How would you feel if you were always the first to be called? Cian Abacan, a senior at Armijo, is always the first name in his classes. During presentation days, he is usually called first if no one else volunteers. He feels indifferent towards always being first because he is used to it. He says it doesn’t matter whether he goes first or not because he would have to go up anyways.

He says that he hasn’t met anyone else (besides his family) to have the same last name as he does. He does not have knowledge on the story behind his last name but his first name is a Gaelic name which is pronounced as “ki-ahn.” Still, everyone just calls him Shaun because it is easier to say. While the only other person he knows with a similar name is his cousin, who also has a Gaelic name, there are others with the same first name, like Cian O’Connor, an Olympic show jumper.

Abacan isn’t the first Armijo student in his family to be faced with being the first in his class alphabetically. His father, Romy, and his two uncles, Robert and Richard, attended Armijo and were the first in the roster, too.

On the other end of the roster is Vanessa Zuniga Morales, a junior. She likes being last on the roster because if she comes in a little late, she is often not marked tardy because the teacher hasn’t finished calling roll. A drawback, though, is when the teacher starts from the bottom of the list and she is unprepared. However, if she is prepared, she gets to finish first.

Zuniga Morales hasn’t met anyone else who has the same last name as her, besides her family. She’s doesn’t like to pay attention to the media about famous people so she does not know of a famous person that shares her last name. She does have a stepsister that attends Armijo but they do not have the same last name. Zuniga Morales got her name from her dad while her step-family has a different last name. This means that her stepsister doesn’t get to share the experience of being the last name on the list.

First or last, Abacan and Zuniga are comfortable with their positions in the roster and wouldn’t want to change where they are in the alphabet.