When school started in August, Ximena Cruz met her classmate, Ximena Cruz Gutierrez and discovered that she shared her name. Both freshmen were put into the same second period class, but that has since changed. “I have never met someone with the exact same name as me but I saw the other Ximena in second period on August 18 and that’s when we realized our classes were switched,” said Cruz.

The name is definitely unusual. There is only one other student at Armijo with that first name and she is a senior. Cruz explained how she earned her first name. “My Dad didn’t want anything too complicated. He put my Mom’s name, but switched out the J with an X,” she said. “I don’t know a lot about my name, but I know it means “the one who hears.”

When people see her name, they often look at it and say, “Oh, wow, I have no idea how to say this name,” but when they hear it they often say that it is an interesting name.

Cruz has adapted well to high school, but it hasn’t been without its challenges. “COVID took away my knowledge from seventh grade. I was very smart that year, but when school was shut down all the work I had done didn’t matter anymore. Eighth grade would probably have been a fun year but I never got to experience it,” she said.

Because she didn’t get a lot of experience in middle school, Cruz shared in August that she was considering joining some clubs, but she was not sure which ones. Since then, she’s had many opportunities to consider.

Which clubs to get involved with is always a big decision, but Cruz has the opportunity to talk to her older siblings, who graduated in 2015 and 2020, as well as several older cousins who have graduate from Armijo. Their advice could go a long way to providing those answers.

After graduating in 2025, she plans to go to college but the rest of those related decisions – the destination, the major, and the future career – are still being considered.

Ximena Cruz Gutierrez was unavailable for comment.