SANTA CRUZ >> Hailing from a family of academics, Santa Cruz High School senior Mariana Orountiotis-Kelly has always been focused on excelling in her studies. Near the end of her high school career, after she realized she wanted to become a health care professional, Mariana said her drive to achieve became much more personal.

“My dad is a political science professor, my stepmom is a Spanish professor and my mom has her master’s, and we’re a very academic family and education-oriented,” said Orountiotis-Kelly. “At the beginning of high school, I did well in school because that’s just how things are. But I didn’t really have a goal. The first semester of my senior year was my most difficult semester. I was taking AP environmental science, AP biology and econ and I pushed myself to do well in those classes because I had the goal of going to a good college.”

Orountiotis-Kelly, who will attend California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo next fall, received the R.H. Beel Memorial Scholarship from the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. The scholarship is given to Santa Cruz High School seniors who show exceptional academic achievement and a have a history of volunteering or service activities.

Orountiotis-Kelly’s adviser at Santa Cruz High, Laura Gradiska, pointed out that the aspiring health care professional was waitlisted for AP Biology class in the fall, and continued to follow up about the arduous course until she was enrolled later that semester.

“Right off the bat during her senior year, Mariana demonstrated to me how committed she was to her academics,” Gradiska told the Sentinel. “She stopped by my office at break and lunch to kindly check on her status because she was committed to her passion of studying health and science in college.”

Gradinska said that Orountiotis-Kelly’s vigilance eventually paid off. Weeks after the semester started, she secured a spot in the advanced placement class and still aced it.

“It was the hardest class I’ve ever taken, but it was so much fun,” said Orountiotis-Kelly. “That class and physiology were both really fun because I want to go into the medical field as either a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner or a CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist). I really like science and especially human anatomy. In physio, we would do case studies where we would diagnose someone and come up with a treatment plan, which I loved.”

The first semester of her senior year served as a crucible for Orountiotis-Kelly in many ways. At that time, she was faced with personal challenges at home when her mom and stepdad were divorced and her mom experienced health issues.

“I didn’t really know that it was going to happen and it was all very sudden,” said Orountiotis-Kelly. “That was probably the biggest challenge I faced in high school.”

Alongside her schedule of advanced placement classes, Orountiotis-Kelly played on the tennis team at Santa Cruz High School her senior year and served as a mentor for young dancers at the Tannery World Dance & Cultural Center.

“This was my fifth year dancing at the Tannery,” said Orountiotis-Kelly. “The community there is so amazing and it’s so welcoming. It becomes a home for everyone who dances there. I have been a teaching assistant for the past two years for Angela Chambers, who is my mentor. The opportunity that she gave me to be a T.A. for her has been so incredible because I love working with kids.”

Orountiotis-Kelly mentioned that she recently performed in her last showcase at the Tannery Arts Center and was grateful for the years she spent learning and teaching numerous forms of dance there, from ballet to contemporary.

“It’s so fulfilling to be able to share your passion with the kids and mentor them and really help them grow,” said Orountiotis-Kelly. “It has been so incredible and I am so grateful for the amazing friendships I’ve made there.”

However, Orountiotis-Kelly plans to take a break from dancing when she moves to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo this fall. There, she plans to major in public health while she decides the exact role in medicine she’ll ultimately choose, whether physician assistant or nurse practitioner.

“Public health focuses a lot on the health care system as a whole and focuses on access and equity, which I think is really important,” said Orountiotis-Kelly. “If you’re going to provide health care, you need to also know how to make it accessible for everyone and be aware of the lack of accessibility. That’s something that I am passionate about actively trying to provide, is access to health care services.”

Orountiotis-Kelly said that after she visited the Cal Poly campus, she knew it would be a good fit and not just because of its massive leisure pool. Her decision to study there makes her mom happy too, because it’s not too far away from Santa Cruz.

Although she is a little nervous to leave her hometown, Orountiotis-Kelly plans to remedy any homesickness by making new friends, seeking out leadership opportunities and focusing on her studies even harder, which would come as no surprise to her academic adviser.

“Mariana is an outstanding and hardworking student both inside and outside the classroom,” said Gradinska. “And I can’t wait to see what her future holds.”