Senior Juliana Puentes has made an influential impact at Loretto Academy through her involvement in Speech & Debate and Mock Trial, where she is president of both clubs.

Leadership and impact

Being involved in Speech & Debate and Mock Trial during her high school years shows how she has dedicated much of her high school experience to developing her public speaking, critical thinking, and leadership skills.

Juliana said, “I’ve known what I wanted as a career since I was little, and once I got to high school, I knew there were going to be opportunities for me to get a better sense of what I would be doing later on, so as soon as they became available to me, I took the opportunity.”

Serving as president of clubs

As president of both teams, Juliana takes on the responsibility of preparing for competitions and supporting team members throughout the season, encouraging them when things get tough or celebrating wins.

Juliana said, “I’m very grateful for my positions, and I work hard to keep everything in order and make sure that everyone’s informed about things because sometimes it’s all very fast-paced.”

She took a deep breath and said, “… sometimes it’s challenging to stay on top of everything at the same time, but I have very supportive communities.”

Learning from experiences 

Through her experiences in Speech & Debate and Mock Trial, Juliana has grown both academically and personally, gaining skills that extend beyond the classroom.

Juliana said, “I think that these programs have really taught me the importance of time management and awareness.”

Balancing activities and school

Balancing two competitive teams alongside her academic workload has challenged her, Juliana said, “The workload for this kind of extracurricular was expected, but it’s totally different to actually have to go through it; awareness because I’ve learned a lot about our world, government, and court system.”

Final message as a senior

Reflecting on her time on both clubs, Juliana said, “I’ve been very proud of girls who have started to commit to both teams because these are very demanding activities.”

As graduation approaches, Juliana hopes to leave behind a positive legacy and encourages underclassmen to take advantage of opportunities within Speech & Debate and Mock Trial.

Juliana said, “My advice would be to do it, it is such a great opportunity, even if you’re not looking into something law related, they are great experiences to get closer to classmates, network with El Paso, expand knowledge, public speaking skills, and break out of a shell.”