‘Perspective is huge.’ How this 2024 Tri-Cities grad used failure to find success

Ask Cristobal Rebolledo what’s been the most enjoyable aspect of high school and he’ll respond with a single word.

Failing.

“I love failing. I haven’t failed a single class, like ever, but it’s sitting in math and being stumped about how to figure out the answer to this and that,” the Delta High School graduate said. “That feeling you get when you fail and fail and fail — like, when you fail a thousand times — but you get it once? That is the best.”

Rebolledo is a budding, ambitious 17-year-old honors student from Pasco. His shoulders lean in, in enthusiastic engagement, while talking about the challenges he faced in high school.

On a warm Tri-Cities day, Rebolledo is dressed in all black sporting a baggy sweatshirt and Dickies work pants. A flower patch is stitched into his pants’ left side, and a chain rosary gifted from his grandfather hangs from the other.

“It’s not something that academically involved students would wear,” he says in an honest tone.

But it’s him.

And despite all he’s gone through — two torn ACL injuries on the same leg, balancing college school work with his social life, overcoming learning challenges, being the oldest of 10 siblings, starting a side hustle and early setbacks from teachers who didn’t believe in him — Rebolledo says keeping a positive outlook has allowed him to overcome the “failings” in his life and work toward a brighter future.

“Perspective is huge. It’s everything,” he said.

Dreams of Barcelona

Rebolledo is one of 87 Delta High School students who graduated Thursday, June 6.

Delta is the only Tri-Cities public high school of its kind, offering students an education based in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields of study.

He plans to attend Washington State University in the fall to study engineering.

Soccer has been at the center of Rebolledo’s life since he was a kindergartner. In elementary school, he dreamed of playing alongside soccer legend Lionel Messi for the Spanish team FC Barcelona. His idol is prominently displayed as his phone wallpaper.

“It’s literally what I’d do every day,” he said.

He has fond memories of the dramatic 2022 FIFA World Cup Finals, where Messi’s Argentinian team overcame Kylian Mbappe and France in overtime penalty kicks to win it all.

“Honestly, if I could go back and relive it I would. I still go back and watch the TikTok edits people made,” he said.

He was ecstatic. It was a bright moment in a trying time in Rebolledo’s life that he savored until the final moment.

Double ACL injuries

Twelve months earlier, in January 2022, Rebolledo tore the ACL ligament in his left leg during a tournament he was playing in with his Three Rivers Soccer Club team.

The combination left wing-center back thought his knee cap slipped out at first, maybe just “blew his knee out,” but quickly realized something worse had happened.

An MRI revealed he had a torn ACL and doctors operated that March.

Anticipating a 9-12 month recovery period, Rebolledo’s injury ultimately derailed his sophomore year.

“The main thing about the whole injury was knowing I had to work twice as hard as everybody else. Not only was I coming back from an injury, but I also missed a full year of development. Knowing that, I went every single day. Not a day passed where I wasn’t working my hardest,” he said.

He made a short return to club and high school soccer, but that was interrupted in February 2023 when he re-tore the same leg during a club scrimmage.

Did he do something wrong? His parents believed he was returning to soccer too soon. Or was it a stroke of bad luck?

Rebolledo was unsure. The only thing running through his head was, “Damn, why did this happen again?” The road to recovery just got a year longer.

Worse than the pain, Rebolledo watched as his friends excelled in soccer, winning games and making exclusive club teams. It was hard to watch from the sidelines.

But then, things changed.

Whole new mindset

Things began clicking for Rebolledo between his junior and senior year. Instead of voicing frustration over the injury, he instead took to books and TV shows for distraction.

Through TikTok and social media, Rebolledo learned about stoicism, reading works from Marcus Aurelius and other philosophers. He began accepting things in his life that he knew he could not change.

“It was a really big point of growth,” he said. “I’m more grateful for the things I learned during that period of time than I was sad about what happened. I learned a lot about self-discipline and being in-touch with my self emotionally.”

Rebolledo hoped to get on the Pasco High School varsity team his senior year after being away from Bulldogs soccer for two years. While he didn’t make the team, Rebolledo says he eagerly took a spot on the junior varsity squad as the team’s captain.

“The main thing was changing from being sad, to being, like, ‘OK, what’s next,’” he said. “I guess at that point I started thinking, ‘OK, I lost something but I still have opportunity for much more.’”

Rebolledo said he’s always felt his academic potential has been undervalued. In kindergarten, a teacher told his mom during a one-on-one conference they thought he would “not amount to anything.”

‘Remarkable character’

While English and writing have never been his strong suite, Rebolledo eventually found his passion in public speaking and in the sciences. He thrived during hands-on activities and in science fairs.

“That’s when I started asking questions, I started wondering about things which is what got me engaged in things,” he said.

Rebolledo brought those skills with him to Delta High School, where his curiosities further drove his learning. From freshman to senior years, he engaged in app coding, computer science programs, 3D CAD Design, website design and electrical engineering.

“He stands out as one of the most kind-hearted, caring and dedicated students I have ever had the privilege to know,” said Delta High School mathematics teacher Katie Landwehr. “Cristobal excels academically, balancing his studies with a part-time job and his passion for soccer. His positive impact on both his peers and teachers is immeasurable.”

“Cristobal’s unwavering commitment and remarkable character assure me that he is meant to make major contributions to the world,” she continued.

He recently won the Washington Opportunity Scholarship and was recognized with Energy Northwest’s “Best and Brightest” student award.

This week, Rebolledo and three dozen other seniors from across the state participated in Boeing’s annual Washington STEM Signing Day in Seattle, vowing to pursue STEM education at a college or university next year.

Rebolledo still plays soccer today, but much more recreationally.

“Everybody had this idea of me that I wasn’t academically there,” he said. “They didn’t expect me to excel. But I expected it of myself.”