Community: Beloved educators toasted at alumni mixer

Graduation time always stirs memories of attending Burbank schools and especially thoughts of those teachers and administrators who made lasting impressions.

Two of those were honored recently at the Burbank-Burroughs Alumni Assn.’s quarterly mixer. Those recognized were Jim Lloyd, who is a retired assistant principal, teacher and coach at Burroughs High School, and Diana Abasta, who is an English teacher at Burbank High School and president of the Burbank Teachers Assn.

Introductions were made by Emilio Urioste, director of Burbank Adult School and liaison between the school district and the alumni association.

Urioste is a former teacher and principal at Burroughs, but he taught about five summers at Burbank High, and that’s where he met Abasta.

She served as a teacher leader when committees met on curriculum issues, and she mentored teachers new to the school.

“She has provided tremendous leadership to the association, as well,” Urioste said. “It’s important to have a strong teachers association that works with the district to make sure we take care of our teachers, and she certainly has performed that role with great aplomb as well as being a tremendous teacher.”

Lloyd’s grandson, Brendan Jennings, vocal music director at Burroughs High, was in Urioste’s Spanish class at Burroughs. Then, after he graduated from USC, Urioste hired Jennings.

While at Burroughs, Urioste would take time to read about the school’s history by going through yearbooks in the library. He started in 1948, when the school began. Lloyd had been a teacher, coach, counselor, administrator and even taught driver’s education.

“He is just one of many individuals who had impacted so many lives and whose name came up daily from staff members to students who would come and visit,” he said.

Connie Barron Trimble, a member of the alumni association and human resources employee with the school district, provided background information on both honorees.

Information Trimble discovered was how strongly Abasta supports her students by addressing their individual needs.

“She has created a powerful learning environment and designed powerful learning experiences for students and what students take away with them lasts their entire life,” she said. “You are constantly so busy and you have to be a superlative person to give that much of yourself and not just to your students but fellow teachers.”

Donations go into the 2016-17 scholarship fund. The alumni association has created these events to honor educators and to raise funds for scholarships for current high school seniors.

Each year since the group’s inception, scholarships have been presented to two students at each high school.

JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.