By Thomas Gase

Jesse Bethel High seniors and longtime friends Jared Dela Cruz and Nika Esta are both headed to Cal Berkeley for college in the fall and will soon have their mascot be the Bears. That’s not the only thing the two have in common.

The duo were named the school’s co-valedictorians earlier this week during a filming for their virtual graduation ceremony. Both students have a GPA hovering around a 4.2.

“We’ve been good friends for a while,” Dela Cruz said. “It’s cool to share this position (valedictorian) with her. We met in seventh grade and it will be cool to have some more years together in college.”

Source: Jesse Bethel High students ‘Bear’ed down to become valedictorians – Times-Herald