As the weather begins to clear up, the members of Del Oro’s graduating class of 2026 will soon find themselves with flowers and gifts to celebrate their accomplishments as they reflect on the past 12 years of school that have brought them to this moment.
However, there’s one big event remaining that every grade level could look forward to: The annual Kern High School District’s Promoting Excellence in Activities and Athletics in Kern (PEAAK) Awards, which take place May 13 at the Dignity Health Arena theater in downtown Bakersfield.
This year Del Oro has found itself with its most nominations yet as a collective school, with the Cheer team and Theater finding themselves receiving the most nominations.
With the PEAAK awards being right around the corner, let’s see what some nominees had to say.
Senior Alberto Acevedo has been incredibly active in theater since his freshman year, from playing a mall santa in “The Trial of Santa” to portraying Uncle Louie in “Lost in Yonkers.”
“I feel really happy. I’m really excited to be a part of the ceremony,” he said “It’s going to feel like a really big circle moment for me and everybody else in the theater.”
Acevedo is a nominee in the Outstanding Performance in a Live Theatrical Production (Non-Musical) category. He was part of the cast of “The Trial of Santa,” which received a PEAAK nomination during his freshman year, and also was in the Theater department’s fall production of “Frankenstein.”
“Frankenstein” is nominated for this year’s PEAAK award for Outstanding Live Theatrical Production (Non-musical). Two other seniors, Natalie Ruiz and Marlene Ruiz, are nominated in the Outstanding Achievement in Theater and Outstanding Performance in a Live Theatrical Production (Musical) categories, respectively.
Acevedo offered advice to any underclassmen who may be interested in trying something new or wondering if what they’re doing is truly for them.
“Keep doing whatever it is you’re doing, because sometimes it gets really hard,” he said “It feels a little discouraging, but I definitely encourage everyone to keep pushing through it because even through the hard times, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”
Del Oro’s cheer team was nominated in two categories, Best Public Event or Competition and Outstanding Leadership. Activities Director Desmond Ramey, the cheer team’s coach, expressed his pride in the team and for having their efforts recognized through the nomination.
“They work very hard within the community and that’s their main goal…but more so being a community member and being an ambassador” Ramey said.
The cheer team has always been incredibly active within the community, volunteering at all that they can. They show that there’s more to being a cheerleader than just hyping up rallies and games with their pep, that it’s also supporting those in the community and uplifting them.
When asked about the seniors of the team, Ramey gave a bittersweet smile as he replied, “They should always just be proud of what they’ve done already. And even more so being proud of what they’re going to do within their future in leaving this place as a Del Oro High School cheerleader.”
A first-time nominee, junior Rahel Buenrostro-Vega was nominated for the Scholar Artist award. Buenrostro-Vega displayed her excitement at the nomination: “I’m just so glad that I got honored.”
Buenrostro-Vega stated that she hopes to continue improving her art and perhaps even receiving another nomination next year.
Del Oro’s other nominees for this year’s PEAAK awards include:
- Excellence in Writing, Azucena Gonzalez
- Best in Photography, Albert Garcia
- Scholar Photographer, Estefany Cano
- Best Editing in Film/Video, Angel Duran
- Outstanding Leadership, Peer Leaders Uniting Students (PLUS) program
- Best Community Service Project, the Bentley Art Gallery
- Most Memorable Moment, Sol Del Oro Folklorico Dance Group
Last year, Del Oro seniors won PEAAK awards in the Outstanding Leadership (Anali Martinez), Scholar Photographer (Jayden Zepeda) and Best News Story (Kayla Vaughn) categories. Vaughn also won the Best News Story award as a junior in 2024.
