Rafael Ibarra, 14, is a 9th grader with Renaissance Real World High School Academy in Temecula. The Wildomar student began with Springs in 7th grade, attending the DaVinci Academy. His favorite subjects are history, language arts and science.
He’s also interested in history, and was one of three students named State Champion in the Junior Group Documentaries at the California National History Day Competition for his project “There it is, take it. The Leadership and Legacy of William Mulholland.” One day, he’d like to be a documentary filmmaker like Ken Burns, known for his 1990 TV series on the Civil War.
Rafael likes attending Springs, he said, because “the smaller class sizes appealed to me. I’ve also been able to better interact with my teacher and get help when I need it.”
His other interests include photography and travel. He’s been to Rome and Alaska, and now wants to visit England. He said, “I want to see historical places in the UK like the tower of London, castles and the British Museum. I really like seeing the places where things happened.”
