Ayla Kennedy has been named salutatorian of the 2024 PUHS graduating class.
Ayla attended Palominas Elementary School years K-6. When her family moved from Sierra Vista to Canelo in 2017, she became a student at the Elgin School for seventh and eighth grades.
Ayla loves living on a ranch with her mother and father, an older brother and a younger sister. “We have a really interesting ranch,” she said. “No cattle and horses, but we have emus, mini donkeys, chickens, bunnies, lots of dogs and cats. Too many, way too many.”
During her four years at PUHS Ayla managed basketball for one year and played for one year. She also managed volleyball for two years, and served two years on the yearbook staff. Ayla was a mentor with the school’s Gear Up program, which offers tutoring help to anyone who needs it, and was a member of the National Honor Society. In addition, she has enjoyed doing community service for the Town of Patagonia.
Ayla plans to attend the University of Arizona in the fall to study medicine with the goal of becoming a general surgeon. She has known since second grade that she wanted to become a doctor. Her first dream was to be a vet, but her best friend back then said, “No, don’t be a vet. You would make a great people doctor.” Decision made, Ayla hasn’t veered from that course since she was seven years old.
This summer Ayla will attend a summer camp at a little medical school in California for one and a half weeks as a sneak preview of her university experience. She plans to live off-campus at the U of A with her aunt, who teaches German at the university. She might take a course in German since she can practice speaking the language at home with her aunt. “It would make the course easy,” she said. As an added bonus she hopes to take her dog Lilo with her.
Ayla is passionate about what she wants to do and thanks her family and her friends for their support throughout the years. “I want to especially thank Mom and Dad and Mrs. Hayes, along with my closest friends,” she said. In the future she sees herself living and working as a doctor in a bigger city like Boston. “I’m so excited, honestly,” she said.
Ayla’s parting advice to students at PUHS is straightforward: “Don’t let others control your life. Just choose what YOU want to do.”