The Tatler staff gathered input from fellow students and faculty to nominate students that display high character in and out of the classroom. All students elected for Tiger of the month were nominated by teachers and The Tatler’s newspaper staff.

August’s Tiger of the Month, Laura Elnairab

Nominated by EPHS staff and her peers, Laura has demonstrated outstanding determination and work ethic. Her kindness and curiosity outshines others. 

Laura was surprised by the recognition.

“It was unexpected, I’m just very proud that what I do is noticed,” Laura said.

Laura started Tiger Tutors last year, opening appointments in hopes for students to feel less afraid to ask for help.

“I always just try to help people. I wanted to start tiger tutors because for example, SAT a lot of kids procrastinate the day before they take their SAT,” Laura said.

This year Laura made SAT prep so more people could come together and not feel so ashamed to ask for help. 

Laura said in her calculus class there is a lot of her peers who like teaching and helping others, this brought more people together 

She hopes the tutoring program is something that lasts beyond her high school years.

 “That I made an impact and that I hope Tiger Tutors keeps going because hopefully, I can leave a legacy.”

Laura is involved in an internship at UTEP, her interests include computer science. 

“I actually just started a project. I’m making a game that includes a lot of representation for women and computer science,” Laura said.

Laura wants to make her last year of high school a memorable one with her classmates. She recently earned a full scholarship to the University of Chicago through QuestBridge. 

“That I just help people and enjoy my last year. Because it’s crazy that it’s been 12 years and this is the last year of public school,” Laura said. “This is the last year where I get to see the same people because after coming here we’re never going to see each other again.”

September’s Tiger of the Month, Patricia Dani Ruiz

Patricia Danielle Ruiz or “Dani” is Student Council’s Vice President and is class president for the class of 2024. Planning and helping set up for the schools activities, events, and pep rallies, among other things.

“It feels really nice, I’m really happy that I’m getting to be this month’s Tiger of the month. I love this school and I’m just happy to be recognized for that, who wouldn’t be.”

Dani mentioned that school is a building block for her future. She likes helping people, having fun, and takes her academics seriously.

“I do try my hardest in school, I set really big goals for myself, I go to school with the mentality of you need to do good. I like helping people, I like making friends, I like working with people so it’s fun,” Dani said.

As student council vice president, Dani has several responsibilities. She has to plan and prepare for school events, as class president Dani gets to help make ideas to fundraise for her class and help have more spirit for her class. 

“As the student council vice president I get to help out Zyenna Martinez, who is our (Student Council) president. We collaborate a lot and do a lot of planning. We helped plan Homecoming, we set up all these pep rallies and help plan pep rallies, cub camp for freshmen. We’re always there at the football and volleyball games,” Dani said.

Dani hopes to leave this school year knowing that she contributed to things such as helping make the yearbook, help planning student activity events and letting people know that she is an involved person who loves and takes pride in being a student at El Paso High.

“I help bring spirit to El Paso High which I love because I love this school,” Dani said.

October’s Tiger of the Month, Maddie McGuire

Maddie was 2022-23 homecoming queen, part of varsity volleyball and student council.

“I’m super surprised, I feel very happy. Those are the best words to describe how I’m feeling,” Maddy said after learning she had been selected by her peers as Tiger of the month. 

For her last year of high school Maddie hopes to enjoy all the memories she makes at the beautiful school of El Paso High.

“I hope to just make as many memories as I can. I am in love with this school entirely. I think the people are amazing, the history is amazing, I love it so much,” Maddy added. “So really just trying to make the most out of the year and make more memories.”

Maddie said that even though she has her share of obstacles, she still tries to find balance to lend a helping hand.

“If anybody wants to talk, they don’t need to be afraid. I’m here if anyone ever needs anything and hopefully people know that,” she said. “I like to help my classmates. I struggle in school as well. I think I really try my best to help people out in the classroom and that’s always really fun. So I enjoy doing that,” Maddie said.

Maddie likes to keep busy outside of school and finds joy in other hobbies. 

“If I’m not playing volleyball, I’m modeling. Or pretty much hanging out with family having a good time,” she said.