High School Students Offer Advice to Educators on the Prepárate 2025 Main Stage

When Emmanuel Gonzalez, a senior at Frederick High School, isn’t solving an AP® Calculus AB problem, you might find him playing the cello or assembling a 3D-printed mask. Victoria Piña is a junior at CEC Early College who keeps herself grounded and motivated by journaling, creative writing, and spending time with her big, beautiful family. And junior Max Gonzales will soon start the AP Cybersecurity pilot while playing football for Horizon High School. 

On the opening plenary stage at the 2025 Prepárate™ Conference in Denver April 9–11, these Colorado high school students sat with Barbara Cronan, vice president of governance, membership, and access initiatives at College Board. The panelists discussed student life, dreams for the future, and how relevant coursework is guiding their career plans.

When asked if there was an experience in school that helped her see her future more clearly, Victoria said, “I’m a part of an early learning apprenticeship program, and I have the amazing opportunity to work with preschool students as a teaching assistant. I’m getting to learn real-world skills that I’m going to need in the future to become the best educator I can be.”

“My [AP Calculus AB] teacher was super passionate about what he was teaching,” said Emmanuel. “His passion for that material really sparked a passion in me. Now I’m going into mechanical engineering.”

Max answered similarly. “The person that inspired me was my Coding 1 teacher. When I took that class, it was very eye-opening and interesting. He encouraged me to take AP Computer Science Principles after that, and now I’m going into AP Cybersecurity.”

It’s no surprise that the Denver students are so future-forward and career-minded. Cronan described the work of Susana Córdova, commissioner of the Colorado Department of Education. As the education commissioner later mentioned during the Prepárate closing plenary, her goal is that every Colorado student leaves high school with either 12 college credits, a workplace learning credential, or a meaningful work experience.

Emmanuel offered a personal connection to trying out a new pathway, one that showcases the value of gaining relevant, hands-on experience: “If there’s a class, a club, or some kind of activity that seems interesting, just do it. ... I have a bunch of friends in theater, and they told me to do some theater classes. So, I took an acting class—I hated it. But then I took a stage tech class, and I ended up loving that. Now I’m an auditorium technician for my school district.”

When Cronan asked the students to imagine a high school course they’d want to design, the students unanimously offered ideas for a life skills course. They highlighted areas like personal finance, home ownership, the value of voting and voter registration, and government literacy.

In Cronan’s final question to the student panelists, she asked what advice they have for the educators in the room. 

Victoria brought up the concept of parentification—a situation in which children take on parental or adult responsibilities—and how it has a particular impact on Latino students. She advised educators to empathize with students who might be experiencing challenges at home. 

Max’s feedback to educators drew laughter from conference attendees. “I think the homework load should be lightened a bit,” he offered with a playful grin. He  talked about balancing his school workload and his schedule as a student athlete.

From Emmanuel, “If you’re an educator, be passionate. I’ve had teachers who are super passionate about what they teach, and those have been my favorite classes.”