East Laurens salutatorian first in family to graduate high school

Juleymi Sanchez-Perez wasn’t always the best student. 

“In third grade I was terrible,” she said. “I didn’t do my homework, and I always ended up in detention.” 

A lack of motivation or poor study habits were not the only obstacles she faced in her early years of education. English is Sanchez-Perez’s second language, and she had to learn how to speak, read and write while adjusting to a classroom setting. Her parents immigrated from Mexico about 20 years ago. Spanish remains their primary language. 

“It was very difficult. Kindergarten was a struggle,” Sanchez-Perez said. “Both of my parents struggle with English, so I do most of the translating at home.”

By the fourth grade she not only had an understanding of a new language, but discovered she had a knack for other subjects as well. 

“In fourth grade it kind of clicked,” Sanchez-Perez said. “My teacher was very motivating and that’s when I realized my potential and that I needed to pay attention in school. By fifth grade I was in gifted classes.”

On May 29, Sanchez-Perez will become to first person in her family to graduate high school. And not only will she graduate, but she will be among the top honorees of the day, graduating as East Laurens High School’s salutatorian of the class of 2026.  

“I feel like the struggle has been worth itm and I am very proud of how far I’ve come,” she said. “This accomplishment is not just mine but my parents’. I’v very grateful for them.” 

Another obstacle that stood in her way – the COVID pandemic. 

Sanchez-Perez was in middle school when the schools closed in 2020. She took classes online during the first semester of her seventh grade year and her grades suffered for it. She finished the year back in the classroom and by the end of her eighth grade year, was back to the top of the class. 

In high school she continued to expand her horizons. She played the flute in the marching band for two years, joined the Beta Club, Interact Club and became active in the Future Business Leaders of America organization. She also serves on the school’s student council. Outside of the halls of East Laurens High, Sanchez-Perez serves as a volunteer at Fairview Park Hospital; sits as a lead attorney on the Dublin-Laurens County Teen Court; and served on the student advisory council under Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods. 

This fall, Sanchez-Perez will become the first in her family to attend college, as well. She has been accepted into the University of Georgia, where she intends to study biology with a pre-dental tract. She hopes to be a dentist. 

Sanchez-Perez hopes her experience serves as an inspiration to others that, no matter the obstacles, life is worth facing head on. 

“You’re going to fail a lot in life, but you have to keep going,” she said. “There are going to be struggles but you have to be strong enough to overcome it. Your hard work will pay off.”