Brianna Cortes is originally from the United States, but she has lived most of her life in Mexico. She moved back to the United States on June 5, 2020, shortly after the pandemic hit.

While she has only been in the United States for a short time, she is a second generation Armijo student. Her father went to school here and Cortes currently lives with her aunt and uncle, who live close to the campus.

Cortes described her hometown as “very nice” and always spent time with her friends there, despite the streets being somewhat dangerous at times. She misses her parents, her younger brother, going out with her friends, and her whole family, in general.

Because her siblings already lived in the United States, Cortes decided to join them. She was also influenced by her parents’ desire for her to have a better life and future. They wanted her to continue studying and attending school, to ultimately graduate from high school.

What she likes most from the Armijo campus is the supportive staff members who are always there to help English learning students. She is not involved in sports, but she did show her interest in joining the volleyball team. However, several factors limit her, like her work, which wouldn’t give her time to attend practices and games.

Cortes is very open to different styles of music, except rock.

The pandemic affected her negatively, as she couldn’t go out with her friends anymore, due to restrictions that were enforced at the time.

Her plans after graduating are to travel back to Mexico, and visit her family, then return and attend college. She expressed her uncertainty as to whether she will attend college in the States or in Mexico, since she misses her family that still lives in her hometown.