As she gets ready for her senior year at Eastlake High School, June Ruiz already has an impressive résumé. She is an award-winning artist whose work has been displayed at the El Paso Museum of Art, a talented mariachi violinist, a robotics competitor, a Falcon Early College student and a leader in Eastlake's audio and video production program.
Whether she is performing on stage with her mariachi ensemble, painting on canvas, building a robot, or filming a school-wide video, June is always finding new ways to tell a story and express herself.
“The act of creating something that you can show other people is something that I really love doing,” June said.
In recognition of her outstanding accomplishments, June was selected to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the Socorro ISD Board of Trustees regular meeting in July 2026.
Exploring new opportunities has made June one of Eastlake's most involved Falcons. Her experience in the audio and video production program has shaped her both professionally and personally.
Last year, she helped produce Eastlake's senior video, which is one of the program's biggest projects. For nine weeks, June and her partner wrote, directed, filmed and coordinated a project that involved students, teachers, coaches, clubs and organizations across campus. She learned much more than camera techniques and video editing from the experience.
“The action of filming something and then putting it together to create a story that you can tell to other people and that they can understand and feel is one of my favorite things about movies, film and media,” June said.
June was interested in filmmaking long before high school. As a child, she spent many hours watching her father, a professional videographer, record and edit videos. Later, a documentary about Industrial Light & Magic, founded by George Lucas, inspired her by showcasing how creativity and innovation can revolutionize an industry.
Next fall, she plans to pursue her bachelor's degree in media marketing at the University of Texas at El Paso while also working toward her dream career in film.
For June, storytelling is not limited to video. She also expresses herself through her artwork.
Her self-portrait, “Yellow Roses, Sunflowers and Beautiful Hydrangeas All Mine,” was selected to compete at the state level of the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) in 2025. The painting, which depicts three facial expressions, happy, sad, and neutral, set against a backdrop of blue hydrangeas, was also displayed at the El Paso Museum of Art the same year. Unbeknownst to her, the painting had been exhibited at a show in Houston. She discovered this after a friend emailed her a photo of it.
“So that painting has been seen by a lot of people, and that's something that I like to think about, that my artwork has traveled and it's been to many exhibitions. Many people have seen and appreciated it. Maybe not in the same way that I do, but they've gotten to see a bit into what is inside my head,” June said.
Music provides another creative outlet for June. Since joining the mariachi program in her sophomore year, June has become a dedicated and passionate member. As a violinist, she has learned that great performances express emotion. One of her most memorable experiences was performing "La Malagueña" at Eastlake High School.
She credits mariachi director Steve Hernandez for creating a close-knit community where students' talents shine both individually and as a unified ensemble.
Hernandez describes June as his “right hand,” always willing and ready to assist students. He recalled an instance when a new student joined the mariachi group and was still learning to play the violin. June volunteered to help her, providing extra practice time during her lunch periods and after school. As a result, she improved significantly and advanced into one of the more advanced groups.
“Not every kid would be able to give up their lunch to do that. She is so unselfish. She puts everybody else first before herself,” Hernandez said.
June's artistic expression also extends to robotics, where she enjoys designing and building robots with her teammates for competitions such as the Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST) competition, the First Robotics Competition, and the Technology Student Association Competition. She sees similarities between the arts and the engineering involved in creating the robots.
“Engineering, obviously, has a much more technical part to it. And that's very interesting to see how well you can express it through, like, raw emotion, like through art, like colors and shapes and whatnot,” June said.
As she enters her final year of high school, June aims to enjoy every moment. She is excited to graduate with both her associate degree from El Paso Community College and her high school diploma from Falcon Early College High School, an achievement she acknowledges not everyone can accomplish.
She credits her high school experience with helping her discover who she is and encourages others to be themselves. She emphasizes that the various opportunities available to her allowed her to explore her interests and discover her strengths.
“If I see it and I think it's cool, if it's something I admire, if the people are interesting to me, if the topic is interesting, if the concept itself is interesting, I want to be a part of it,” June said.