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Metro Tech High School valedictorian comes from a family of valedictorians

Posted at 6:40 AM, May 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-20 13:44:19-04

PHOENIX — This week, there are 19 graduations happening at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum and all of the schools are part of the Phoenix Union High School District.

ABC15 is highlighting a young lady named Lorena Calderon, the valedictorian for Metro Tech High School in Phoenix.

“Yeah, we’ve been through a lot,” she said as she recounts over a Zoom interview about the year it has been for her and her graduating class of 2021.

At 9 a.m. Thursday morning, she will give the grand finale of 18 years of hard work.

She says COVID-19 has taught her to "expect the unexpected".

So, while maintaining the highest grade point average in her class and working part time at Barro’s Pizza, Calderon is happy to announce she’s headed to Brown University in Rhode Island where she plans to major in Business.

She laid out how much education means to her and her family. We come to find out exactly how much it means and how much pressure she’s had on her shoulders to succeed.

“It’s an honor and I'm thankful that we made it this far. Especially with my family background. I actually have three older brothers who were valedictorians of their High School graduating class, so I’m the 4th member of the Calderon family. My dad has all of our medals up. We are very big on education, so I think this is finally it. For the past 4 years I have been working hard, being ranked number one, and it’s an honor to be here,” said Calderon.