US Army Serviceman and AVHS Alum Surprises his Family at Pep Rally

On Aug. 22, Arroyo Valley High School (AVHS) alumni and US Army serviceman, Adrian Equihua, returned home from an over 18-month deployment to Afghanistan. Equihua had an idea to surprise his brother Ruben, who is currently a senior at AVHS, at a pep rally the school friday morning at 8:50 a.m. Equihua originally contacted AVHS and shared that he was coming home, and the entire idea blossomed from there. Vice Principal Julie Beck, contacted his whole family to invite them to the rally. However, she told his parents that Ruben, Equihua’s younger brother, was winning an award so she wouldn’t ruin the surprise. Equihua, AVHS graduate of 2010, came to the pep rally dressed in his uniform. Ruben thinking it was just a regular friday at school mentioned, “They said I was being ‘recognized’ and I was receiving an award but I didn’t know what for. Right when I saw a man in uniform in the corner of my eye, I did a double-take,” Ruben shared. “I was so surprised!” There are two pep rallies that are held due to the large population of the school. Equihua surprised his family at the first pep rally; about five hundred students, teachers, and staff witnessed this Equihua surprise his whole family. “The event was heart-warming. I had that upside-down stomach feeling,” Equihua shared after he admitted that the whole event made him cry. Equihua’s mom also mentioned, “as a mom I’m so happy to finally see my son.” Equihua is home for two weeks, and then will go back to Fort Drum New York where he works as a motarman.