Senior Spotlight: Adrienne Lujan

As the first semester of school gladly comes to an end, Dimond High senior class of 2018 is set and ready to graduate. Among these seniors is the Best Smile Senior Superlative winner, Adrienne Lujan.

Lujan is an aspiring, determined and motivated 17-year-old senior at Dimond High School. Lujan has achieved many accomplishments throughout her high school years.

She has maintained higher than a 3.0 GPA all four years of high school, she has overcome two hip surgeries due to sports injuries, she has received three varsity letters from managing sports teams and most importantly, she has shown her friends what it means to be a good person.

Lujan played volleyball throughout middle school and her freshman year of highschool but unfortunately suffered two hip injuries that ended her volleyball career. She had to undergo many appointments, surgeries and a long, painful road to recovery.

Senior and close friend of three years Isaac Villeda said, “It was a hard part of her life that she had to overcome, but she did it. And it’s really heartbreaking for her because she can basically never play sports again. But Adrienne still manages to support all of her athletic friends at their sporting events no matter how hard it might be for her to watch, since she can’t play. That’s part of how she inspires me, to be strong and know that people can overcome any kind of hardship.”

At any kind of sporting game, you can always count on Lujan to be there with supportive and feel-good signs cheering her friends on.

Senior and cousin of Lujan, Victoria Hines, also suffered an injury from volleyball and had to undergo an extensive path to recovery.

“There were a lot of times where I just wanted to give up and not play volleyball anymore because things just got really hard and tough. But Adrienne was always there for me and always encouraged me to push through my struggles. Me and her will always have each other’s backs because we’re more than just family, she’s my real life best friend,” Hines said.

A way that Lujan can stay involved in sports is by managing them for her school.

Lujan has been the gymnastics team manager for the past two years. She was also the soccer manager for the girls team, which won State the past two years.

Senior and varsity soccer player Alisa Pairmore said, “Adrienne is the best manager ever. She is very involved with the team. She always brings us treats and Gatorade on two-a-days. It’s like she is a part of the team.”

Another way Lujan is supportive is by always motivating her friends in school.

Senior Kaleigh Haworth said, “Adrienne is always pushing me to do better in school and it’s because she wants to see not just herself succeed in school, but everyone else too. She always offers to help her friends with school work too, and it goes to show how selfless she is.”

After high school, Lujan plans to attend the University of Portland in Oregon. Since she wants to help people in any way she can, after college Lujan plans to be an educator for children.

Aside from how supportive she is, her friends had plenty more to say about her kind personality.

Lujan is best described as a “selfless, caring, and loving friend that pushes you to be a better person,” Senior Jaiden Gibson said.

Her friends said that she will always put others before herself to make sure everyone is happy, even if she isn’t herself.

With her supportive and selfless ways, Lujan stirs up inspiration within her friends.

Senior and best bud Theodis Talbert said, “Adrienne inspires me and helps me to look for the good things in life, she influences me to be less negative and pessimistic, and generally inspires me to go through life without a chip on my shoulder. She’s a radiant person and a blessing in not only my life, but others’ lives as well.”