GUHSD Governing Board Honors Glendale High School Achievement Above All Recipients

Excellence continues at Glendale Union High School District as the Governing Board recognized Glendale High School’s Achievement Above All recipients, including Teacher of the Year, Student of the Year, Student Group of the Year, Support Staff of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year during their last meeting. Principal Justin Tarver spoke about all recipients as well as presented them with a certificate or award for their achievements.

A district graduate and a long-time teacher, Angela Johnson, is Glendale High School’s Teacher of the Year. Johnson has taught at Glendale for over 20 years. During her time at Glendale, she has taken on a variety of roles from being the sponsor of Yearbook, sponsor of the Junior class, and coaching Spiritline. Now, Johnson teaches Advanced Placement Literature and Composition as well as being the lead mentor teacher for the district. Glendale High School’s Principal Justin Tarver shares, “The students of Glendale are fortunate to have a teacher like Mrs. Johnson, as well as our local staff and the district for having her serve in a leadership role.”

When asked what makes Johnson passionate about teaching, Johnson said, “Student growth. Making a difference in the lives of students and empowering them to reach their goals despite the obstacles that they may face and encounter.”

As described as the “Face of Glendale” by Glendale High School Principal Justin Tarver, Lesly Castillo Colin is the Student of the Year. Castillo Colin is in the top 1% of her class and a finalist for Questbridge, which gives her the opportunity to attend one of the top colleges in America. Beyond the classroom, she is the captain of the Badminton team, President of the Conservation Club, artist, and musician. Glendale teacher Ms. Runger says, “Lesly’s positive attitude about literally everything in life is inspiring. Her passion for learning is amazing. She is so confident and competitive, which allows her to set high expectations paralleling the work ethic to accomplish anything she wants to.”

Castillo Colin says her goals and plans for the future are to attend a top college in California where she can study Cellular Biology, specifically genetics, to gain a deeper understanding of DNA and how its manipulations affect a person’s bodily system.

Made up of more than 60 students, the National Honor Society is Glendale High School’s Student Group of the Year. The purpose of the National Honor Society is to stimulate a desire to render service, promote leadership, and develop character in students. Some group activities the National Honor Society participates in are volunteering at St. Mary’s Foodbank, Gardening at Xeriscape, and citrus picking at Sahuaro Ranch Park. The student group has spent countless hours volunteering.

Student Group Sponsor Ashley Molinar says her goal for the group is to grow and to encourage others to give back to their community.

As a leader of the front office, Lena Apodaca-Meza is Glendale High School’s Support Staff of the Year. Apodaca-Meza has been with the district for the past 5 years. She has served in the attendance office, briefly in the athletics office, and is now leading the front office as the Principal Administrative Assistant. Glendale High School Principal Justin Tarver says, “When you have a teammate that you trust implicitly, who makes you more effective in your work and a better human, you treasure that because the net result is impacting our campus and community at large. She is a true asset to our school.”

Apodaca-Meza says she plans to focus on learning as much as she can as the Principal Administrative Assistant to better serve the teachers and staff.

For the past three years, Octavius Holguin has been serving the Glendale community, specifically as Glendale High School’s Basketball and Football Fellowship of Christian Athletes Representative. Holguin shows up weekly, providing mentorship and character development for all students that cross his path. In addition, he assists the football team with sports equipment for practice and games. When he is not at Glendale High School, Holguin is volunteering at local churches, homeless shelters and facilitates sports camps.

Holguin says volunteering is important to him because it is a selfless act that he chooses and in return can have an everlasting impact on others’ lives that he may never get to physically see.