Graduating senior Sylvia Camacho followed in her mom Cecilia’s footsteps in attending San Gabriel Mission High School. A well-rounded student who excels in almost everything she does — from being a writing intern to directing films, from starring in plays to singing in choir — Sylvia exemplifies a young woman of Mission: respectful, motivated and possessing depth, integrity and character.

According to her mother Cecilia, sending her daughter to Mission was “absolutely” the right choice. Cecilia’s own experience as a student there “was one of true sisterhood and [I] wanted that same experience for [my] daughter.”

Sylvia was accepted to UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, Santa Clara University, Dominican University, LMU, Mount St. Mary’s and Pepperdine. She was also waitlisted at Harvard and was chosen to receive the Le Puy Scholarship at Mount St. Mary’s. After much soul searching, Sylvia decided she will attend UCLA, where she will major in English. 

Sylvia said she dreams of someday “studying my school. I want to get my hands on the original blueprints for the building, to organize all the years of photographs and documents we have lying around, and to look back at every class that attended Mission — starting with the very first.

“I was always so fond of the idea that another girl, just like me, had roamed these same halls and sat in the same classroom and learned and grew just as I continue to do, except many, many years before me,” she explained. “Perhaps my fascination with my school’s past stems from my desire to know how Mission became so special. I imagine it developed into the welcoming and empowering environment it is today, or maybe it has been this way since its inception.”

According to Sylvia, attending Mission “has meant the world to me, as it has given me the confidence to go out and conquer the real one.”

“I am grateful to my mother for having chosen to send me here; I am grateful to the faculty and staff for having guided me, cherished me … and I am grateful for the beautiful friends I have made,” she continued. “Everyone always asks if I feel ready to leave Mission, and my answer is yes. I have experienced four joyful years of adventure and sisterhood, and I am now ready to share with the world what I have learned.”

Asked if she will send her future daughters to Mission, Sylvia’s answer was a definite “Yes.”