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Get to know some of the students graduating from Eastern Iowa high schools
Thousands of students are graduating this spring from Iowa high schools. The Gazette this week is featuring graduating seniors from six Johnson County high schools. Eight Linn County high school graduates were featured May 26 and can be found online here.
The students were chosen by school staff, including their principals, teachers and counselors. The Gazette asked them for recommendations of students who represent the diversity of Eastern Iowa, including students from different cultural backgrounds, those with different career goals or students who have overcome a challenge or obstacle in their education.
Here are their stories.
Valencia Burdette, Clear Creek Amana High School
Clear Creek Amana’s Valencia Burdette dreams of being a personal chef. The 18-year-old plans to pursue an associate degree in culinary arts at Kirkwood Community College. She set her sights on the program after shadowing Kirkwood students while they prepared for their Black Hats Showcase, an eight-course meal prepared by second-year culinary students. “I loved it. I love the people there,” Burdette said. Clear Creek Amana Family and Consumer Science instructor Bryn Hayes said, “I truly believe Valencia will do amazing things in the culinary world because of her dedication and work ethic.”
Leela Strand, Liberty High School
A bout with Lyme disease that went undiagnosed for some time piqued Leela Strand’s interest in medical science. Lyme disease — an infection spread to humans from the bite of the deer tick — is usually treatable with a course of antibiotics. But Strand’s infection went undiagnosed for about a year when she was a sixth-grader in the Iowa City Community School District. As a freshman at Liberty High School, she began working at a medical laboratory at the University of Iowa. Through that research, Strand learned how to collect, organize and analyze data. Strand is attending Harvard University this fall to study the History of Science with minors in Global Health and Health Policy. She wants to pursue a career in public health.
Leslie Acevedo-Cruz, Tate High School
Tate High School graduate, Leslie Acevedo-Cruz values family “above all else.” Her teachers call her a “true leader,” “resilient,” “devoted to family,” “funny,” and “thoughtful.” After transferring to Tate, Acevedo-Cruz became a straight-A student and a first-generation high school graduate. She got involved in Tate's Educators Rising program, which supports students interested in teaching careers. Acevedo-Cruz was one of six students invited by the school district to attend the 2024 Educators Rising National Conference in Washington, D.C., in July.
Rosangel Flores Rubio, Iowa City High School
City High graduate Rosangel Flores Rubio finished reading all the Spanish-language books in the Lucas Elementary School library. She then started checking out “learn to draw” books because they required only minimal English. She spent hours drawing. “Part of it probably stems from being first generation,” Flores Rubio, 18, of Iowa City, said about her skill with cartooning and graphic design. Flores Rubio — who immigrated from Honduras in third grade with her mother and younger sisters — grew into other roles: City High Student Senate co-president, executive editor of the Little Hawk newspaper, tennis player, mock trial team member and founder of Latino Hawks. She’s a “quiet leader everyone respects,” said Jonathan Rogers, City High journalism adviser. Flores Rubio is headed to Macalester College in Minnesota.
Maya Dahdaleh, Regina High School
Regina High graduate Maya Dahdaleh is channeling her beliefs into poetry. She says she feels “a pang of anger” that fuels the poetry she writes to shed light on the injustices she sees in Palestine, territories where thousands have been killed and millions displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance. Writing poetry about current events is “really vulnerable,” Dahdaleh said. She has performed her poetry around Iowa City, and there’s “always someone in the audience who comes up after you perform and says, ”That was really incredible.“ Dahdaleh plans to continue writing and will attend the University of Iowa this fall to study English and creative writing.
Andreas Warren, West High School
Andreas Warren is heading to the Boston Conservatory at Berklee to study musical theater. Warren has been deeply involved in the performing arts. He chose musical theater because it was “the art form that I felt the most comfortable in and I felt like I knew the most about.” His mother, Rasa Butinas, noted, “Andreas has been entertaining and performing for us ever since he was a little kid.” Looking ahead, Warren is open to various opportunities in the performing arts, including directing. “I want to work, but I’m open to if that’s in a show, or if that’s TV, film, stage theater, or a teaching job even,” he said.
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