Tenacity earned Mishima Padilla North High valedictorian honors
Mishima Padilla will be attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in the fall to study computer science. Photo by Azhae’la Hanson
By Azhae’la Hanson, Reporter
Unlike most, this year’s valedictorian says he wasn't even working for the honor. His parents gave him gentle reminders to do his best. When the pandemic hit, Mishima Padilla took advantage of online classes to soar above his classmates.
“Starting high school in a pandemic, I knew I had to be self-driven because I had to figure things out on my own,” he said. “So I did.”
That’s not uncharacteristic of this year’s valedictorian, whose philosophy since he was young has been hard work paves the way.
He transferred to North High his junior year from a small town in Northern Minnesota because his family was struggling financially. As a kid who was aware of his family's struggles, Padilla steered away from wanting the latest toys. His biggest desire was to have a future that was financially stable.
During his time at North, Padilla was unable to gain the plethora of club engagements that decorate the typical valedictorian's resume. Once school let out, he headed across town to work his 5 to 10 p.m. shift in retail.
“You get tired but I got to work for what I want,” Padilla said. “My parents don’t force me to contribute financially, but I want to because it makes me feel better, and I want to go to college. It’s expensive.”
He grew an interest in computer science and the STEM wing at North High quickly became his favorite place to be, specifically the classroom of his favorite teacher, computer science teacher Ken Nelson, who he’s had both years he’s been at North.
“He’s one of the best students I’ve ever had,” Nelson said. “He has the maturity of someone older than I am and he puts everything into his work no matter if he likes it or not. Whatever he decides to do will be great.”
Padilla thinks what separates his work ethic from others is that people want the reward, but fear making mistakes. That’s what Padilla thinks is the reason why some fail. Some of his failures included poor test performance, mishaps at work, and sometimes struggling socially. He pushed through. He says he works hard to take advantage of the grace given to young people for making mistakes, so when it's time to be an adult, he is ahead of the game.
“What I've realized is when you’re putting in the work you also have to understand that it's not all about the reward,” he said. “Everything is a lesson. You’ve got to have experience to be better.”
He also believes in sharing success with others.
“If you're super successful and you’re taking from others. That’s not a good person,” he said. “People who are successful should definitely want to return your successes.”
To Padilla, success is receiving a paycheck for a job well done and helping his family with groceries, making his parents proud, and someday obtaining a computer science degree. He wants to develop software that helps people in some way.
Padilla is ready to continue his education at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in the fall.
He is hoping he will find the courage to talk and meet people, but most importantly, work hard.