SAN ANTONIO – Meet Instant Replay’s newest Scholar Athlete of the Week: Alita Uresti of McCollum High School.
Alita is a four-year member and captain of the varsity soccer team where she leads the squad in goals and assists. She was named Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-District and First-Team Academic All-State three years in a row. She’s the President of the Senior Class and a member of the National Honor Society. She performs community service through many organizations including Urban Champions Academy Science, Communities in Schools Toy Drive and Elf Louise. Alita maintains a 4.0 GPA and is ranked third in her class. Alita plans to attend the University of Texas in Austin where she will major in Biology and go into Pre-Med.
WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU TAKE AWAY WITH YOU AS YOU LEAVE HIGH SCHOOL?
“The best memories here in high school was being able to bond with my soccer teammates and also my school friends. We made lots of great memories, whether it be through academic field trips or here at school as well as soccer games and soccer activities we did as a team.”
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS ON HOW TO BALANCE ACADEMICS AND ATHLETICS?
“Probably the best advice I can give them is time management. There’s a lot of distractions in high school like hanging out with friends or going out to eat or watch other sports games. But you have to really focus and lock in with school because that comes first and getting the good education here that they provide.”
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER YOU GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL?
“My plans after high school are to go to UT-Austin and major in Biology and go through the pre-medicine route, then get accepted into medical school and become an anesthesiologist. I want to be able to give back to my community especially with health care insurance being so expensive these days.”
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR PARENTS OR TEACHERS OR COACHES?
“To everyone that has helped me - thank you for being that support system for me and backing me up in all the goals I set for myself.”
Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 for over 21 years and is an award-winning producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com
