Every single day—regardless of the day of the week, the weather outside, or the slew of demands weighing upon her shoulders—Molly Arboleda greets her students with a beaming smile and a spirit to match. As students settle into their seats, she holds up a patient hand to rein in the energy of the room. Once silence falls, wonder suspends. Arboleda begins to speak and her lesson unfurls like a riveting tale across the room. Buzzing from one row of desks to another, her sparkling eyes meet every students’ as she enlightens every individual with her endless knowledge and endearing exuberance.

Beyond her brilliant instruction as an AP U.S. History teacher, Arboleda (or Dr. A, as she is called by her students) also teaches two Citrus College classes at CHS—a women’s history class in the fall and a California history class in the spring—and works extensively with students as the State Seal of Civic Engagement Project Coordinator. Outside of the classroom, Arboleda is an avid gardener, a proud mother and wife, and a member of several organizations, including Sustainable Claremont and a group combating gun violence.

Arboleda has charted an extraordinary life to say the least. Growing up in Southern California as the oldest sister to four brothers, she studied the cello and piano with the intention of pursuing a professional music career. She went on to attend Yale University, where she hoped to study under world-renowned cellist Aldo Parisot, who was a Yale School of Music professor at the time. In addition to her musical talent, Arboleda was also a skilled tennis player in her youth, an accomplishment that is still recognized at Yale today.

“My former doubles partner just contacted me because a picture of me from my sophomore year [of college] is up in one of the gyms at Yale,” Arboleda said. “It shows me as a top tennis player there.”

After graduating from Yale, Arboleda entered the world of Wall Street and worked on the stock market for a full year. Yet despite her success in the field, she felt that something was missing.

“I couldn’t imagine doing this year in and year out […] and I didn’t love it,” Arboleda said. “So I ended up becoming a teacher, which I did love.”

Over the following five years, Arboleda taught high school and, after having her son, decided to pursue her PhD in history to become a college professor.

“But when I finally earned my PhD, […] I realized I really [preferred teaching] teenagers,” Arboleda said.

Thus, Arboleda returned to teaching high school and chose CHS for its bike ride’s distance from her home. Since then, she has become a prominent figure on campus, establishing herself as the beloved teacher and leader she is today.

However, Arboleda’s path was not without its hurdles. Like most exceptional individuals, she has experienced the blessing and curse of perfectionism.

“I was always trying to be very good at things,” Arboleda said. “And the need to be excellent at something can take its toll because not in all contexts can you be the best in the room. I often came close to it but the pressure of always needing to perform at a very high level led me to quitting things.”

For instance, Arboleda encountered a crossroad in high school when she had to choose between focusing on the cello or the piano. Unwilling to give up one for the other but unable to study both with equal rigor, Arboleda chose cello as her primary pursuit while still maintaining piano. However, this ambitious decision eventually resulted in her burning out in both instruments.

At Yale, Arboleda faced a similar dilemma. Entering college, she had hoped to join the prestigious Yale Symphony Orchestra and the esteemed women’s tennis team. Unfortunately, she had to choose between the two when she realized that the audition for the orchestra coincided with the mandatory practice for the team. She ultimately chose tennis over cello, but the decision still weighs on her mind today.

“I knew that I would easily make the tennis team and play at one of the highest spots,” Arboleda said. “So my need to be number one outweighed my love of music in a way that I might make a different decision now.”

Through the challenges of having to prioritize certain passions for others, Arboleda has shown that a certain degree of sacrifice is inherent to pursuing excellence. However, she did not allow these crossroads to impact her drive. After deep deliberation, she chose a path and persevered on it, seeing it to its end. Still, Arboleda has had to grapple with the question universal to all high-achieving women—whether or not she could “do it all.”

“I came of age during a time called Second Wave Feminism,” Arboleda said. “The messaging we got was that we [as girls] can do it all—which I really believe in. Then as I became an adult woman in the late ‘80s and ‘90s, I realized it was really hard to do all of it at once: to have a thriving career and at the same time children and be able to stay home with [them].”

Specifically, Arboleda refers to her experience of pursuing her PhD while navigating the challenges of early motherhood. At the time, she had just had her son and was feeling overwhelmed by the demands of her schoolwork and her family. Fortunately, she found support in her dissertation chair, Janet Farrell Brodie, who Arboleda considers one of the most inspirational women in her life.

“[Brodie] was just this amazing person to me,” Arboleda said. “She [made me realize] that we [as women] really can grow as students and intellectual beings while being very good mothers.”

For context, Arboleda adds that Brodie is a 1969 UC Berkeley graduate who earned her PhD at the University of Chicago. Brodie has two children, as Arboleda would later have, and empowered her in her professional and personal life.

In the same capacity, Arboleda’s wisdom, drive, and experience inspire awe and ambition in her own students.

As Arboleda has demonstrated, the pursuit of excellence demands discipline and dedication, and it often entails sacrifices and tough decisions. Even for someone as driven as she has been—across music, sports, school, motherhood, career, and beyond—“having it all” remains an impossible ideal. Instead, Arboleda redefines success by showing the next generation that passion and tenacity are the essence of true achievement.

“What I have learned over a lifetime is that success is trying your best,” Arboleda said. “That is all we can ever ask of ourselves.”

With this in mind, she embraces her role as an educator to encourage curiosity and self-expression in her students. Instead of simply relaying information, she immerses the class in the content through passionate narrative, hoping to inspire her students to appreciate the past and aspire for the future. Moreover, Arboleda never imposes the pressure of perfection on her students. She knows that as teenagers, students are still in the process of finding their footing and discovering themselves. As such, she strives to ensure everyone feels seen and heard—whether it is by acknowledging each student by name, learning about their interests, encouraging their questions with a smile, or helping them make verbal connections with gentle guidance. Not to mention, Arboleda fosters a safe space for making mistakes as her whimsy never fails to bring a smile to her students’ faces.

With that said, Arboleda will be retiring in June of 2026, after devoting sixteen years of undivided commitment to her students at Claremont High School. Arboleda’s compassion and wisdom will be much missed, but there exists no doubt that she deserves to embark on the next chapter of her life after one that has touched the lives of so many. Arboleda has been more than a teacher: she has inspired, empowered, and uplifted the next generation through her unwavering dedication and steadfast leadership, in the classroom and beyond.