In the midst of a pandemic, almost everything has become health precautions: most sports were canceled, major events were canceled, and schools have shut down due to increasing COVID-19 cases in California.

And yet, Hayli Castellanos ‘21 has remained hopeful about what the future has in store for her. 

Castellanos is a senior at La Quinta High School. She is holding out hope for a normal graduation ceremony in June—a milestone she has been dreaming about since the start of her high school career: “one where we can actually sit down and have our moment with our friends since we didn’t have it all school year.” 

With the pandemic in the way of being an actual student and getting all that senior attention, it is hard to tell if there will be a normal graduation ceremony. 

In the meantime, she is looking ahead.

“I like to look on the bright side of things,” she said. Castellanos tries to maintain a positive mindset with everything. “I just try to make the bad things into good things, even like the small things in life.”

She feels that the more bad energy we carry is what makes us less hopeful which is why she tries her best to always stay positive. That positive mindset she maintains is what keeps her hopeful. 

Castellanos’ post-graduation plans are to attend a vocational school in San Bernardino. “I’d want to be a licensed practical nurse or a phlebotomist,” she said, “but if I want to extend my career, I wanna be an ultrasound tech.”

Her aunt inspired her to enter the medical field. “She was the first one to ever finish medical school.” Castellanos said, “Everyone that I know that did medical school ended up not going through with it.”

Following in her aunt’s footsteps, she is encouraged to work just as hard towards her own goals. 

Humans of La Quinta High School is an ongoing series featuring Blackhawk students and staff. Follow us on Instagram @humansoflqhs and Twitter @lqhawkview