Class of 2020 – 10 years later

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The class of 2020’s first day of school at Loretto Academy. All of the girls were anxiously waiting to start their last year of high school. Photo courtesy of Sophia Navarro.

The year is 2030, and Loretto Academy has called back the class of 2020 to gather for their 10 year reunion. 

The class of 2020 has anxiously awaited gathering together again to remember those four years of high school and their unexpected ending.

Every girl has taken time off from their busy and successful lives to come back together in the place where everything began. 

The first girl to arrive is Nadia Chabre — she has been working as an artist for one of the biggest marketing firms in America, and the beautiful decorations around the gym are all courtesy of her.

Shortly after her arrival, more and more girls begin to enter into the gym, such as Andrea Santos and Norma Silva. 

Andrea Santos arrived early, making sure not to miss one moment of the reunion; a natural in her field, Andrea flew through medical school and her residency and now works as one of the top neurosurgeons in Juarez.

Norma Silva flew back in for the reunion, but she arrives at Loretto in a flashy limo; over the past ten years, she has been building up her own business in Boston and become wildly successful. 

Rebecca Terrazas and Victoria Villarreal arrive together, and though they have not seen each other in many years, their friendship is still as strong as ever, and they are happy to spend a night away from their responsibilities. 

Rebecca’s famous graphic design company has designed eye-catching advertisements for America’s most popular movies and TV shows, while Victoria is the head of her own laboratory which is currently developing the vaccine that will completely eradicate coronavirus.

Victoria Torres arrives soon after, still in her scrubs and speaking fluent French with Lupita Lucero.

Victoria has spent the last few years in France saving hundreds of lives with Médecins Sans Frontières, and she has kept in touch with Lupita, who has been the United States ambassador to France for the past two years.

The girls hear the sound of a plane flying overhead, and when they go outside to investigate, they see Air Force One land on top of the building and President Zoe Andritsos steps out and greets her former classmates.

Zoe went through law school after leaving Loretto and became such a successful, compassionate lawyer that the Constitution was amended to lower the required age for the presidency just so Zoe could run in 2028 at the age of 26.

Lifelong friends Victoria DuBois and Mia Gates enter the gym, laughing as always at something Victoria did. 

Victoria is a lawyer who has given legal advice to big-name companies like Apple and Disney, and Mia is a certified registered nurse anesthetist. 

Cassandra Quintero arrives in her catering truck, bringing everyone many of her delicious desserts that she made at her own restaurant.

After traveling all over Europe, Brianna Diaz has come back home for the reunion; she is a worldwide advocate and speaker for the bright future of business, as she has become an international affairs businesswoman.

Briefcase in hand, Fernanda Ochoa steps into the gym to greet everyone; after she earned her degree in criminology, she became a formidable lawyer. 

The bright flashing of cameras catches everyone’s eyes, and pursued by paparazzi, Jacqueline Porras enters the gym as if she were on a runway; she has modeled in every New York Fashion Week since 2024.

Emilia Ramirez and Marcia Gonzalez-Wisbrun arrive together, talking as if no time has passed since they last saw each other. 

Emilia is currently the marketing director for Zara, and Marcia is a rising architect currently planning out Emilia’s future third mansion.

The doors to the gym burst wide open, and a flood of girls pour in.

Genesis Aguirre, Bryanna Alcantar, Savina Verdugo, Paulina Ponce, and Lynnette Garcia all arrive together, laughing and causing a commotion and reminiscing on all of the lunches in senior year they spent giggling in the foyer.

Lynnette, Genesis, and Paulina each found their passion in the field of medicine; Lynnette and Genesis became nurses, while Paulina became a physical therapist.

Both stylish and smart, Savina Verdugo became a crime scene investigator who has helped crack open the case and deliver justice to some of America’s most heinous criminals.

Bryanna Alcantar built up her own real estate company from the ground, and she has made sure that she and her friends have been living in the lap of luxury in their beautiful mansions.

The sound of hooves on the ground interrupts the flow of conversation, and everyone looks up as Alexis Diaz rides into the gym on her horse, confident in herself as ever; after high school, she went on to become a cattle breeder and a championship-winning jockey.

Cheers erupt from those gathered when the Leyva twins, Ashley and Madison, finally arrive on the scene.

Ashley went on to become a medical doctor earning hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and Madison became a forensic scientist, analyzing evidence from crime scenes and fulfilling the core value of justice.

The dynamic trio of Catherine Carreon, Mizuki Nagae, and Bianca Ramos arrive together soon after; though life has separated them, their friendship has remained as strong as ever over the years.

Catherine went on to perfect her craft and become a master set designer for Broadway and even a couple of Hollywood movies.

Mizuki earned her degree in engineering, but she has retained her passion for art; her most famous and impressive accomplishment has been the massive bridge she designed in the shape of a dragon.

Bianca went on to become a New York Times bestselling author, releasing dozens of hit books that quickly found their way to the silver screen.

Anacristina Muniz arrives soon after, waving to her classmates from atop a Disney float, playing from a beautiful grand piano and leading the class once more in singing Oceans.  

After Loretto, Cristy went on to become a Disney Imagineer, and she led the effort to build a Disney theme park right here in El Paso. (That’s sure to make Mr. Chavez happy!)

The sound of four wheels on the pavement can be heard, and Melina Olivas rides into the gym on a skateboard, camera hanging around her neck; she has been working as a photojournalist for National Geographic for the past few years.

Arriving late as always, Melissa Hidalgo flew home from Los Angeles and headed straight from the airport to the reunion. 

She is the plastic surgeon for all the superstars in Los Angeles — if anyone wants any work done, she’s the person to call. 

Now that everyone has arrived, the class of 2020 gathers around the gym to discuss their lives and careers, catching up on all the things they missed in the last 10 years.

Sophia Chauvet tells stories about her many travels around the world and offers any who are travelling to Venice to stay at her apartment overlooking Piazza San Marco, the center square.

Emilia Uranga offers anyone both legal and life advice due to her successful life as both a lawyer and lifestyle blogger; she works as the head lawyer in her own law firm while still maintaining her social media presence, sharing tips and advice on her blog.

Sophia Navarro tells stories about fashion week; after graduating, Sophia became a fashion journalist for Vogue magazine. 

She travels to every fashion week and gets to attend the annual Met Gala, and she is said to be the next editor-in-chief after Anna Wintour.

Karen Trejo and Gabriela Sigala discuss the future of phones and computers with the class after the two of them became rich and famous for managing to design 3D screens.

Ximena Zarate, Maria Fernanda Uribe, and Ximena Valenzuela teach everyone in the class some sign language; these girls all went on to pursue successful careers as speech pathologists for children.

Sarina Avalos uncovers a crate of puppies and lets all of the girls play with them, all the while explaining how she went on to become a vet tech, working with animals day in and day out.

Photogenic as ever, Alissa Ventura gives everyone some exclusive tips on the upcoming trends in beauty; after Loretto, she went on to become the CEO of her very own beauty salon.

Next, Bianca Moya nicely encourages the girls to recycle; she owns the biggest recycling company in North America and has helped lead the charge for a greener Earth. 

Andrea Hidalgo, Renata Gil, and Valentina Ortega discuss how after Loretto, they partnered up to create their chemical engineering business. 

Renata Gil is one of the best chemical engineers in Mexico, and Andrea Hidalgo and Valentina Ortega help run her business. 

Lupita Lopez-Valdez talks about her groundbreaking work on finding the cure to Alzheimer’s disease; after graduating from UTEP, Lupita went on to work as a research scientist to help cure neurodegenerative diseases and has even won a Nobel Prize in medicine for her efforts.

Anavictoria Acosta, Julieta Alarcon, and Marielle Arriaga all discuss their crazy stories with the patients they have encountered. 

All three girls work as pediatricians — Anavictoria works in San Francisco, Julieta in Mexico City, and Marielle in Dallas.

Mariana Arrunada talks about her successful psychology clinic in Mexico; while helping her patients, she also brings them a smile with her jokes and sayings.

Meghan Brittain and Julia Esparza talk about how they went into the field of medicine together, Meghan as a pediatric oncologist working with children and Julia as a nurse anesthetist.

Sofia Cadena talks about her work as a materials engineer, and her new invention that would reduce nonbiodegradable waste all across the world by eliminating the need for plastics. 

Priscilla Gonzalez discusses the future of all business, as she is a financial analyst up in New York City.

Alejandra Lugo thanks everyone for their praises on her cookie shop 350 Delights; she currently owns 35 cookie shops all over America and is planning on expanding to Europe.

Mila Cordero tells the class all of her exciting, bone-chilling stories from her work in the emergency room, showing off knives and scalpels from the E.R. and waving them around in a way that makes everyone a little nervous.

Dafne Molina adds on to Mila’s stories; the two of them work together in the same hospital, Dafne as a physical therapist and Mila as an emergency M.D.

Meanwhile, Abigail Eudave and Elisa Ibarbo went on to co-found their own orthodontics office, sharing memories together and bringing smiles to the faces of their patients.

Sophia Chew and Audrey Hermida became the embodiments of the core value of service, both earning a degree in rehabilitation sciences and researching ways to improve the lives of people with health conditions.

Multimillionaire CEO Dinorah Perez shares her story of how her degree in finance and risk management helped her climb the ladder of success, and how every year she donates a portion of her profits to anti-bullying organizations.

Macarena Barrio went on to become a sharp, smart businesswoman in Silicon Valley; she is an actuary, giving financial advice to up-and-coming companies in the Valley.

After studying production and drama arts in college, Lily Schow became the director of several blockbuster indie films, and she gets to interact with Hollywood superstars on a daily basis.

Ashley Maniates has devoted her life to the safety and care of children, becoming a certified pediatric neurosurgeon and forming close and personal bonds with her patients.

Anneliese Gil and Dulce Lara take turns talking about their work as diplomats for the United Nations, traveling and seeing all the different cultures of the world.

Mia Hernandez and Alejandra Urbina tell the class about the mental health clinic they co-founded — Mia works as a child psychologist and Ale as a social worker helping families.

Making it a point to talk to all the doctors in the room, Danna Pulido makes small talk with everyone; she owns one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the United States.

Ana Paola Aranzola pursued both of her passions in medicine and in engineering, and after earning her degree, she designed new biomedical equipment that revolutionized the field of medicine and saved millions of lives. 

The lights in the gym go down, and Isabel Aldana shares with the class a few of the award-winning short films she has directed, each of which get the class of 2020 smiling and laughing.

Bonnie Abbott and Adrienne Deslongchamps talk about the company they co-founded developing the entertainment industry’s biggest video games — Bonnie designs the artwork for the games, and Adrienne programs them.

After she graduated from Texas Woman’s University, Juliana Liano went on to become a physical therapist for injured athletes, drawing inspiration from her passion for volleyball.

Kaylyn Rickerson and Daniela Wong both tell funny stories about times when one of their patients almost woke up during surgery. 

Kaylyn works as an anesthesiologist in Florida, and Daniela works as an anesthesiologist in San Antonio.

Angela Muniz pursued her passion in medicine and went on to become an excellent cardiovascular surgeon, successfully operating on and saving the lives of the most important people in the world.

The girls have each gone around and shared the details of their lives, and the reunion is about to come to an end when Claudia Nieves finally strolls into the gym, airpod in one ear and Starbucks in hand — the last senior to join the class of 2020’s sisterhood, and always the last one to make it to class.

Although Claudia never learned the importance of punctuality, she dedicated herself to her career and became a highly talented plastic surgeon, the crown jewel in her field.

Though the ending to their high school career had been strange and abrupt, the class of 2020 came out stronger for it, and their sisterhood was strengthened by the stories they told and memories they shared. 

The class of 2020 is one for the books. 

These girls lived through a whole pandemic during one of the most important times in their lives — graduation.

Although their final days at Loretto weren’t how they’d imagined it to be, they used this experience as a valuable lesson that you never know what will happen tomorrow.

Each girl came out stronger from this experience, pushing themselves to excel in each one’s chosen profession.

They all are truly strong Loretto women!