Even though Rebecca Butkivich’s father couldn’t be there in
person to watch her accept her high school diploma, he’s always
with her in spirit.
Even though Rebecca Butkivich’s father couldn’t be there in person to watch her accept her high school diploma, he’s always with her in spirit.
Butkivich’s positive outlook doesn’t mask the pain of losing her father to cancer when she was in the eighth grade. Rather, her sunny nature is a result of the hardships she’s endured.
“I definitely really do miss him,” Butkivich said, reaching down to pet one of the family dogs that clawed at her leg for attention.
The day before graduation, she was putting the finishing touches on the speech she would deliver as senior class president.
“My dad was so busy with work when I was little, I knew he couldn’t physically be there a lot for me and my sisters,” she said. “Now he’s with me all the time.”
Although Stan Butkivich didn’t get the chance to see his youngest daughter perform a solo at Carnegie Hall, or receive her high school diploma, or deliver what was one of the most popular speeches at graduation – a rap that jolted each member of the Class of 2009 to their feet – “he would be so proud,” Butkivich said.
After her father’s death, Butkivich remembered meeting dozens of his coworkers, who told her how proud her father had been of his three daughters and how much he talked about them.
“It was nice to hear that,” she said. “I felt like I barely got to know him, so I’m always finding out new things about him.”
When her father died, Butkivich took a cue from her mother, who “was always the strong one.”
“Me and my sisters showed her we were strong too,” she said. “A lot of times, our friends are impressed with how well we handled it.”
“It’s incredible how she’s been able to deal with such hardships,” said childhood friend and classmate William Hoshida. “She throws everything into what she does. She puts her heart and soul into everything.”
The friends have been inseparable since they met a few years ago, only to find out that they had known each other as children. Anytime they’re confronted with any sort of creative project for school, the two spread out at Butkivich’s country home near the eastern hills bordering Gilroy and get to work, they said. The two congratulated each other on their success planning the school’s masquerade-themed prom and reminisced about playing Belle and Lumiere in the school’s production of “Beauty and the Beast”.
To help stay busy, Butkivich threw herself into her dancing and discovered she had a beautiful singing voice to match. She’ll move into an apartment with her two older sisters – also dancers – this fall to attend classes at California State University, Long Beach, where she plans to major in vocal performance.
Eventually, she sees herself performing on Broadway.
“I love New York,” she said, rolling her blue eyes dramatically for emphasis. Photos of her and her sisters as little girls striking dance poses hang over her head. “I want to live there so bad.”
Earlier this year, Butkivich got a taste of the Big Apple when she was invited with the Gilroy High School Chamber Singers to perform at Carnegie Hall. The performance was bittersweet without her father to see one of her biggest accomplishments, but Choral Director Phil Robb told her that she could mentally paste her father’s face on his during the performance.
Butkivich has been singing with Robb since about the time her father died.
“Mr. Robb’s like a father figure to me,” she said. “I feel comfortable talking to him about anything. Choir has become a warm place for me.”
The baby of the family who goes by the nickname Reb, Butkivich looks to other strong adults in her life as role models. Her mother, sisters, a beloved dance teacher and close friends form a solid support system for her to fall back on.
“I’ve had a lot of positive influences in my life,” she said. “I get really close to people and I get close to good people.”
Coming from a family of dancers and “brainiacs” – her mother owns a dance studio in Morgan Hill and her father worked for IBM – Butkivich carried the torch through high school, adding to her already busy resume with her role as senior class president.
“I really wanted to get to know our class,” she said. “I thought it would be a neat way to bring me closer to kids I wouldn’t have gotten to know otherwise. I like challenging myself.”
Quick to smile and generous with hugs, Butkivich said one of the best pieces of advice she ever received was from her mother, who told her to “take a deep breath and smile” when things get tough.
“My mom dedicated her whole life to me and my sisters,” she said. “She’s always there for us, just like my dad is now. I really want them to be proud of me.”
