As the second semester rolls into a new school year at BK, senior Mateo Rojas reflects on all he has accomplished over the past four years. On campus, Mateo has given his time to various clubs and organizations including Interact Club, St. Vincent DePaul, Student Ambassadors and even founded his own club over the course of his junior and senior year: the Campus Ministry Club. With the help of senior Alexis Graves, Rojas envisioned the club around his love for service to his community, and organized fundraisers this past school year for institutions such as St. Jude Hospital cancer center. Outside of the Campus Ministry Club, Rojas has racked up an impressive 355 service hours over the course of his high school career. 

“I just love volunteering” Rojas said, “I mostly earned the hours volunteering at my old middle school or by serving at different events around school with student ambassadors or St. Vincent DePaul.”

In recognition of his efforts, Bishop Kenny named Rojas and senior Melanie Staples December Students of the Month for 2023. The award is given to two seniors, one female and one male, who exemplify compassion, generosity and excellence in service to their community.

Despite being a well rounded student, taking AP and honors courses throughout high school and being involved in several extracurriculars, Rojas’ most consistent extracurricular has been playing on the Bishop Kenny Varsity Boys Soccer team for the past four years. His sophomore year he enjoyed traveling around northern Florida for games, as his team had an abundance of away games that year after winning the regional championship. Reflecting on the fond memories he’s made with the team, Rojas holds a memory of a rainy practice from his freshman year close to his heart. He recounts that the field was flooded with rainwater, so he and his teammates decided to take the opportunity to slide across the wet grass like a slip n slide.

“It was one of those moments of just pure dumb fun,” Rojas said.

In regards to life after graduation, Rojas is not entirely sure where he wants to go for college. At the moment, he is considering attending the University of Central Florida.