The bell rings at 10 a.m. and everybody’s off to brunch. Students find their friends and hope for an energy boost in the morning. With a smile on his face, Albert Fallorina walks with his friends, and soon they’re all smiling as well.
Albert has always been a pleasure to be around. He appreciates the little things in life. He enjoys the SMHS community and values the people in it. “I feel like we have a very diverse amount of people here, and everyone is very creative and has their own aspirations,” he says.
Albert has been involved in many SMHS activities. He ran cross country and track and field his freshman year. As a senior, he ran cross country again and enjoyed it. Albert has been a mainstay of the Filipino Club since his freshman year, and in his senior year he became one of its founding members.
Albert is proud of making it through the past four years. “It’s been a lot with distance learning … making it through has been my biggest accomplishment,” he says. His favorite memories consist of simple high school experiences: “having lunch with my friends and going to school dances were really fun; being with people is what mattered.” His friendliness has made Albert a favorite among the SMHS community.
Looking back on his high school years, Albert reminisces on his classes. He is exceptionally grateful for working with group projects and meeting new friends. “Fooling around and learning with my fellow classmates has been a memorable experience.”
Albert’s impact on San Mateo High School can be seen in the quality relationships he has had with teachers. Many of his teachers put in a good word for him, and he thanks all his teachers tremendously for their support. “Ms. Malone, an English teacher, is one of my favorites,” he says. “Ms. Hwang, my data science teacher, has been beneficial, and Mr. Brasel has been there for me … shout out to him.”
Albert’s gratitude extends to his friends and family as well. “My mom, she has been the best for me. She made sure I was on top of everything, my dad as well.” Albert appreciates his long-term friends at SMHS. “I’d like to thank my friends Angel Yu, Ethan Nekota, Tyra McGee, and so many more for helping me get through this year,” he says.
His friends all speak highly of him.“My favorite thing about Albert has to be how self-driven he is,” says Angel. “Through everything he’s been through, Albert has continuously kept his heart in the right place and I’m very proud of him for that. He is someone I know I can always go to and someone I can rely on to make me laugh.”
Albert plans on attending City College of San Francisco to major in computer science. SMHS is thankful for Albert’s amiable presence and will miss it very much!