GILROY
– An overflow crowd filled the aisles and spilled out of the
Gavilan College theater Tuesday night, eager to celebrate their
family and friends who overcame personal obstacles to earn their
diploma from Mt. Madonna High School.
GILROY – An overflow crowd filled the aisles and spilled out of the Gavilan College theater Tuesday night, eager to celebrate their family and friends who overcame personal obstacles to earn their diploma from Mt. Madonna High School.
“Persistence” truly is the word that represents the school’s Class of 2004, Principal John Perales said. The 58 graduates of Gilroy Unified School District’s alternative high school each have a personal story filled with their own setbacks and challenges.
For some, it was a teenage pregnancy. For others, it was falling through the cracks of the traditional school system.
“You, the Class of 2004, have shown persistence in achieving your goal of graduating, and now it’s time to use persistence to achieve your goals in life,” Perales told the graduates. “Never, ever, ever give up your dreams.”
Perales, finishing his second year as Mt. Madonna’s principal, recalled a saying frequently repeated by his father: “Life without a dream is like a car without gas.”
Each of the school’s graduates must complete an exit interview with Perales before commencement night. Many, he said, asked him what they can do to show their appreciation to the school and its supportive teachers and staff.
“What you can give back to Mt. Madonna is to go out and be extremely, extremely successful at what you do,” Perales said. “You are truly what makes Mt. Madonna special.”
Class President Janay Zuniga, the first of three student speakers, used her time on stage Tuesday night to praise the buoyant campus atmosphere, particularly the teachers who helped the students on a daily basis.
“Each and every one of them is special in their own way, and they helped us conquer our struggles,” Zuniga said. “Most of us wouldn’t even be here on this stage if it weren’t for Mt. Madonna staff.”
Even when the students resisted, she said, the school’s teachers, staff and administrators were there to give them the nudge they needed. She recalled trying to hide – unsuccessfully – from Perales, who would “get on her back.” She thanked him for keeping her on track.
“I can pretty much speak for all of us by saying Mt. Madonna teachers and staff were like a family to us,” Zuniga said.
A handful of the graduates were involved in the school’s program for young mothers, which teaches parenting skills and provides child care so the students can attend classes.
Regina Alcala provided a collective thank-you from those mothers to the child care staff for helping them balance being a new parent with being a high school student.
“You go through some moments when you think you can’t make it any more,” she said. “Mt. Madonna has given me and many others the chance to graduate and fulfill our dreams.”
Monique Vasquez represented the graduates in formally thanking the school’s 11 teachers.
“This school is full of wonderful teachers,” Vasquez said. “You people have helped me see my education with a different perspective, and now I know what my future can hold for me.”
Vasquez also thanked her family – her mom, dad, sister and brother – who she called her “backbone.”
Many other teachers and families were personally thanked as teacher mentors shared the graduates’ stories before presenting their diplomas.
Counselor Alma Quintana said the school’s teacher mentors – who help guide each of the students in their homeroom – have been called “the angels on their student’s shoulders.”
Teacher Marina Campos congratulated the teen mothers. She recounted the story of Cindy Ortiz’s first day in her class: March 21, 2003. Then a 13-year-old, she came into class “very pregnant” and sat uncomfortably at her desk. The reason she was shifting and squirming: She was in labor. Campos was the one who drove Ortiz to the hospital – the longest and most stressful drive of her life, she said.
Ortiz, who also received three scholarship awards Tuesday, plans to attend community college and is the first in her family to earn her diploma, Campos said.
Because he is “the crazy art guy,” teacher Rick Charvet introduced his students by giving one- or two-word descriptions of their best qualities. Krystal Cervantes, he said, is ”strong-willed, artistic.”
Christopher Vargas, another student who is the first in his family to receive a diploma and plans to join the military later this summer, had an unexpected first day at school, said his teacher Joanne Carollo.
“He was expecting to get treated like ‘the new guy,’ ” she said. “Instead, students were friendly and talked to him, and his teachers were ready to help him.”
Lori Stuenkel covers education for The Dispatch. She can be reached at 847-7158 or ls*******@************ch.com.
