Raquel?s commitment to academic excellence and personal growth has been evident since grade school. In the fifth grade, she participated in a national Accelerated Reading Program, and read so many books that she acquired more points than any other fifth grader in the country. Throughout her high school career she has maintained a rigorous curriculum filled with honors and advanced-placement classes.  She graduated in the top 5 percent of her class with a 99 percent average. 

Aside from her numerous academic accomplishments, Raquel was also very active in the community, volunteering at the Animal Defense League, the San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries For The Homeless, the Mission Road Foundation, and the San Antonio Public Library.  Through her dedication to academics and community service, Raquel sets an impressive example for her peers. She was elected to Golden Key National Honor Society. Raquel attends the University of Texas at Austin where she is majoring in Journalism with concentration in Print and Spanish. Until now she interned as an Extern at KSAT-12 News in San Antonio, as a General Reporter at the Daily Texan and at The Plainview Daily Herald. She plans to work in newspaper as a features writer, covering human interest stories; she would like to cover Texas politics. She wants to study law.