Distinguished Teen Service

Valeria Aguilar

Valeria Aguilar is a Cordova High School student who makes us feel good about the future.

Valeria prioritized community service at a young age and has never wavered. As a senior at Cordova High School, she has it all going on: excelling in the classroom, playing sports and serving her community.

At Cordova High, Valeria is everywhere. She was a member of Link Crew for two years as well as Peer Leadership, running social media, fundraising for animals at the Bradshaw Animal Shelter and more.

She has shared her leadership skills with the award-winning Mentees at Cordova High (MACH) program, stepping in to run communications from social media to flyers. She shares herself with elementary students, helping young readers in the Bigs and Littles Program and assisting with MACH at Mitchell.

Valeria is the Interact Club president and served as communications guru for that organization as well, sharing opportunities for students to have greater impact on their community. She was a member of the Cordova High School Golf Team where she encouraged and mentored new team members.

Valeria is handy with a camera, shooting photos for the Cordova High School Business Tech Academy, the Mills Middle School Marketing Committee, even the Cordova High Class of 1979 reunion. She has cleaned up parks, helped run events and elementary harvest festivals. The list goes on and on.

Valeria has also shared her youthful voice with decision-makers in the greater community. At the City of Rancho Cordova she has served on the Community Enhancement and Investment Oversight Committee. She has also been the student rep for both the Rancho Cordova Student Athlete Coalition and Cordova Lancers, Leaders and Legends, providing a student perspective during monthly meetings, helping in the snack bar and beyond.

Earlier this year, Valeria won the Rancho Cordova Rotary Club’s annual speech contest, which explores the topic of “Service Above Self.” In that speech she described her drive to win the very award she was honored with… but not the way she expected.

She recalls a dinner table discussion where she shared her frustration of not quite making the mark. Her parents counseled that community service is an end in itself -- not the awards you may achieve because of it. And those words changed her perspective.

She said:

“After that talk I finally understood that the much greater reward was simply helping someone who needed it. Not looking for an award, not looking for an acknowledgement, not looking for recognition. From that point on I have been entirely doing it for my community, and not for myself.”

Well, that has changed. Because not only did Valeria win the Rotary Speech Contest, she has won the Community Volunteer Awards.

Congratulations to Valeria Aguilar, Cordova High School senior and community servant, winner of the Distinguished Teen Servant Award.