: 3,267
Number of different songs Christian Oldham played from his iPod during newspaper: 1704Maximum number of miles economics/psychology teacher Curt Casazza has run in one day: 60
Number of days it took Principal Brian T. Ginter to travel from Pennsylvania to California: 3Number of weeks “I Gotta Feeling” was on the Billboard 200 : 49
Number of students on campus: 1658Number of teachers on campus: 85
Place of Mock Trial team in the Sacramento County competition: 1stPlace of boys varsity basketball team in the Jack Scott Tournament: 3rd
Place of Science Olympiad Team in Regionals: 5thNumber of members in the band Spaghett!: 6
Number of goals Cailin Jope scored throughout varsity girls water polo season: 103Number of years in a row varsity girls have won the section championships: 8
Number of games varisty boys volleyball team won this year: 11Number of games varsity boys volleyball won in the last four years combined: 4
Number of senior girls who transferred from Loretto: 4Number of models in the senior fashion show: 99
Number of years math teacher Tom Kossack has taught at Rio: 31Number of years science teacher Stephen Ruggiero has taught at Rio: 39
Number of themed Funny Thursdays: 20
Data from: Mirada and Tesoro staff, maxpreps.com, youtube.com, facebook.com, apple.com, billboard.com, sacbee.com, Nicolas Jimenez
Rio Index
24 Seniors 2010
Amy Abatemarco. Kapil Adhikari. Asayel Al-Romaihi. Nora Alajou. Rolando Alvarado. Brenda Alvarez. Travis Ambrose. Laura Anderson. Chanel Andrews. Mary Androvich. Alyssa Aragon. Caitlin Archibald.
Carly Ashen. Robert Avecilla. Adrian Baccelli. Ramish Bahramand. Michelle Baker. Riva Ballis. Katelyn Barrino. Jesse Bartels. Elliot Bartlett. Paula Bartolome. Nicholas Baumbach.
Chris Beatty. Jessica Behrens. Andrew Bell. Victoria Beyer. Amber Bibby. Andrew Bissell. Nicholas Blaine. Jacob Block. Michael Bockover. Christopher Booth-Hall. Joseph Bragg. Dalton Brewster.
John Brieger. William Britt. Ashley Broddrick. Clark Brookover. Korrin Brooks. Randy Broshar. Cassandra Brown. Nicole Brown. Scott Buchanan. Alicia Budreaux. Brittany
Budreaux. Alexandra Bungay. Ted Burchett. Kassia Burger. Alison Burns. Kevin Bush. John Butterfield. Brendan Cabe. Tess Calnero. Kristin Campbell. Tyler Campbell.
Katelin Cannon. Megan Carr. Elyzza Carrido. Ken Carter. Grace Chediak. Leah Chen. Emily Child. Meghan Cohan. Nicholas Cohmanschi. Briana Conway. Jessica Cook. Brittney Cracchiolo. Ryan Cremins. Halie Crom. Spencer Curry. Priyanka
Dadlani. Mark Daniels. Zach Darf. Domenico De Luca. Sommer Deboer-Marin. Lindsay Dehm. Matthew Deterding. Sarah Devoto. Aneil Dhillon. Danh Do. Robert Dobre.
Dylan Donnelly. Daniele Downing. Delanie Downing. Jens Driller. Jessica Dyatlov. Christopher Edwards. Ben Egan. Brian Eiselman. Harold Elledge. Sheila Emami. Aimee Eshoff. Kyle Eszlinger. Jerrett Evans. Alan Eyster. Briana Ezray. Matthew Fanfelle. Anita Farid. Lyndsay Farley. Elisa Favero. Adam Felton. Ashley Ferko. EJ Fernandes. Brian Fernandez-Oquendo.
Molly Flanigan. Melissa Fletcher. Stephanie Fonseca. Jenna Forste. Adam Foster. Tyler Fowler. Joseph Fox. Michael Franz. Sheldon Freeman.
Melissa Freitas. Sam Friedman. Ian Gallinger. Omid Ganji. Lydia Garcia-Potter. Zach Giberson. Jasmine Gonzalez. Kyle Goodman.
Aaron Goodrich. Courtney Gove. Tanner Graf. Matthew Granroth. Chelsea Greco. Mikaela Gregory. Lauren Grippi. Devin Grubb. Adriana
Guajardo. Pedro Gerrero De La Cruz. Zach Gunter. Kirk Gylling. Will Hagedorn. Sean Haley. Jacob Hall. Tyler Hanna. Shelby Hawkins. Joseph
Hazelroth. Patrick Heater. Damon Heaton. Molly Heiligman. Thomas Hemington. Claudia Hernandez. Lillian Hicks. Taylor Hilton. Vincent Hirtzel. Vinh Ho. Casey Holgate. Daniel Hong. Lauren Hotell.
Francesca Hulog. Ian Hutchison. Alexandria Ibarria. Molly Ingram. Nathan James. Kevin Jenco. Abbie Jennings. Allison Jennings. Eyan Jensen. Nicolas Jimenez. Grant Johnson. Javar Johnson.
Nicholas Johnson. Bryan Jones. Cailin Jope. Alice Joska. Albion Kaleo. Mahyar Kamalinafar. Natalie Kassis. Steven
Katz. David Kaufman. Brandon Keith. Alexandra Keyser. Jongmin Kim. Gavin Kinder. Jonathan King. Austin Kinn. Tyler Kinn. Alexander Koumis.
Evan Kubicki. Marina Kuznetsov. Eugene Kwon. Danilo Lacayo. Eric Lambing. Kara-Lyn Langan. Megan Larson. Eric Lavi. Scott Ledbetter. Brian Lee. Young Lee. Abe Leibovitz. Dylan Lemos. Harris Levin. Meg Lewis. Jesse Leyva. Ari
Lightman. Jorden Litchfield. Brandon Liu. Preston Logan. Jenner Long. Antonio Lorta. Kirill Lukinskiy. Scott MacDonald. Guilherme Machado. Paul Mack. Micah
Mador. Elise Marsh. Gavin Marsh. Mathew Martire. Riley Matranga. Vera McBride. Rocker McCarter-Ribakoff. Jarrett McClain. Michael McClure. Alex McFall. Kyle McGill. Taylor
McGregor. Ryan McKone. Kayloni Medina. Alix Medlin. Avi Mehari. Nauzi Memar. Alexis Mendoza. Alexio Mesica. Leslie Messchaert. Molly Millan. Zev Minow. Gabriel Miranda-Gonzalez. Jonathan Mohrsaz. Gavin Moler. Katherine Montgomery. Kara Morison. Glynnis Morrison. Shannon Morse. Matthew Mouser. Natalie Mouzooni. Lauren Mugniani. Garrett Munter. Louis Murray. Rhisa Muse. Devika Nair. Mario Najera. Zachary Najjar. Zach Nathanson. Lisa Neal. Emily Norgaard. Gaelan O’Neill. Brandon Odom. Christian Oldham. Kristian Olsen Mock. Erika Ose. Shelby
Ostwald. Andrea Ott. David Pacheco. Kathryn Palmer. Felicia Parra. Lindsay Peabody. Stephanie Pena. Cesar Perez. Katelyn Peterson. Alyssa Plaat. Rahgeen Pope. Fawn Press-Dawson. Masson Prowse. Tyler Quilty. Alina Rabtseva. Govind Raghavan. Keyanna Raihani. Abra Ramirez. Rosa Ramos. Whitney Randazzo. Alex Reinnoldt. Jared Riffle-
Yokoi. Ashley Roberts. Marissa Rodriguez. Tyler Rood. Bradon Rosengard. Dara Rouholiman. Jason Rucker. Marissa Ruxin. Kamila Saidova. Patricia Salinas. Zoe Samborski. Alexander Sanchez. Cameron Santo. Julia Schaber. Joseph Schwarz. Steven Scordakis. Savannah Scott. Alexis Shen. Maayan Shenhar. Jeein Shin. Alicia Shull. Tyler Silvia. Gichul Sin. Toni Smiley. Robert Smith. Wyatt Smith. Alexander Sodeman-Quiroz. Jessica Solis. Aaron Soskin. Hanna
Spano. Michelle Spera. Andrew Spittler. Seychelle Steiner. Ashleigh Stevens. Hilary Stewart. Nicholas Storelli. Zara Sulzen. Derek Sup. Nathan Swedlow. Austin Takechi. Israel Tamiru. Ruben Tavares. Christina Tayeh. Ashley Taylor. Allison Thompson. Nicholas Thompson. Sherene Thompson. Linda Tilkin. Tachel Tochterman. Elena Townsend. Chase Traud. Nichlas Trimble. Teddi Triphon. Greer Uu. Mako Uyekawa. Haley Val. Rachel Vartanian. Elizabeth Vaughn. Suzan Velichko. Michael Venturino. Victoria Viebrock. Angelica Villegas. Muguel Villegas. Tristan Vincent. Houston Vinci. Maggy Voet. Callie Wade. Jackson Wagner. Nick Warner. Ilisa Weinberg. Kaitlyn Werling. Michael Whiting. Kevin Williams. Arlent Wisser. Brian Wong. Joseph Woolston. Mayra Yaya. Chase Yepez-Patterson. Eden
Young. Jocelyn Zidar. Kristina Zmuda.
Congratulations Class of