COLTS CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE
Cortez High School Celebrates This Year’s Achievement Above All Award Winners
Glendale Union High School District Governing Board members awarded five Cortez High School honorees for this school year’s Achievement Above All. The recognition honors the staff, students, and community supporters who give their time and talents to Cortez HS. Each recipient was recognized for a record of service that students, colleagues, and families see every day on campus.
Teacher Recipient: Antonio Vazquez
Antonio Vazquez brings 30 years of teaching experience, including 24 at Cortez High School. Vazquez earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and his master’s in education from Ottawa University. He began his career teaching physical education at Balsz Elementary, Sequoia Charter School, and Wilson Elementary. At Cortez, he teaches English Learner courses in academic skills and language in content areas.
His path into the English Learner department began with a simple request. That request grew into a program that now reflects more than 30 languages and cultures. Vazquez has coached for 23 years, leading teams in football, volleyball, cross country, swimming, soccer, tennis, track and field, and softball. He guided the Boys' soccer team to a 2010 state title, was named Phoenix Coach of the Year for Girls' sports in 2012, and has been inducted into the Cortez Hall of Fame.
Vazquez earned this recognition because his impact extends well beyond the classroom. He has spent three decades helping students find their footing, whether they are learning a new language or learning to compete as part of a team. His former students and colleagues alike point to the same qualities: high expectations, steady structure, and genuine care. For Vazquez, the greatest reward is watching a once-hesitant newcomer pass a speaking test and celebrate with smiles. That commitment to helping others achieve their goals, in the classroom and on the field, is the heart of Achievement Above All.
Student Recipient: Jessica Trejo Anguiano
Jessica Trejo Anguiano, a senior, is the daughter of immigrant parents. After attending Ocotillo Elementary and Palo Verde Middle School, she requested a variance to attend Cortez, choosing a campus where she could define herself. This year, she takes three AP courses while serving as Cheer Captain, HOSA President, NJROTC Commanding Officer, National Honor Society Secretary, and Fashion Club Secretary. She also takes part in Track and Field, Interact, International Club, and Link Crew.
Her record includes honors well beyond campus. She is an alumna of HOBY and Arizona Girls State, a delegate to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and a recipient of both Student of the Month and Cadet of the Month recognition. Teacher Madelaine Lopez describes her as a poised, respected leader with a positive outlook who makes the people around her feel supported.
Jessica’s plans are just as focused. Inspired by NJROTC and mentored by Captain McMahon, she plans to enlist in the United States Navy with a goal to become a hospital corpsman. After four years of service, she intends to study Biomedical Science. Her drive, compassion, and ability to lead by example set her apart among her classmates. Throughout high school, she dedicated herself to learning both leadership and service – skills she now pursues in a calling where the two are inseparable. This spirit is honored by Achievement Above All.
Student Group Recipient: Cortez Boys Basketball Program
Now in his seventh season as head coach, Corey McCallum has built a program that looks beyond the scoreboard. The team’s 36 members are guided by student officers Alijah Smock (President), Carter Wells (Vice President), Cash Henderson (Secretary), and Ricky Gomez (Treasurer), along with Team Captain Joshua Holland. Their stated purpose is to improve the lives of others in the community, and their calendar shows it.
Service is built into the team. Players have run community car washes and shoe drives, and they sponsor free haircuts for students returning to school. Each fall and winter, they partner with the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department to help with its Trunk or Treat event and Community Christmas Toy Drive. They trade the gym for elementary classrooms, as they have for the past four years, walking to Alta Vista to read with young students during Read Across America Week.
The program’s service has not gone unnoticed. The Washington Elementary School District has presented the team with a Certificate of Appreciation twice, and the Colts have reached the state playoffs twice in the last five years. Those results matter to Coach McCallum, but he measures the program by what the players give back. McCallum says the program’s larger goal is to keep serving the community with love and consistency. By treating service as part of the season, these student-athletes have shown Colts what it means to compete and contribute at the same time. That balance makes the Cortez Boys Basketball Program a fitting recipient of Achievement Above All.
Support Staff Recipient: Adriana Love
Adriana Love serves as Administrative Assistant to Brooke Parsons, Principal at Cortez High School. In her four years with the district, she has worked at three campuses. She started in the attendance office at Glendale High School, where she earned the Achievement Above All award in her first year. She then served as Credentials Secretary at Thunderbird High School for a year before joining Cortez last school year.
Much of what keeps a high school running happens at the front desk, and at Cortez that work belongs to Adriana Love. Students, parents, and staff are often greeted by her first. She rarely seeks attention for it, preferring to let the results speak. Gloria Frausto, CHS Counseling Secretary, points to her resilience and willingness to pitch in on any request, no matter the hour or task.
Love is equally focused on her own development and plans to keep building her career. Outside of work, she enjoys road trips. In only a year at Cortez, she has set a tone of warmth and reliability for the front office, and this honor, her second Achievement Above All award, reflects how much that steadiness means to the people around her.
Volunteer Recipient: Ray Pulver
Cortez High School has been a family project for Ray Pulver. Three of his five children graduated from the school, and his son, a current sophomore, plays football and basketball and runs track. For the past six years, Pulver has served on the Cortez Site Council. His service has taken him to the district’s Blue Ribbon Committee and to Governing Board Student Achievement Reports.
Under Pulver’s watch, the Site Council has directed tax dollars toward field trips, classroom supplies, and football practice equipment, a contribution he calls his most memorable. His steady involvement has helped students and teachers see their needs met. Ray’s commitment extends beyond Cortez. At his church, he helps lead weekly activities for young people, and at home, his wife, Rachel, and son Hyrum volunteer as swim coaches for the Colts.
Pulver earned this award because he treats volunteering as stewardship. His engineering career is built on making systems work quietly and reliably for others, and he brings the same mindset to Cortez, where he cares about what students and teachers need. He encourages Cortez students to volunteer because it enriches their lives. In his steady, practical generosity, Pulver reflects the heart of Achievement Above All.
Five Stories, One Shared Commitment
This year’s Achievement Above All recipients come from different roles and backgrounds, but they share a habit of putting others first. Whether in a classroom, an office, a gym, a boardroom, or out in the community, each has helped make Cortez a place where people feel supported and encouraged to grow. The Governing Board and the Cortez community thank them for their service and congratulate them on this well-earned honor.