DAILY HIGH SCHOOL / VERDUGO ACADEMY:
As it came time on Friday for graduates to turn their tassels, all of them rose except for one 18-year-old in a gray cap and gown, who was standing at the side of the hall, trying to calm her crying baby as the rite of passage unfolded behind her.
“It is tough, but it comes with the parent role,” said Karen Mendez, the young mother who was pleased to have been a part of a group of high school graduates who had each made it through their own challenges.
Some students at a graduation ceremony Friday for seniors at Daily High School, Verdugo Academy and Advance Path Academy had previously given up on education and dropped out of school. Others had been on the verge of failure in traditional high schools and were advised to enroll in one of the Glendale Unified School District’s smaller, more personal programs. Some simply couldn’t make it to traditional schools because of work schedules and acting careers, while others were forced to switch into an alternative program because of unexpected pregnancies.
For the combined group of more than 100 graduates, some of whom were not present at First United Methodist Church for the ceremony, getting through school was not only an accomplishment, but had given them an important life lesson, Daily senior speaker Jessica Bolanos Martinez said.
“Coming to Daily was a second chance for all of us,” she said, explaining that her own experience with having a child had changed her plans, but had also helped her succeed.
She thanked her 1-year-old daughter for helping to inspire her through high school and called on her classmates to reach for their dreams.
“There are no rules to this thing,” she said. “You can make the best or the worst of it.”
Graduates reflected on their time in the intimate programs, where they worked closely with instructors and mentioned how their interactions with peers were remarkably calm and friendly, a contrast to what an outsider might expect of a continuation school or dropout recovery program, they said.
“Everybody knows each other there,” Daily senior James Moya said. “It was a peaceful school; no fights or anything.”
Part of being in the small programs involved encouragement from one especially vocal teacher, Antonia Piscitelli-Carrasco, said Daily student of the year Stephen Honrade, who encouraged his peers to hold themselves accountable as they moved on from the school.
“She cannot be there to scream at us when we don’t turn in our work,” he said.
Advance Path Academy senior speaker Sarah Abedi reflected on the one-on-one attention she and her classmates received in the program, which allows former dropouts to work toward graduation at their own pace.
“Advance Path gave us all a second chance at education and allowed us to do it in our own way,” she said.
For Mendez, the ceremony was a celebration of a milestone she had reached for her daughter.
“For her, I am happy because I want to give her everything,” she said.
DAILY HIGH CLASS OF 2009
Aguayo, Guadalupe
Ajemian, Avedis
Bautista, Patrick
Bolanos Martinez, Jessica
Brandenburg, Vanessa
Burany, Raffy
Choi, Joel
Deza, John
Escobar, Nathaly
Espinoza, Susan
Fulinara, Princess
Garcia, Virginia
Gevorkyan, Georg
Gonzales, Rosa
Govea, Steve
Guardado, Kimberly
Guevara, Henry
Harbouche, Adnane
Hernandez, Manuel
Honrade, Stephen
Hooper, Nicholas
Kadoyan, Kris
Kazandjian, Joseph
Kim, Bernard
Kzlgezyan, Makruhi
Lee Park, Eun Ji
Magana, Endi
Maravilla, Oscar
Martinez, Rigoberto
Mekhtikhanyan, Sevag
Mendez, Karen
Mendoza, Maribel
Moya, James
Nazarian, Christ
Nguyen, David
Noyola, Eliana
Pak, Chris
Perez, Eduardo
Pinto Martinez, Edwin
Rodarte, Raymundo
Rodriguez, Brandon
Saad, Sarah
Scott, Nicole
Spotswood, Stephen
Tuszynski, Michal
Vallecillo, Luis
Waldron, Jamie
Yemenejian, Arusyak
Yi, Paul
Zahrai-Masihi, Orin
VERDUGO ACADEMY CLASS OF 2009
Benitez, Nicole
Bogdon, Chelsea
Burgos, Crystal
Buyukliev, Emil
Diekmann, Diedre
Engibegian, Paolina
Estrada, Rushlan
George, Leslie
Ghazarian, Carlo
Gurrola, Michael
Hennessey, Janine
Illuminate, Mindy
Margarian, Loussine
Martinez, Caroline
Nazari, Alen
Pope-Rice, Rachel
Reyes, Michael
Roeske, Emily
Serobyan, Andre
Vartanian, Alisa
Vasquez, Luis
Wisco, Ernest
Zesati, Christine