Grade: 12 School: Granite Hills High School District: Porterville USD ACSA region: 11 As her single mother struggled with drug addiction, Americus Campos was left to raise her younger half-siblings and often missed school so she could watch the children. She was just 8 years old. For years, Americus and her siblings experienced homelessness, abuse and neglect.  When Americus was reunited with her biological father, she carried resentment and experienced anxiety attacks from the years of trauma. With help from her high school counselors and treatment for her PTSD, anxiety and depression, Americus was encouraged to break the cycle and focus on making a better future for herself through school activities and academics. What are your hobbies and interests? Throughout my four years of high school, I was involved in many things [basketball and softball teams, MECHA club, ASB, cheerleading, Grizzly Fights Cancer Club, Z-Club and Heartwarmers Club]. Throughout all four years I was in the Digital Design and Communications pathway which revolved around recording and editing videos as well as reading scripts and taking photos. I also joined the yearbook class my senior year and it was a thrill! It was like having a personal family filled with friends on campus. Writing and reading novels has also been a huge part of my life. When I was going through life struggles they would take me away. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome to get where you are today? A big challenge I had to overcome through high school was overcoming my anxiety and PTSD. I was also bullied a bit for being labeled “a nerd,” “teacher’s pet,” and “too outgoing.” What educator helped you along the way and how did they help you?   I am so grateful for the counselors Troy Alvarado and Dana Newkirk as they made a big impact in my life and education in high school. A big thank you goes to them for helping me adjust to my disability that was holding me back and teaching me to use it to instead build myself up and challenge myself. What advice would you have for students facing similar situations? My advice to anybody that has future or current challenges is to learn that they are not there to stop you from moving forward. Those challenges are for you to decide whether you are going to stop and fall back or climb them and use them to learn and grow. What does it mean to win this award? Being the winner of this award made me quite emotional — it let me know that my hard work did not go unnoticed. Winning it told me that people realized it was not so easy accomplishing what I have accomplished and it made me realize that everything is OK. When I was being considered for this award, it had actually inspired me to keep on going and to not settle for less than what I have originally aimed for in life.