Sergio Buendia is trying to be the best version of himself that he can be. And that means exploring new ideas, sharing and connecting with all kinds of people.
“It’s just part of me, it’s what I do,” said the senior at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington. “I try to understand them and learn about where they come from. I like to talk, listen and share.”
He opens his backpack and pulls out the latest book he is reading — a self-improvement book called “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, about building good habits and breaking bad ones. Another recent favorite is “The 5 AM Club” by Robin Sharma, about getting up early to reach your creative potential.
At Bishop O’Connell, Buendia is an A student who’s participated in track, swimming and campus ministry. He enjoys “anything that involves teamwork,” he said.
He also serves as a peer mentor for classmates with intellectual disabilities. “They’re just like us,” he said. “They understand your emotions and humor, and you can be close friends with them.”
During the pandemic, Buendia helped form a small discussion group that met virtually a few times a month to talk about faith and share experiences.
“He recruited people to come to the meetings,” said Sister Stephanie Gabriel Tracy of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who was his religion teacher sophomore year. “I see him as very welcoming of those in other situations around school.”
She said Buendia “has a consistently positive attitude, and he clearly lives his life from a place of deep faith. He’s a serious student who also values community and family.”
Buendia’s parents are from Bolivia, and he said he’s been able to go back every couple of years during vacations to visit relatives, so he’s fluent in Spanish as well as English. His mom also has cousins in Brazil, and Buendia said that during the pandemic, he spent time communicating with them over WhatsApp and learning Portuguese, as an extracurricular project.
Off campus, he volunteers his time helping the monthly food distribution program and annual Lenten fish fry at his parish, St. James in Falls Church, and participates in the diocesan WorkCamp, where he enjoyed working with others to help build a patio.
This fall, he’ll attend The Catholic University of America in Washington, where he’s thinking about a dual major in theater and law.
Whatever he does, he plans to stay open to new ideas and continue connecting with others. He’s still exploring but noted that both St. John Paul II and Ronald Reagan “were great communicators who were actors when they were young.”
