Each year before graduation, The Dispatch profiles a few
outstanding soon-to-be Gilroy High School graduates. The students
are selected with input from the GHS
staff as representative of the best Gilroy has to offer. We
salute them, their families
and all the graduating seniors in the Class of 2006 for their
accomplishments.
Well done. Best wishes for a fulfilling and productive
future.
Scott Charvet, 17
College: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
For Scott Charvet applying to college involved more than essay-writing and reference-compiling. As a drummer angling to join the Cal Poly music program, Charvet’s application process involved nerve-racking auditions on the San Luis Obispo campus.
And when acceptance letters began arriving from the various colleges he applied to, the 17-year-old senior had to wait for two letters: one from admissions and one from the music department. Fortunately, Charvet’s mailbox filled up with first, an acceptance from both Cal Poly’s music program and followed with a welcome letter from the university.
Charvet also received a couple added surprises: a $1,000 Cal Poly Music Department scholarship and a $1,000 Gilroy Elks Lodge Local Scholarship. Although these days, most students associate the senior sporting the rock-and-roll crop of bleach-blond hair with the Gilroy High School band drumline, Charvet actually picked up the saxophone first.
Although his parents weren’t into music, Charvet latched onto the art quickly.
“I think my curiosity for the new just took me into the world of music,” he said.
As a freshman, Charvet heard a former band member play a rendition of the GHS cadence on the drums and was pumped.
“He just ripped it out,” he said. “It was tight and it was clean and I was like ‘I want to play like that.'”
After the experience he decided to focus on percussion. He still pulls out the saxophone for gigs with his friend at Sue’s Coffee Roasting Company downtown. Although Charvet will miss aspects of GHS, he’s excited to break into a world of music not confined by the constraints of high school band.
The drummer tasted that freedom when he played at Sue’s, with his band in his parent’s garage and when he and a fellow musician spent hours listening to and analyzing music.
When Charvet settles in at Cal Poly he plans to post a flyer asking musicians to assemble a new band called “The Funky Monks.”
At Cal Poly, he’ll continue to immerse himself in the basics of music, something he knows he must do before moving forward.
“Basically, learn the rules now, break ’em later,” he said.
But once he reaches that level Charvet wants to bring unique music to the world.
“Because everywhere you look it’s cookie-cutter,” he said.
Katherine Hussey, 18
College: Santa Barbara City College
When Katherine Hussey received her acceptance letter from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she had mixed feelings. Excited? Of course, who wouldn’t be at the prospect of attending school in a beach-side college town that also boasts the added bonus of academic excellence?
But one detail continued to nag the Gilroy High School senior.
“I thought about it and I thought, ‘I’ll only be doing school,’ ” Hussey said. “Sports are my passion.”
So, in the end the 18-year-old opted for Santa Barbara City College, where she’ll get to play on the basketball and volleyball teams.
After two years she plans to transfer to a four-year university, where she’ll be able to play basketball.
Hussey, who spent her high school career excelling on the court and in the classroom, played both varsity sports for the Mustangs. She managed to graduate with a 4.0 grade-point-average and received the honor of Distinguished Athlete of the Year, which included a $150 scholarship.
Also this basketball season, she was named Most Valuable Player of the Tri-County Athletic League, after leading the team and the league with 18 points per game.
Born in Virginia, Hussey was adopted as an infant, by parents who “always say I was their gift from God,” and moved to Gilroy in the seventh grade. She began playing basketball in South Carolina in the fourth grade where girls teams didn’t yet exist.
But Hussey didn’t let that factor interfere with her interests and she joined the boys.
Hussey would like to pursue a career combining problem-solving and maybe anthropology or DNA testing.
“I like doing science and math,” she said. “Those are my strong points.”
For Hussey the passage into adulthood didn’t only entail the already complex issues of pursuing ambition and learning to live in the real world. When her 18th birthday rolled around, Hussey received contact information for her birth parents.
She carries that little worry in the back of her mind: what if her birth mother rejects her or doesn’t care? But then the high school senior remembers that the young mom hand-picked parents who Hussey loves very much, and the anxiety softens.
Hussey plans to contact her biological mother eventually, but has laid it aside for the time-being “because how do you write 18 years of your life in one letter?” she asked.
Bobby Best, 18
College: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
By the looks and credentials of Bobby Best, you’d assume the man had played football for years. He’s as built as a college kid and managed to land a Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo football scholarship.
Yet, in reality, Best’s football career began not too long ago. Too big to play Pop Warner football, the senior didn’t begin his foray into football until his freshman year at Gilroy High School.
“I was terrible,” he said.
But Best’s status as a novice player didn’t last long. As a freshman his strength, size and fitness made up for lack of skills and as a sophomore he made the varsity team. He spent his high school career playing center and defensive end.
Best also excelled in track and field, using his brawn to earn a name in discus and shot put. He nearly beat the school record in shot put at the Adidas Golden West Invitational in Folsom on Sunday and for the past two years competed in the state track and field finals.
He also made first-team All-CCS in football. At Cal Poly he will play football and throw the discus and shot put.
Best’s athleticism landed him a Cal Poly football scholarship and the local honor of Gilroy High School Athlete of the Year, plus a $250 check.
The Gilroy native received full rides for football from other schools – Weber State University in Utah, University of California, Davis, San Jose State, to name some – but Cal Poly was the only place where he’ll have the chance to join the football and track teams.
Also, the athlete didn’t want to head all the way to Utah to attend Weber State and the proximity of SJSU didn’t attract him either. Cal Poly seemed just right.
Still, even with his prowess on the field, Best isn’t content just being an athlete.
“When I do something I have to do it all the way,” he explained. “I like to do it 100 percent or as close to that as humanly possible.”
That attitude helped him earn stellar marks in the classroom. Best aims to transfer his smarts and love of conditioning into a career as a certified strength coordinator.
Best may be set for his new life at Cal Poly, but he’s already reminiscing about his time here. He and his friends spent much of the year joking about the boredom of small-town Gilroy, but now that they’re closer to the end of their high school years conversations have turned to the places, people and events they’ll look back on fondly.
Best will miss the Hoggy Fest, an annul event pitting linemen from surrounding schools against one another.
“I’m going to miss the small crowds, the friends that I have,” he said. “I’m going to miss high school football, just the intensity of coming out.”
Joann Pedroza, 17
College: De Anza College
An avid soccer player since the age of 14, Joann Pedroza headed to Gilroy High School expecting to join the team. But something unpleasant stood in the way: bad grades.
The 17-year-old, who said she earned good marks in middle school, slacked off freshman year and failed to earn the required 2.0 grade-point-average. But playing soccer was so important to Pedroza she increased her GPA and headed back to the field her sophomore year.
“Soccer actually motivated me to do other things,” she said.
The Gilroy native said she couldn’t have done it alone. GHS soccer coach Jose Hernandez, who saw the athlete playing when her grades were too low to join the team, helped Pedroza raise her GPA.
He staged training sessions for the girls in the summers and after school, to help them improve their soccer skills. Pedroza’s motivation and attitude adjustment earned her a Paul Thompson Inspirational Athlete scholarship of $150.
She will head to De Anza College this summer to begin training for soccer and will begin school at the community college in the fall. In two years, she plans to transfer to a four-year university and has her eye on Santa Clara University, which has one of the nation’s most reputable women’s soccer programs.
In college, Pedroza wants to study administration of justice and become a probation officer.
“First I want to be a probation officer and then move my way up,” she said.
Pedroza said she will definitely leave behind warm memories of high school but for this senior, many of those moments took place on or around the soccer field. Brittany Barnes, a fellow teammate, will be heading to De Anza to play soccer also, but Pedroza will still miss the overall camaraderie of the GHS team.
“Just playing the sport, getting to meet the girls,” she said. “I see the soccer team as my family because I spent more time with them than at home.”
Jiana Escobar, 18
College: Modesto Junior College
Afternoons working at Silacci’s Feed Barn. Evenings tending to her livestock. Thursdays reporting school news as the school board student representative. And weekends at Future Farmers of America functions and competitions.
Sound like a packed schedule for a high schooler? You bet. But that’s how Jiana Escobar likes to live her life.
“I don’t feel useful if I’m not doing something,” she said.
And the 18-year-old avid FFA member plans to maintain a similarly booked calendar when she heads to Modesto Junior College in the fall. The Gilroy native already knows precisely what she wants to do with her life: quickly answering that she plans on becoming an agriculture lobbyist or spokeswoman.
She chose Modesto because of its stellar agriculture program and after two years will transfer to a four-year university, either California State University, Fresno or Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Growing up on her family’s beef ranch, Escobar became involved in agriculture at an early age. She joined 4-H in seventh grade and as a freshman joined FFA.
Her hard work earned her about $7,000 in cash for college, including the James Sacco Memorial scholarship for $500, $300 from the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau and the Myrle Wolfe Memorial for $6,000.
Escobar lists family as an inspiration, saying her parents, grandparents and brother were always there for her throughout her high school career. She plans to spend the summer tending to her animals, prepping for college and earning cash to offset the cost.
While Escobar knows she’ll miss aspects of high school, her life in Gilroy and FFA, she won’t look back too longingly.
“I’m about ready to close a chapter in my life,” she said. “I’m really excited about the future and ready to move on. It’s sad, but life goes on and I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things.”
Isabelle Szucs, 17
College: De Anza College
Isabelle Szucs began dabbling in what she hopes will one day serve as her career at quite a young age. She started dancing in elementary school but that wasn’t enough for the tall, slender teen.
So, she transferred her love of dance, art and writing into one form: a play. Tagged “Masters of the Millennium,” Szucs finished writing her play/dance that highlights various artists through the years in the fourth grade.
The point of the play, which Antonio Del Buono Elementary School students recently performed, is to educate individuals about art, she said.
Szucs may have started young but she definitely didn’t burn out. At Gilroy High School she quickly entered the theater scene, performing in a variety of plays, including this year’s senior musical “The Pajama Game.”
Szucs earned accolades for her dedication to drama, taking home a $500 scholarship from the Odyssey Theatre Company Community and a De Anza Chancellor’s scholarship for $750.
She also joined GHS’ choir, singing for the community in all of the group’s many concerts. In addition, she played varsity volleyball.
Yet, even with all her talents and interests, Szucs isn’t sure what she wants to do with her future.
“I have no clue,” she said. “That’s why I’m getting my general (education) done.”
In the fall, the 17-year-old will head to De Anza College.
Szucs will live at home with her parents and commute to the Cupertino college with her mother, who works in the area. While the Gilroyan claims that she’s completely undecided career-wise, she does have serious ambitions.
“I would really like to pursue a career in acting,” she said.
After De Anza, she intends to transfer to a four-year university and major in English.
Szucs has many fond memories of high school, not only on campus but also in her home. She’ll miss choir and “really miss (GHS choir teacher) Phil Robb.”
And, the only child said her parents certainly served as an inspiration.
“They’ve definitely been the most supportive parents any child could hope for,” she said. “Whenever I was doubting myself they were always pushing me forward.”
Neil Martin, 17
College: Occidental College
Neil Martin had quite a roster to choose from when began his college search. As a Gilroy High School football kicker and punter and as an excellent student, many schools propped open their door for Martin.
But when he stepped onto the Occidental College campus, met the football team and coaches, the 17-year-old knew he’d found his niche.
A small, liberal arts college located in Los Angeles, Occidental College has both a stellar academic and athletic reputation. That’s another reason Martin, decided he wanted to spend his college years as an Oxy Tiger.
Of course, liberal arts schools like Occidental come with a hefty price tag. The average tuition, plus room and board, for one year at the school is $45,322.
But Martin’s academic record, he managed to finish high school with an overall 3.97 grade-point-average, will help lessen the financial sting. The GHS senior received an Oxy College Scholarship totaling $28,944.
According to the college’s Web site, it only offers a “limited number of merit scholarships to admitted students. Merit awards are based on academic ability, achievement, motivation and promise.”
In addition to the Oxy cash, Martin walked away with a $250 scholarship from the GHS Quarterback Club.
Martin didn’t begin his high school career as a solo-sport athlete. The first two years he played soccer, which he said helped him hone his kicking skills, but by his junior year he had switched entirely to American football.
He has his eye on a career in business and plans to major in economics with an emphasis in business focus. When asked how he fit school work, practice and games into his schedule and was still able to earn such high marks, the shy student had a simple answer.
“It was basically just managing time, knowing when I had to do things,” he said.
Martin will bring many fond memories with him down to Los Angeles, but he’s so pumped to experience college life, he doesn’t expect to linger in the past for long.
