T H E
“ It’s nice to give back to a program that helped me with so much. That’s how I got here. I like to help kids and work with them.”
C L A S S
HUGO RAMIREZ-PINEDA IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The room is filled with a crowd intently watching Hugo Ramirez-Pineda. Everyone in the group is waiting for him to speak. He has been preparing for this moment for a long time, through years of training and practice. And now that the day has finally arrived, it’s show time! It’s the first day of the Aardvarks Advocate Skills and Knowledge (AASK) Summer Camp and this year he’s a counselor. Hugo is no stranger to talking in front of groups of people.
In fact, he loves it. For the past four years he’s been a staple in the Visual and Performing Arts Department, transforming into many different characters in a wide variety of plays. “I’d always been very charismatic in middle school because I like to talk to people and I like to have fun,” said Hugo. “But freshman year I had no desire whatsoever to go on the stage. I had stage fright at that time.” Tanks to a friend persuading him, he signed up for the fall play but he figured as a freshman he wouldn’t get cast. However, Hugo ended up being one of two freshmen cast in the play, and he even landed a lead role. “It was a lot of fun and I realized that having to learn all these lines and practice really challenged me,” he said. Wanting to challenge himself is how Hugo became involved with the AASK program when he was a student at Vose Elementary School. “My teacher in fourth grade told me that I could do AASK after school because she could tell I was bored,” said Hugo.
20 Oregon Episcopal School
“Normally she’d only recommend that to students who needed extra help, but for me it was because I wanted to do something else.” Te AASK program is designed to bring students together to deepen language skills, inspire students to service learning, foster intercultural and family relationships, and have fun. Trough the program Hugo learned a lot from the teachers and eventually decided to become a student at OES in sixth grade. “Once I came to OES as a student I knew that I wanted to still be a part of the AASK program but in a different way,” said Hugo. “I wanted to be a counselor, but found out you couldn’t until freshman year, so I said I’d wait until then.” Now each year Hugo helps out at the AASK summer camp. “Te first time I was a counselor in training, but as the camps go on, I have been given more training and gained more experience,” he said. “It’s nice to give back to a program that helped me with so much. Tat’s how I got here and I like to help kids and work with them.” In the fall Hugo will attend the University of
Oregon and he knows that he’s ready for college. “I’ve learned a lot here,” said Hugo. “I feel like I can take on any college work that I have to do. I’m ready and OES has prepared me well for that next step.”
Hugo’s drama career at OES is bookended by roles in Shakespeare plays. His first performance was in Love’s Labours Lost and his final performance was in Much Ado About Nothing.
www.oes.edu
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