HISD graduates overcome tremendous odds
HISD spokesman Terry Abbott recently sent out a release with some inspiring graduation success stories. I'm a complete pushover for beating-the-odds stories, so I'm going to reprint the entire piece in the extended entry.
Congratulations to the soon-to-be graduates!
On the weekend of May 27-29, about 7,400 high school seniors will graduate from HISD schools. Many of those young men and women struggled against all odds to even make it to graduation day.
HISD is the seventh largest school district in America. Children from more than 90 countries around the world have come to HISD for an education. They join native Houstonians in a sometimes difficult struggle to overcome severe obstacles to earn their diplomas.
In a school district where eight of 10 students live in poverty, graduation day is a huge day of celebration for families. Here are the stories of some of the children who have fought to make it.
Irenecarr Young, Milby High School
Irencarr Young has been anxious to get on with her life – literally from the moment she was born. Irencarr was born three months prematurely and diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Now, she’s graduating high school one year early. Her intensity and drive helped her get through years of learning to do things that are simple for other people, such as dressing herself.
On May 28, Irencarr will roll her wheelchair across the stage and receive her hard-earned diploma from HISD’s Milby High School, having graduated in three years. And Milby High School will lose a great leader. Irencarr is a member of the Music Honor Society and the Student Council. She is secretary/treasurer of her Girl Scout troop and is an activist for the physically disabled. Irencarr even designed the fire evacuation plan for her school, and has helped Internet web designers provide technology for people with disabilities.
Irencarr will go on to the University of Houston with a heavy heart. Her father died last month, before he could see her graduate from high school. But the 16-year-old is undeterred, as she has been her whole life.
“My educational goals for the future are to become an engineering undergraduate student to major in electrical and mechanical engineering. After I receive my degree, I would like to develop some type of technology specifically to help people with disabilities in everyday life,” she said.
Her teachers at Milby will miss her.
“Irencarr took the most challenging classes at Milby, and did not look for the easy way out,” Counselor Richard Vargas said.
Elvin Roman, Chavez High School
As he prepares to graduate from HISD’s Chavez High School on May 28 with an eye toward becoming an artist, Elvin Roman is thankful that he’s even here.
Elvin was born in Honduras but was abandoned by his mother when he was only two months old. His grandmother cared for him in Honduras until she died when he was 10 years old, leaving him alone. He lived on his own for three years, surviving with the help of neighbors who helped look after him.
His lucky break came when he was 13. His aunt in Houston contacted him and asked him to come live with her. “Two of my cousins and I were smuggled into the United States by a coyote,” Elvin said, referring to the slang word for those who smuggle people across the border and into the U.S. “It took us three weeks to reach Houston after traveling by boat and by bus.”
Elvin spoke no English when he first came to Houston and HISD. The teachers at Stevenson Middle School helped him learn English. At Chavez High School, Elvin’s teachers saw his great promise as an artist and worked closely with him to nurture his talent. He won a $3,000 scholarship for a painting he entered in the Latino Art Beat Competition, and won an award for creativity from the O'Kane Gallery at University of Houston, Downtown "High Art Show".
Debbie Pesha Green, chair of the Fine Arts Department at Chavez, said Elvin did not begin any serious art training until 11th grade at Chavez High.
“The first time I met Elvin, he was shy, humble and showed great promise as an artist,” Green said. “Each time Elvin won an award he seemed so surprised, not quite believing his good fortune. As the year went on Elvin began to believe in his talent and inspired all of us, peers and teachers alike with his self-taught abilities. When you consider that Elvin did not have a serious art program until his 11th grade year, it is very impressive to view his art. He is not a primitive artist, his proportions and realistic style is that of a trained and proficient artist.”
As much as Elvin has been inspired by his teachers at Chavez, the teachers themselves may have been even more inspired.
“It is rare that a child comes to me with such talent and no training. Elvin shows a great deal of maturity and understanding most likely due to his early difficulty in Honduras and being a child with out parents,” Green said. “I’m so proud of his efforts; he is a daily inspiration to me, and a great role model for other students. I feel fortunate that are paths have crossed, as Elvin is a very special young man.”
Elvin has his eyes on college.
“I have been working very hard on my goals to achieve my graduation credit and my college education. I am working hard toward high school graduation and looking for scholarship opportunities. This has inspired me to continue studying and to work towards a career in the Visual Arts,” Elvin said. He will attend the University of Houston.
Jesus De La Rosa, Sam Houston High School
Jesus De La Rosa will walk across the stage and graduate from Sam Houston High School on May 27. It’s amazing that he is even alive, much less walking.
Six years ago, Jesus was a sophomore at Sam Houston High, just two years from graduation. But then tragedy struck. Jesus was in an automobile accident with three of his closest friends. His three friends died. Jesus was left in a coma from serious head injuries.
When he finally awoke from the coma, Jesus was unable to speak or walk. With hard work and the support of his friends and family, though, Jesus was back at school in 2001. He was confined to a wheelchair, but Jesus would not give up. He willed himself to leave the wheelchair and start using a walker. Today, to the amazement of his doctors, Jesus can talk and walk without the aid of a walker or a cane.
He has used his life experience to guide other Sam Houston students, admonishing them not to make bad choices and jeopardize their futures. He says his philosophy in life is that in every endeavor undertaken "excellence is expected and never give up." Jesus is preparing to attend college in the fall.
Sedrick Walker, ALTA Academy
Sedrick Walker tried to drop out. He really tried. But Burl Jones, a dropout prevention specialist for HISD, would have none of that.
Sedrick, 19, is the third of nine siblings. He attended Yates High School for four years, and during the last semester of his senior year, he lost interest in school and dropped out. Sedrick moved to a small town to live with a relative and work, but he was laid off from his job and came back to Houston.
His grandmother wanted him to go back to school, and she told him about Burl Jones, the dropout prevention specialist who was becoming a real pest. Jones kept showing up at the grandmother’s house and calling on the phone looking for Sedrick and trying to get him back into school.
Sedrick finally decided to go to the school to see Mr. Jones. Jones, working with a counselor at Yates, seized the opportunity before Sedrick could slip away again. They showed Sedrick how he only needed two more classes to become a high school graduate.
The dropout prevention specialist put Sedrick in his car and drove the student to HISD’s ALTA Academy. He enrolled in 2004 and finished his course work in February. On May 28, Sedrick will graduate from ALTA. He is the first in his family to graduate from high school.
The dropout prevention specialist took things one step further. He introduced Sedrick to the director of the Professional Career Training Institute, and Sedrick is now attending classes to learn how to be an air conditioning technician. Eventually, Sedrick wants to graduate from college.
Lizvette Guerra, Kashmere High School
Lizvette Guerra will graduate from HISD’s Kashmere High School on May 28, and she is thankful that her mother will be there to see it happen. Lizvette didn’t tell her friends and teachers at first about the life or death issue she was facing in her own family this year as she worked to earn such good grades that she will finish fourth in her class.
Lizvette is like many children of immigrant parents. She saw her parents struggle to master English and find and keep jobs. But like many HISD parents, Lizvette’s mother and father constantly told her to work hard in school, stay focused, and get a good education so that life for them would not be as hard of a struggle as it was for the parents. Lizvette worried a lot about her parents and their financial situation but she never lost focus academically or socially. She is active in the National Honor Society, choir, and is vice president of the student council and Future Business Leaders of America.
When Lizvette's mother was diagnosed with cancer, she did not share the news with her friends and teachers for a while. She later shared how she assisted her mother through her treatments and how she gave her mother words of encouragement. Throughout the illness, she stayed focused on her school work. Teachers say she never had late assignments or a sad look on her face. Kashmere Acting Principal David Terrell said Lizvette “has taken on an adult role as a teenager. Lizvette is what many would refer to as an example of a mature, focused and loving teenager.”
Her family situation has improved, and Lizvette will see her family in the audience when she graduates. She will attend the University of Texas at Austin and major in Business Administration and Human Ecology.
Melissa Allen, Bellaire High School
At age nine, when most of her friends had lots of time for Barbie dolls and playing house, Melissa Allen found herself with a real family responsibility: taking care of her seriously injured father. Melissa’s father was injured by a steel beam while working a construction job, and he has been dependent on Melissa for his care since she was nine years old.
Melissa hasn’t just done well at Bellaire High School – she’s blown the roof off the place. She will graduate with a 4.1 grade point average and as a member of the French National Honor Society. She is an accomplished actor and an inducted member of the International Society of Poets. When she’s not at school, she prepares all the meals in her home, does the household chores, helps with the grocery shopping and anything else that needs to be done. And she’s done all this while holding down a full-time job to raise money for college.
“The inferior and difficult environment that I was raised in has gradually enabled me to distinguish what is truly important as an adult,” Melissa said. “This hardship has strengthened my character.”
Melissa has taken on the extra responsibility of helping special needs students at her school. She sits with those students at lunch and helps throw seasonal parties for them. She raised money for special furniture for their classrooms. She’s also found time for theatre at school, playing the lead in “The Exonerated” this year while preparing for college theater auditions.
“What shines through in Melissa’s personality is her compassion for others,” Bellaire Counselor Marlene Rubin said. “Her drive is light years beyond that of most other students her age. She seems almost unaffected, if not strengthened, by her family and home adversities.”
Melissa will find time in her busy schedule to graduate from Bellaire High School on May 29. She hopes her father will be able to attend the ceremony.
Gabriela Pena, Furr High School
Gabriela Pena was only 12 years old when she felt the pain in her ankle. The seventh grader went to the doctor and got the awful news: she had cancer. The osteosarcoma was located in her ankle, and doctors immediately recommended chemotherapy to try to save her leg. It didn’t work: after three months, doctors amputated Gabriela’s leg below the knee.
Gabriela had been home schooled while spending the better part of a year in the hospital while she was fitted with a prosthesis and given extensive physical therapy. She was ready to go back to school to be with her friends.
On May 28, Gabriela will graduate from Furr High School with a grade point average of 3.93, and, more importantly, with her cancer in remission. Her experiences changed her life: “After all I had experienced I decided that each opportunity I have is very precious and that I should also help my community,” Gabriela said. She volunteers at a local library and at her church, and she plans to attend the University of Houston’s College of Architecture.
Her teachers and family members are excited that Gabriela may become the first college graduate in the Pena family.
“Gabriela knows she can overcome any challenge,” Furr Magnet Coordinator Douglas Chandler said.
Ashley Leath, Washington High School
There is every reason Ashley Leath should have been a dropout. But she wouldn’t let that happen.
Ashley was only 12 when her mother died from breast cancer. Her father was remarried, but her step-mother’s drug addiction left Ashley neglected. She left home and lived with other family members and then, finally, in a shelter for a period of time.
But a caring cousin took Ashley in, and HISD’s Booker T. Washington High School did too. This shy and reserved student has mastered the rigorous academic requirement of the engineering magnet program at Washington. She is a member of the National Honor Society and is president of the Key Club. On May 28, Ashley will graduate from high school.
“When I think about how a young person today has to overcome so many distractions, I marvel. However, Ashley has had to overcome much more just to live and still finish in the top of her senior class,” Washington Counselor Howard Bruce said. “Ashley is a mature young woman who has perseverance and a strong faith in her abilities and aspirations.”
Ashley used the adversity as motivation.
“Every time I was told I would not amount to anything, it only encouraged me to try harder. At first I did it only to prove something to them, but then (it was) for my future,” Ashley said. “When I was having trouble in Algebra, I left every morning at 5:15 by myself in the dark to walk to my bus stop. When we lived in the shelter I caught buses every morning downtown in the dark and brutal cold just to make it to school. I did not tell anyone about my situation because I did not want pity, and for a long time I was ashamed.”
Ashley said there were “so many obstacles along the way that I wondered not only how I would succeed, but how I would survive. I am grateful I had the determination to succeed and I had the courage to change my situation. I know now that my future is very bright.”
Emmanuel Miranda, Milby High School
The Marines are looking for a few good men, but they also want educated ones. And that was the problem for Emmanuel Miranda.
Emmanuel had to make a choice last year that is familiar to many HISD students. He felt pressure to quit school and go to work to support his family. Emmanuel’s father is blind, and Emmanuel needed to work and to do chores at home. So in 2003 he made the decision to drop out of school.
But Emmanuel had a dream, and his decision to drop out of school was getting in the way of that dream. He had always wanted to be a Marine and to do law enforcement work. When he talked to the Marines about enlisting, though, he was denied because he didn’t have a high school diploma or a GED, and because of a medical condition he had had since birth. He also could not find a job in law enforcement.
Emmanuel was depressed. He needed help. And he found that help in Armando Alejandro, a dropout prevention specialist at HISD. Alejandro met with Emmanuel and convinced him to come back to school and finish his education. “I told him we needed to accomplish one half of his dream – finishing school – and then we could work on the other half,” Alejandro said. Emmanuel went back to school and re-enrolled in January. He will graduate from Milby High School on May 28.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/22/05 07:48 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (0)
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