Juan Ibarra

What was your favorite class in high school?

Probably Math Analysis. I like the smaller class size, the class was really interactive. I like the teacher, Juan, especially his review sessions where we would just eat food and study. We laughed a lot in that class, but also felt like I was learning a lot, he’s really good at just making the class really engaging. One memory I had with him: we were doing our final review session and we stayed there until like 11:30 just studying for our final, and it was a really enjoyable night. We had a lot of laughs.

Three words to describe you?

Confident, witty, and suave.

One thing that you accomplished during high school that you’re particularly proud of?

Honestly, just being able to help my family throughout. Because I was really confident in my abilities to do math or writing, I was able to help my younger siblings whenever they needed help. I was really good at explaining concepts. I feel really accomplished as an older brother.

Do you want to thank someone, especially and if so who?

I want to thank my mom, because she didn’t leave me like my dad. She did better. She’s raising me, she’s raised me since she was 17. I want to thank her for not kicking me out of the house. We grew up together in a way because she grew up a teenager when she had me, so it’s kind of like I was growing up alongside her.

What school and major did you commit to?

UC Santa Cruz and I’m majoring in Computer Science. I did Computer Science for three years and I also did an internship at Meta after my sophomore year. I also did a program for Google for nine weeks. I’ve always been interested in computer science.