Always On Top

Feature: Anelece Lisondra takes on the role of Horizon’s 2023 salutatorian.

Article by: Aleyna Alvarez

101.71 GPA, Salutatorian, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World champion, Band drum major, cheer captain, future Baylor bear, and orthopedic surgeon,  Anelece Lisondra takes on her senior year of high school and hopes of leaving a mark on her fellow peers. 

Lisondra is not only the salutatorian of Horizon, but a girl with many talents, hobbies, and accomplishments. Besides all her activities and accomplishments, we learn who Anelece is.

“When thinking of a salutatorian many times people think of that person as stuck up or that they have this image of themselves that they are better than everyone else. But what people don’t know about me is that I am very outgoing and very friendly when you get to know me. I love just going out and laughing with friends and just having authentic communication with them is the biggest thing,” Lisondra said.

  Being a salutatorian comes with hard work and dedication, what drives Lisondra to succeed is her self-driven motivation. Reaching the number one spot is not easy, but her drive makes it possible.

“I have extremely high expectations for myself. I know that one day I want to achieve my dream job, which is, an orthopedic surgeon. To get to that point I needed to push myself throughout high school, to get a scholarship, to go to a prestigious college to obtain my degree,” Lisondra said.

Her teachers who constantly work with her acknowledge her work ethic, leadership, and confidence in the classroom and all the activities she is a part of.

“She’s highly self-motivated, she’s super consistent, and she’s very punctual. I think the most important part about her being a leader is that she has very high standards for herself and it’s for herself she's not doing it for anybody else but for herself,” Band director, Raul Candelaria said. 

Lisondra plans on attending Baylor University in Waco Texas with hopes of someday becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

“I plan to attend Baylor University majoring in biology and a minor in law. To hopefully attend a prestigious medical school,” Lisondra said. 

Anelece manages many extracurricular activities along with her studies in school. She is a leader anywhere she goes, such as being drum major, and even coaching in a jiu-jitsu gym. Lisondra’s schedule is fairly busy, however, no task is too heavy for the valedictorian. 

“Mental health is something that I can't stress enough. You are constantly in difficult courses, it's good to take a break sometimes, and just take a step back from reality. There are various ways that I do this myself, such as hiking, running, exercising, and basically just anything that releases endorphins and provides dopamine to my body,” Lisondra said.

Her teachers, such as Juan Amador, have high expectations for her. They see her continued success and are astonished by what she is capable of.

“ I’ve known Anelece for the last two years now, in those two years I’ve seen her flourish both academically and in her work ethic.  She has been a student that has the confidence to take risks in the classroom, whether she is right or wrong, and continues to learn.  Anelece understands that what she is pursuing in college will be a tough journey, but a journey that she is ready to take on. Through the good days and the bad days in the classroom, I have never seen her give up. That is a quality I admire in a student.  I do expect her to take all of those skills that I’ve seen in her and continue to grow at Baylor.  I hope that through her time at Baylor, she comes back to share her story with our students.  She can be that person that inspires others and lets them know that they can do it too.  I wish her all the best! ,” AP Calculus teacher, Juan Amador said.

Anelece’s mom, Jessica Lisondra, cannot express how proud she is of her daughter's accomplishments and is happy to see the woman she’s grown to become. 

“I am excited to see where life takes Anelece and how her future unfolds. Although my biggest regret in life is not going to medical school, I am proud that my daughter is pushing to achieve her dream to become an orthopedic surgeon. And Baylor is an amazing university and community where I know she will thrive. Through seeing her grow up and surpass the adversity that comes her way, she has even inspired me to go back to school,” Jessica said. 

There are many things to take from the experience of being salutatorian, including all the work and effort it takes to reach the spot and most of all maintain it. Lisondra learned that her hard work and dedication will get her where she needs to be.

“I hope the biggest takeaway that people have from just seeing me around school or just talking to me for a little bit is that anyone can be in my position. Anyone can achieve greatness, anyone can be the valedictorian or drive themselves as much as I drive myself. It's all self-driven, it all comes from you and only you. You can’t expect someone else to go and push you, you have to do it yourself. I think that's something many people do, they settle for less and think that can't be or that will never be me that all comes from hard work and dedication to achieve anything or a goal you have set forth,” Lisondra said.