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Creekside High School Students of the Year Angela Farias and Matt Jones

This is the sixth in a series profiling each Student of the Year honored in Sonoma.

Faced with daunting challenges that have included adjusting to a new country, a new language, leaving her mother and siblings behind and, finally, pregnancy, Creekside High School Student of the Year Angela Farias has persevered and is set to graduate from Creekside this May.

Farias works part-time to support her family and yet has taken advantage of every opportunity that Creekside has to offer. An excellent student, she has maintained a 3.13 gpa over her high school career and made the Principal’s Honor Roll and earned certificates as a Top Credit Earner.

Despite a packed scheduled, Farias volunteers with SAY and the Boys & Girls Club as a bilingual tutor, and she is actively involved with the district’s Teen Parent Program. She is described by her teachers as polite, helpful, on-task and always putting her full effort into every assignment. Farias plans to attend Santa Rosa Junior College this fall and to eventually enter the medical field. Farias was chosen as the school’s Student of the Year in honor of her determination to succeed, despite considerable roadblocks along the way.

Matt Jones is described by many as the poster boy for the perfect Creekside High student. After a stint in juvenile hall earlier in his high school career, Jones underwent a personal transformation and came back to high school a quiet, unassuming leader. He is described by his teachers as positive, kind and inspiring to those around him. Jones now maintains a 4.0 gpa, has earned certificates as a Top Credit Earner and sits on the Creekside High School Advisory Board. In his spare time, he helps out as a teacher’s aide, runs the school’s student store, volunteered at Gateway School and works 20 to 30 hours a week at Sonoma Cinemas, where he may train to be a manager.

Jones plans to enroll in Santa Rosa Junior College next fall. He hopes to work with youth, possibly as a probation officer. His determination to turn his life around, and his success doing so, made him the school’s choice for Student of the Year.

Congratulations to these hard-working and inspiring young students on this honor, and to their families and teachers for encouraging their academic and personal success.