The Association of California School Administrators recently honored Aron Escobedo, an eighth grader at Rosemont Middle School, with an Every Student Succeeding award, which is given to only 21 students throughout the state per year.
“The purpose of this award is to honor students at all grade levels (pre-K to adult education) who have succeeded against all odds, beyond expectations or simply won the hearts of the administrators and other educators who helped them achieve their goals,” as stated on the ACSA website.
Recipients of this award are first nominated by faculty at their respective schools before being officially selected by the ACSA.
“We nominated Aron because of the combination of his positive attributes: hard-working student in class, diligent and focused athlete and all-around kind, positive, compassionate Spartan,” Rosemont Principal Suzanne Risse told the News-Press.
Escobedo, who has autism, has come a long way in his educational, athletic and social journey over the last year and a half, said Mike Vakian, who teaches the special education class at Rosemont. While Escobedo started off at Rosemont with a shy demeanor and lack of interest in sports activities, “that’s totally reversing now,” Vakian said. “He’s embracing being outside and embracing these [social] interactions which is a huge thing for him.”
When Escobedo heard he was receiving an Every Student Succeeding award, he said he was “excited, proud and happy.”
Escobedo prides himself on being a fast runner. Last week, he ran a mile in just over five minutes and wants to run marathons eventually. Vakian said he is confident Escobedo will one day run marathons since he is already completing 5Ks “no problem.”
Vakian also spoke to the positive effect running has on Escobedo’s life.
“He gets a lot of that [anxiety] out through running,” Vakian said. “He has a hard time expressing himself but you can really see a certain joy he has when talking about running. You can see that passion.”
With a dream of being a professional cross-country runner when he grows up, Escobedo points to his older brother, who runs cross-country at Crescenta Valley High School, as his inspiration for getting involved with running.
Every other Friday, Rosemont students must complete an hour of running and the school holds a makeup session for students who miss this activity. Vakian first realized how serious Escobedo was about running when he opted to attend the makeup sessions even when he had not missed the regularly scheduled run.
“That is way above and beyond what you have to do,” Vakian said.
Aside from his accomplishments in cross-country, Escobedo also values his school work and time spent with the Rosemont community.
“The best thing about my school is seeing my principal and my teachers and seeing my other classmates and students,” he said, adding that his favorite subjects are science, history and math.
With this school year being his second teaching Escobedo, Vakian said he is one of the top performing students in his classroom.
“Every time I see Aron, it makes me smile,” Vakian said. “He has that positivity about him. It’s contagious because he’s always happy … He’s a very warm student.”
First published in the December 9 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
