Close your eyes, and imagine the buildings and halls of Sahuaro. Now, imagine them as they get during passing period, filled with slow-moving students, spilled Starbucks on the floor, and traffic jams in the stairwells.  Imagine having to walk through Sahuaro blind-folded.

Freshman Mariana Flores does not need to imagine this, because this is what she does everyday. But Flores has never let a thing like being born blind stop her.  She is quickly asserting herself as a valuable addition to Sahuaro’s student body. Flores plays five instruments, is a part of girls choir, is in Student Council – and she does all of this with the absence of vision.

Flores moved to Tucson a couple of months ago from Texas, where she attended the school for the blind in Austin. So why would she just decide to suddenly start her freshman year at a school this size? “It wasn’t my decision. I didn’t know I was going.  My dad wanted me to be around this realistic lifestyle.” When asked how she felt about navigating through the busy halls in the first few weeks, she replied, “I got it down real quick.” Mariana says that Sahuaro treats her nice, and that the people were very helpful and great. 

Besides being a talented second soprano, Flores has played piano for as long as she can remember along with the ukulele, violin, guitar, and steel drums. She enjoys her guitar and choir class with Ms. Engels and Ms. Barnes. They both agree that she brings talent and the other students together as a family. “It’s refreshing on how enthusiastic and excited by life she is,” said Barnes. Mariana is a strong, out going girl who lives by the quote of, “ You can do anything you put your mind to,” and it’s obvious that is what she does.