Guided by music and sports, Ari Tejada is a freshman here at Mt. SAC Early College Academy (MECA). Ari attended St. John the Baptist school from elementary to middle school. Influenced by his brother’s positive experience, Ari knew he wanted to attend our school.
Amongst everything else, the peacefulness, scenery, and close community stand out to Ari as something he admires about our school. Ari also says, “I like MECA because of how close everyone is. It’s like nobody is a stranger.”
Not only can you find Ari on the volleyball court you can also find him playing basketball! Sports has always been something that Ari is passionate about.“I usually play basketball or go by the bleachers or walk around; it all depends.”
However, if he had to pick one or another he would definitely pick volleyball. Not only does Ari have the passion for this sport but he also has the talent. Infact, our volleyball team won all of the games this season!
Along with sports Ari takes much interest in hiking and traveling. He appreciates beautiful views whether it be mountain ranges or sandy beaches Ari loves it all.
“I love being able to walk alone and enjoy scenery it is very peaceful.”
One of the places Ari has been to is Lake Tahoe which is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. “Lake Tahoe was so beautiful I miss it so much, but the water was very cold.”
He also went to Catalina island for his eighth grade trip. “For my eighth grade field trip we went to Catalina island, the water was so beautiful we went canoeing and snorkeling, it was so awesome”. As someone who has also been to both Catalina and Lake Tahoe I cannot agree more that they are both beautiful places.
More importantly than traveling, Ari´s favorite thing to do is listen to music. Ari´s favorite artists are Cuco, Tyler the Creator, Temporex, and The Maria´s. His favorite aspect of all these artists is how creative and interesting their music’s instrumentals and vocals sound.
Infact, Ari has been to Tyler The Creator´s CHROMOKOPIA WORLD TOUR. Chromokpia is Tyler´s 9th studio album and one of his greatest ones yet. According to Jake Williams at the Communicator ““CHROMOKOPIA” is another great addition to Tyler, The Creator’s already stellar discography and shows him pushing forward with an unseen level of maturity.” (Williams)
One of Ari´s favorite parts about the show is the crowd and how amazing Tyler´s vocals were. Concerts always provide each song such a new and exciting feeling when you hear them being sung live, especially when hundreds of fans are also singing along.
Not only does he like listening to music he has also plays music. He started playing piano and guitar when he was in first grade, and guitar before christmas time.
Although not quite as special to him as music, on occasion, Ari likes watching movies. Ari´s favorite movie is Interstellar. Interstellar is about a journey through space. Ari finds the concept of space very interesting and not at all scary. Another movie Ari likes is Grown Ups. This movie is a comedy that is focused on a friend group navigating there way through adulthood.
Like many of us, Ari likes playing Minecraft. Which is a game that engages people in creativity. Ari says “I love playing Minecraft, whenever I had nothing to do I always resorted to just playing Minecraft”.
Along with his many hobbies and interests Ari is also very charismatic. He is easy to talk to and once you start it’s hard to stop having a good conversation with him.
Fellow freshmen here at MECA Nicholas Joshua De Ocera says this about Ari “What I like about Ari is that he’s very funny and friendly with everyone. If you talk to him, there’s no way he won’t make you laugh. He is also a good friend and gives me advice sometimes.”
Nicholas also says “Ari is really supportive… He also has a great sense of humor. He can make anyone laugh, even if they are having a bad day. He’s not just funny but also a great friend. I haven’t known him for a long time but he’ll always be there if you need him and it’s easy to be yourself around him.”
Ari also a very smart person. He already has his future, goals, and plans set out for himself. While majority of high school students don’t know what career to pursue Ari stands out as one of the few who do.
“I plan on being a sports medicine physician and I also want to attend UC Berkeley”. With his background in sports and smarts Ari is guaranteed to succeed in this field of work.
In fact, teacher here at MECA Ms. Pedroarias says “One of Ari’s strengths is that he isn’t afraid to ask questions about anything in class, which is great because I feel many students are too embarrassed to ask questions sometimes”.
Ms. Pedroarias also continues to say “Ari also always has a smile on his face that is contagious. It makes me want to smile more.”
Overall, Ari is a very easy person to get to know, he has many interests. If you love music or sports I definitely encourage you to find him at the bleachers, or the basketball and volleyball courts. It is very clear that Ari is going to accomplish so much in life!
