There are many different types of students, all with their own hobbies, interests and future plans. Some are completely sure of what they’ll do after graduation, while others have no idea. In between these groups are students like Junior, Marissa Piña.
Piña is sure of the career path she will take after high school, but she’s unsure of which college she will go to. She’s floated the possibility of attending the University of Texas at Austin to pursue law after she graduates, specifically in the realm of criminal justice.
“After high school, I’m gonna go into law.” Piña stated. “For colleges, it’s my junior year, so I don’t really know which specific college I want to go to, but I’m thinking about the University of Texas.”
In her very first class, Piña observed a mock trial and quickly took an interest in the activity. By her second class, she was participating in a mock trial of her own.
Acting as the prosecution, Piña was able to win her mock trial, and enjoyed the process of questioning witnesses, poking holes in stories, and giving a closing statement.
“I had so much fun; I ended up winning my case actually, and it was a criminal case” Piña stated “That’s how I got into law. It’s still something I want to do, and I’m taking classes for it next year.”.
On top of taking law classes at Ben Barber, Piña also acts as a manager for the Lake Ridge Baseball Team, and a writer for the school’s newspaper. As manager, Piña films the team’s tournaments, washes and hangs their laundry, and helps them move equipment. As a writer, she interviews dozens of Lake Ridge students while writing stories on various topics.
“Iwas between newspaper and yearbook” stated Piña. “But I decided to join newspaper because I’m really good at English; out of the core classes, English is 100% my favorite. I like newspaper because I get to write stories, interview people, and meet new people. I’m really well acquainted with everyone now.”
Outside of school, Piña will typically complete school work, spend time with her friends, or read. Her favorite genres are romance and horror. She also enjoys passing the time playing music in her car while she drives around for fun.
“I’ve been driving for quite a long time.” Piña stated. “And I got my car as soon as I got my license. All I do is drive me and my best friend around. Mostly we go out to eat, or just do whatever. Or I’ll just drive around. I just like driving. I’ll get in my car –sometimes alone, sometimes with my friends, and just sit there and blast music because it’s very therapeutic. And my car– it’s a Cadillac, so I have a sunroof, and we usually put all the windows down and open the sunroof and just blast music.”
Piña has performed well in many areas both in school and in extracurriculars. When it comes to advice for others, Piña feels the people should not rush coming to decisions on what they want to do.
“I would tell them to take their time. Even me; Even though I know I want to pursue law, for the longest time, I was in between things I wanted to do, and honestly I still am,” Piña said “I’ve always loved the ocean, so I really wanted to be a marine biologist. Follow your heart and figure out what’s going to be best for you.”