In nature, if someone was looking for birds, the most likely place they would look is in the sky. While this issue of The Armijo Signal is focused on Birds, the All in a Name feature is focused on the students who start with Sky.

Sky Vang shares her name with celebrities like Skye Jackson (Jesse Jackson’s granddaughter) and Sky Brown (skateboarder).

Skyler Elliot, who is somewhat new to California, has actually met a handful of other people who share his name, one of them was at the supermarket. “I was just saying to my mom that not a lot of people share the same name as me. Then I noticed the bagger’s name was Skyler,” he said.

Skylar Craft also attends Armijo but was unavailable for an interview.

“My mom and dad call me Sky Guy and some of my friends just call me Sky, but I never really gave myself any nicknames.”

When people hear Vang’s name, they sometimes rhyme things with it, “like lie, pie, cry and so on,” she said. “I like my name now. I don’t think I would change it. If I were to create my own first name it would probably be something easy to remember so I think Sky is good.”

While Vang admits that her name is somewhat unusual, she said that she does share something in common with her parents’ names, Bee and Penn, as they are also nouns.

In Elliot’s family, the most unusual name is his mother’s. “It’s Chérie and it is French,” he said. “It has many meanings, one of them being sweetheart.”

Some people are surprised when they meet Elliot because they don’t expect his name to fit him. “Others think that I’m a girl until they see me,” he said.

While Elliot is the first in his family to attend Armijo, the campus has been home to Vang’s family for a while. She has cousins that have graduated in 2015, 2016 and 2020 among others. She’s seen a lot of different versions of school involvement over the years from her cousins and friends. She was part of badminton and leadership last year, but has focused her energy on Psych Club this year.

She continues to be involved in school, but has found more time to get a dog and take care of it while school has been on COVID-19 break. “It’s actually been ‘fun’,” she said.

Elliot said that COVID-19 has helped him learn how to maintain his mental health despite the Shelter-in-Place. He’s been finding new hobbies, biking around his neighborhood and playing basketball in his front yard. He also hasn’t given up playing video games, another hobby of his.

When all this is done, COVID-19 and high school, Elliot plans to go into a career of welding while Vang has her future mapped out. “I plan on going to Solano for two years and then transferring to UC Davis,” she said. “I’m planning to major in medical to become an obstetrician.” And in the words of a future doctor, she finished the interview with two sensible words. “Be safe!”

Elliot’s parting words were “I would like to wish everyone a good rest of the year and if things aren’t working out right now due to all the craziness of this year I hope they get better.”