The best piece of advice Jacob Fraga, freshman at Dr. Abraham P. Cano Freshman Academy has heard this year came from one of his friends at Golden Palms Retirement & Health Center.
“My friend at Golden Palms told me to keep education my number one priority because it is the key to success,” Fraga said. “She always wanted to be a teacher, but certain life circumstances didn’t permit her to achieve her dream.”
Fraga has had the opportunity to gain a different perspective on life through the unique experience of GrandFriends, a Student Advisory Board community service project, in which students visit Golden Palms residents to share their life experiences and cultivate new friendships.
He has taken his friend’s advice to heart, along with his own drive for excellence, to establish an outstanding academic repertoire and maintaining all A’s in his classes.
In SAB, Fraga is the voice for students at his campus. He works with other student representatives from across the district, the superintendent, and members of administration to address concerns at their campus in a positive environment.
“The advisory board is a great experience because I got to meet other people from other schools that I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” he said. “I have become more involved in the happenings of our district and had the opportunity to speak to administrators about my day-to-day experiences. At first it was quite intimidating for me to speak to someone of that position, but I feel like I learned, and I’m more outgoing as a result.”
Along with his involvement in SAB, he was named Cano’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Student of the Quarter; he plays saxophone in the Mighty Hawk Band; he placed 1st in Introduction to Parliamentary Procedures in his FBLA team; he is an active member of Ravens for Christ and the STEM Club.
Fraga is glad for his time at the freshman academy and the camaraderie it created in uniting all its students as Ravens for one year.
He looks forward to attending Harlingen High School South but admits that he will miss his older brother, John Fraga senior at Harlingen High School South, when he moves to Connecticut to attend Yale University in the fall.
“I’m going to miss my brother because I’ve always seen him as my role model. He has gone through many things in his life,” said Fraga. “I just want to be as great as he is and strive to do better everyday to live up to the family name.”
