Michael Manangan has only been at Armijo for his junior year, and admitted that it was a rough transition, “but the people are quite welcoming,” he said. He didn’t wait to jump in with both feet, though, quite literally. “I’ve been involved with track and field, where I trained for the long and triple jumps.”

While he didn’t get to go to prom, which was cancelled last year, he said he would have enjoyed the opportunity. “I’ve never gone to a high school dance, and it would be nice to experience,” he said. “My favorite memories in Armijo are at the health room in the sports medicine class. The hands-on activities make the class enjoyable.”

COVID affected more than just prom. Manangan hoped to travel during the summer, but he is not too upset about Distance Learning. “I feel as I work better independently anyway.”

Manangan is planning on spending one year at community college before transferring to UCLA where he hopes to major in psychology and eventually get his Master’s degree before getting a license and starting a clinic practice.

Although he did not start as a freshman, Manangan said that he would encourage freshmen, and other new students, to try and get out there and make new friends. “One can learn and grow from meeting new people,” he said.

One of Manangan’s hobbies is cooking and he said that he enjoys trying new recipes from different cultures. He also finds time to play piano.

“If I could change something about Armijo, it would be to update the old structures and replace them with new ones,” he said. “I’d also move the track to the edge of the school to make space for classrooms so that the travel distance between classes would be less.”