Senior Valeria Padilla gets awarded PPR idol

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Photo by Malik Higgins

Story by Jasmine Turrubiartes, Staff Writer
November 14, 2019

   Valeria Padilla (12) was awarded by KUSI Prep Pigskin Report (PPR) staff on Sept. 11, 2019 as PPR idol of the week. Padilla is a varsity tennis player, playing her third year of tennis as well as completing her third year of ASB. Being PPR idol is a rare occurrence, but Padilla earned this title due to her high involvement at Mission Hills and in her extracurriculars.

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 “I was so surprised, never in a million years would I think I would see myself getting chosen. They select one senior from any school in the San Diego area, and that senior gets to be a reporter for a day; they get to be on TV and report the highlights from that game,” Padilla said.

— Valeria Padilla

   Her assignment was to cover the three highlights of the game, and choose a player she believed made the best play that game. She was given the opportunity to attend the Crawford v. San Ysidro football game, and had the honor to sit in the press box with Paul Rudy, the official  KUSI sports team anchor. 

   “I was so nervous because I was going to air at 11:30 p.m., but by the time I got myself situated at the studio, I only had twenty minutes to prepare my script,” Padilla said.

   After many hours filled with football, she got the chance to meet with the Crawford football team after their game and speak with the player she nominated as player of the week. 

    “It was a six hour afternoon for just two minutes, it was an hour drive to get there, the game was about two hours, and I stayed at KUSI for about three hours. But overall, it was worth it because it was a really rare experience, so I felt really lucky to have been chosen,” Padilla said.  

   Despite the pressure felt, Padilla was tremendously honored to be the only Mission Hills student chosen as PPR idol since 2017.