Christian Bareno
Palo Verde High School, sophomore
Age: 15.
Parents' names: Caroline and Wayne Dempsey.
Favorite class: World history.
Activities in school: Christian is lead anchorman on the daily-announcements video posted on the high school's Web site. He also edits the footage in his Web-page-development class.
On the field, he's a lineman for Palo Verde's varsity football team.
Activities outside of school: He earned money doing odd jobs so he could buy his own disc-jockey equipment to perform at parties.
Whom would you have lunch with if you could have lunch with anyone (living or dead)? Christian would want to have a meal in a recording studio with Dr. Dre, a rapper and music producer.
People are also reading…
"I'd love to know how he makes his music and where he gets his unique sound from," he said.
What books are you reading now? Christian is giving "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini a second read.
"If I read a book twice, I see things I didn't read the first time," he said.
Whom do you admire most? His grandfather, Luis Arciniaga, who lives in San Diego but calls his grandson daily.
"He has always supported me," Christian said.
What's your favorite song? He likes listening to beats he creates at home on his computer.
Plans after high school: Christian wants to attend Full Sail University in Florida, where he hopes to take classes in music production and film.
Dream job: He'd take positions as a movie director in Hollywood or as a music producer.
Dream car: Christian wants to sit behind the wheel of the biggest truck he can find.
Favorite place in Tucson: Palo Verde High School - "All my friends are there."
Hidden talents: He does celebrity impressions. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of his favorite targets.
Vouch: Christian's mother, Caroline Dempsey, said her son was in a shell for years but emerged as a popular teen-ager. "He's an awesome kid. He's a success story," she said.
- Andrea Rivera
Student of the Week runs every Tuesday through May. In addition to being featured in the story, each student receives a plaque donated by Tuller Trophy and a certificate from the Office of the Pima County School Superintendent. Plaques must be picked up at Tuller Trophy's location at 525 N. Sixth Ave.
If you'd like to nominate a deserving student, go to www.azstarnet.com/education and fill out the nomination form. Students also must fill out a form. Find links to past winners at the same site.
