“My parents always raised me to not feel ashamed about my situation. They taught me to grow up without resentment because it never seemed like there was anything wrong with living in and out of relative’s houses or motels. It all seemed pretty normal to me, yet some at school made fun of me for being homeless.”
The May Lane Motel had been Assistant Principal Tanya Stoddard’s home for a very long time, and she saw nothing wrong with it, but when she wanted her friend Leticia to come over to her “house” to hang out, she overheard a conversation that made her realize…
She was homeless.
HOMELESS
Stoddard heard Leticia’s mother say that she was welcome to come over to hang out at their house as much as she liked, but she would definitely not allow Leticia to go over to the May Lane, even if it was Stoddard’s home.
Hearing these words at such a young age made Stoddard painfully aware that being homeless was beginning to affect her life.
Stoddard was born in Los Angeles, but moved to Oregon at the age of 9. At the age of 11 her parents went through a divorce.Her mother and sister moved to La Crescenta while Stoddard, who chose to live with her dad, moved to Glendale.
After moving to California, Stoddard’s father had a very difficult time finding a job, which created an unstable home environment.
Living in a motel and attending Rosemont was uncomfortable as Stoddard was constantly teased, bullied, and made fun of for being Hispanic, being a “nerd,” and mostly, for being homeless.
“My parents buffered me from being depressed about the situation, but once I began to be bullied, that’s when I began to take it a little harder,” Stoddard said.
CHANGING SCHOOLS
She soon reached her breaking point, deciding that Rosemont was not the place for her. With her father’s support, she transferred to Roosevelt Middle School.
“Every day, I took the bus to Roosevelt from La Crescenta, back and forth. I just didn’t want to keep going to the same school where I had no friends,” Stoddard said.
Once Stoddard began attending Roosevelt, she felt much more comfortable and was able to “fit in” with the rest of the kids who were more “like her” when it came to cultural stability. However, she never viewed being homeless as something that was out of the ordinary until her friend’s mother wouldn’t let her go over because she lived in a motel.
Although it was an embarrassing and rough situation, she never felt animosity toward her father for not being able to provide them with a stable home. She was aware of his financial issues, yet no matter how much he struggled, he always “found a way” to send her to school with clothes, school supplies, and food in her stomach.
GLENDALE HIGH
The following year marked the beginning of her high school years at Glendale High. Stoddard was quick to join the drill team, drama, and choir. It was during this time that she met her current best friend and confidant, Apala Parikh.
“I never really knew about her situation for a long time, all I knew was the energy she was giving out,” Parikh said. “She was always a very warm-hearted loving girl with a positive outlook on life.”
At the time, Parikh’s family owned property and a duplex. Her family offered Stoddard’s father, who had found a job as a production manager for clothing stores like Macy’s, to rent the duplex at a low price.
Having a friend that did what she could to help Stoddard through her hardship made her a wonderful best friend with “such an amazing family.”
Although Stoddard and her father had finally found a stable home in that tiny but welcoming duplex, they hadn’t been able to afford the luxuries of furniture or a refrigerator.
“Our meals were bought on a daily basis and we would put the milk we bought on the window sill on cold, rainy days to keep it from spoiling,” Stoddard said.
After working very hard at his job, Stoddard’s father was finally able to afford spending money on something for his daughter— her own bedroom furniture.
One day after school, she walked into a “jaw-dropping” room that was completely transformed and full of “brand new” used furniture.
DECLINING GRADES
Things finally began to look up for Stoddard and her family, until her uncle and godfather, Carmelo, became very ill with AIDS and moved in with them. Carmelo began to get sicker as Stoddard bore witness to it on a daily basis.
Seeing a loved one physically weakened greatly affected Stoddard on an emotional level and led her to a rebellious stage in her youth. Stoddard clearly remembers ditching classes and ostracizing herself.
“No one asked why my grades were declining. No one bothered to figure out or ask what was wrong or whether I was going through a difficult time,” Stoddard said.
Somehow, her science teacher, Ken Nemeyer, found out about her adversities. Nemeyer began to connect with the young student and attempted to get her the counseling resources she needed to get her grades up.
Although his attempt impacted her positively, there were very negative people, like her counselor, who directly told her that she was not fit for college.
After a certain point, Stoddard realized she needed to get back on track and began to try to do whatever it took to make up her missing credits by taking Regional Occupational Program (ROP) classes, going to night school, and taking zero period classes.
Although she tried her hardest, Stoddard ended her senior year five credits short and did not graduate.
Not graduating from high school may have been one of the most troubling things for Stoddard, but that did not discourage her from making it to the top.
Stoddard attended Glendale Community College (GCC), then transferred to College of the Redwoods and graduated with honors. Six days after receiving her associate’s degree, she received her high school diploma.
COLLEGE DEGREES
After graduating from the Redwoods, Stoddard attended Humboldt University where she majored in Education, minored in teaching English as a second language, and received her bachelor’s. Approximately two years later, she transferred to Cal State Northridge for her teaching and administrative credentials and received her master’s.
And just last week, earned her doctorate in education.
“The sky is the limit with her as far as ambitions and goals,” Parikh said. “When you meet someone like that, you definitely want to stick around them for a long time.”
For students who are currently being told that they are not “college bound” and won’t make it anywhere in the near future, Stoddard knows that there is a way for everyone to change his life and make it somewhere far.
“I always try to find a path for someone because I know that absolutely anyone can go to college just the way I did,” Stoddard said.
It’s the night every girl has been dreaming of since freshman year. It’s the night guys get to dress to impress their dates. It’s the night everyone will remember: prom.
Senior prom is this Saturday from 7-12 a.m. at the Mountain Gate Country Club in Brentwood. Tickets cost $85 with ASB and $90 without.
Senior class president Wenona Carlos and senior class treasurer Tatum Santos have been working on prom since last summer, hoping to get every last detail just right.
They began looking at various venues to hold their once in a lifetime event and ran into several difficulties.
The girls were off to “a rough start” when they realized they were unable to book the original venue they wanted. Carlos, therefore, made the decision to sign with The Event Group, a global company that helps coordinate events, thus leading them to choose the country club, a decision they are all happy with.
Santos described the venue as “practical” and “modern,” and likes that it is “fancy, but not too over the top.”
After picking the venue, the planning committee went on to work on details such as the decorations and sashes for the prom court.
She hopes to create a “romantic and intimate” atmosphere with bistro light decorations strung over the dining tables, and a sky blue and ivory color scheme to “match the Cinderella theme.” Dining tables will be embellished with “glowing floral centerpieces with Cinderella accents to draw students’ attention.”
Carlos stumbled upon this year’s prom theme “When the Clock Strikes 12” while nonchalantly looking at the senior sweaters. According to Carlos, there is “a little clock with the hand pointing right at twelve” printed on the sweater. After seeing that, she thought it would be a suitable theme for this year’s prom because of the “fairy tale aspects of it.”
Carlos wanted to make sure that the Class of 2012 got a talented disc jockey (DJ) and “compared to DJs we’ve had in the past, [DJ Kid Jay] is a lot more experienced.”
DJ Kid Jay, also known as Jason Wagers, is currently a mixer at radio station 99.1 KGGI and has done approximately one thousand gigs in his lifetime.
Senior Kathryn Paguio is looking forward to a night out with her best friends and seeing all the girls in “pretty dresses” and guys in “spiffy suits.”
Even teachers are looking forward to this year’s prom. Teachers Gina Brownstein, Katherine Duggan, MaryAnna Pomonis, Allison Stewart, and Kari Vargas used Tornado TV’s Morning Edition to ask English teacher Charles Brogdon to prom.
The prom princesses are Mary Arakelyan, Charlene Brandt, Renee Lawson, Melody Mirzakhani, and Arpineh Oganesyan. The prom princes are Paul Ingram and R.J. Salazar.
On top of the usual professional photographer, Carlos and Santos are currently working on getting caricaturists for the night.
Though planning the event is “overwhelming” and trying to please a class of 469 students is “impossible,” Santos feels they’ve been able to get by. Though it’s “hard to meet students’ expectations,” she is “confident that everyone will have a good time.”
“I want [everyone] to remember that aside from all our different cliques, we can all still get together and have a good time,” Santos said. “Prom is a tradition that everyone wants to be a part of.”
Most people have heroes that they look up to: Batman, Jason Bourne, Harry Potter, Chuck Norris, Dora the Explorer.
Unfortunately, in the harsh trenches of reality, most people don’t harbor magical man tights, steroid-pumped arms, or an all-knowing map to help them play the hero.
<p>Their Batmobile is a big red truck with loud sirens than can scare anyone off the road. They wear helmets instead of a mysterious mask and bunker gear rather than an obnoxious cape.</p>
<p>Welcome to your local fire station.</p>
<p>Firefighters have always been revered for their services to the community. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the tragic hero persona placed on the profession magnified by tenfold.</p>
<p>Still, many have no idea what it is that firefighters actually do, and personally, I’ve always been curious as to what it entails be a firefighter and what entitles them to the hero status. </p>
<p>After setting up interviews with several firefighters from various stations dispersed throughout the city, it became more evident that entitlement has nothing to do with it: firefighters bend over backwards in order to earn the respect of their community.</p>
<p>I didn’t know what to expect aside from the stereotypically friendly and helpful individuals in uniform. I assumed most of their work had to do with, well, fighting fire; however, I quickly caught on to the fact that “fighting fire” isn’t actually the biggest part of their job.</p>
<p>That is not to say that their daily activities aren’t demanding. A common stereotype placed on firefighters is that they sit around and play cards while waiting for calls, but this couldn’t be farther from the actual reality of the job. </p>
<p>Captains Joanne Davis, Ed Marquez, and Carlos Guerrero, and Firefighters Karlow Krikor, Spencer Armstrong, Caesar Medina, Stephan Pettit, and Engineer Gabriel Vaca from Station filled me in on what it is they actually do.</p>
<p>Firefighters undergo extensive training before they can actually bear the title, wear the badge, and work for a department. </p>
<p>“The badge, when you put it on, represents everything good, so it’s up to us to uphold that,” Pettit said.</p>
<p>It can take months or years before somebody pursuing the profession actually makes it due to the high level of competition and even higher level of responsibility that comes with being a firefighter.</p>
<p>Krikor, for example, started trying out at the age of 30, but was actually hired at 33. When he applied, Glendale gave out 3,500 applications for only eight positions.</p>
<p>Contrary to common belief, not every average Joe unwilling to stay in school can become a firefighter. One’s level of education and experience just may be the deciding point between candidates.</p>
<p>The Verdugo Fire Academy requires its students to be 18 years or older with a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate before they can join their training program. </p>
<p>Davis advises those serious about entering the field to put themselves through paramedic school, especially if they are interested in the more medical side of the job. </p>
<p>Both Guerrero and Medina worked in hospital rooms prior to joining the department, and this actually helped them get hired in less time than most firefighters. Having served in the air force, Medina’s chances of being hired were boosted because a fire department’s infrastructure is very “paramilitary.” </p>
<p>Testing to qualify as a firefighter includes a written and psychological exam, an oral interview, and a Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). According to Davis, one of the few female firefighters in the city, upper body strength and endurance is crucial for the physical demands of the job.</p>
<p>To test their physical agility, trainees must perform exercises such as carrying hoses (weighing around 100 lbs), throwing ladders (about 170 lbs) and dragging dummies, simulating what actually takes place on a fire ground. With their safety gear on, firefighters can weigh over 300 pounds. </p>
<p>Instructors will also purposefully set buildings on fire to see how trainees respond to stressful situations. They use burn buildings, otherwise known as burn houses, which are built specifically for this kind of hands-on activity. </p>
<p>Despite the importance of physical agility, the oral exam is crucial in determining a firefighter’s rank once they graduate from the academy. Trainees are presented with different scenarios and “situational questions” to test they quick thinking and problem solving skills. The oral exams, according to Davis, allow fire departments to assess a candidate’s commitment to the career path they have chosen, and to see if they are actually individuals they would want to work with.</p>
<p style=”text-align: left; font-size: 20px; margin-top: -4px;”><strong>Dealing with death</strong></p>
<p>Every firefighter must also be a certified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). Davis says that 80-85 percent of calls are for medical aid, including seizures, traffic accidents, heart attacks, falls, sports injuries, etc. </p>
<p>On average, Guerrero says that paramedics see four to eight deaths a month. When he witnesses a passing, Guerrero says a quick prayer to families of the deceased.</p>
<p>According to Krikor and Armstrong, they also get patients with psychological and behavioral issues who call them almost religiously. People who run out of medication have a tendency to turn to emergency services as well. However, even if someone calls them four times a month, they treat them with the same level of care and urgency because, like Krikor said, the word “emergency” is defined differently for everybody.</p>
<p>They may also get calls where the patient is suicidal. Medina says that though they may convince a person not to commit suicide, there is only so much they can do.</p>
<p>During times like this and when patients are particularly sick, Medina says the job can get frustrating because they would like to help out more but are “restricted.” They help “mitigate a problem” but are only “a small piece of the puzzle” as they work with nurses, doctors, and even police.</p>
<p>On his first call, Krikor recalls thinking “Here I come; I’m going to change the world,” hurrying up to eat his chili in case he got another emergency, having just returned from several back to back calls. Though it may get difficult to maintain that kind of attitude, Armstrong, who was eating in the kitchen with Krikor over a game of baseball, says that it is important to do so; otherwise, they can get “bitter.”</p>
<p>To say that dealing with patients is difficult would be an understatement. However, sometimes situations are further complicated when family members are involved.</p>
<p>Spouses who have been acting as caretakers for their partners will often panic over medical details that they don’t need to be concerned about. Though they will be as gentle as they can, “discomfort is inevitable,” Davis says. They “see people at their worst,” so they don’t expect to receive the most positive reactions.</p>
<p>“As a public servant, you work for the citizens; you have a job to do and you take whatever verbal abuse you may get,” Medina said. “We put ourselves in a position to make their experiences a little less traumatic.”</p>
<p>At the end of the day, however, they are only human. It would be unrealistic to say that they never take things personally or let a call get to them emotionally.</p>
<p>Davis’s father passed away from cancer, so naturally dealing with cancer patients isn’t the easiest of things to do. However, she says that in the midst of an emergency it’s “easier to put things aside” because they are so focused on the patient and doing their job quickly and efficiently.</p>
<p>Krikor says his biggest fear is getting a call one day and seeing that the patient is somebody he knows.</p>
<p>Marquez say that the patients they never forget are “the young ones.” They have had cases where teens overdosed and they had to stick tubes down their throats to pump the drugs out of them. Marquez recalls having revived a high school girl who had overdosed and almost didn’t make it.</p>
<p>Davis even came across a case where she and her team found a dead infant, with the parents having no idea that their child had been dead for some time. The baby was kept in unsanitary conditions; the firefighters and paramedics found insects, tweezers, and nail clippers among other objects in the child’s crib.</p>
<p style=”text-align: left; font-size: 20px; margin-top: -4px;”><strong>Odd work hours</strong></p>
<p>With such unconventional work hours, firefighters with families have more trouble adjusting than ones who are single.</p>
<p>There are three different platoons—Platoons A, B and C, each with a different shift. One platoon is on duty while the others are off. Firefighters are away from their homes for 24 hours at a time, sometimes for several days in a row if they need to fill in for somebody, or if a strike team, which includes five fire engines, approximately 22 firefighters, and 1 battalion chief, is needed during a heavy fire. </p>
<p>“I have an [infant] at home,” Krikor said. “It takes two to make a relationship work. Whichever partner is not a firefighter has to be understanding. On a day to day basis, it’s hard on the family.”</p>
<p>Medina brought up the point that once they get home, it’s time for them to sleep after responding to several calls the night before whereas their families are just starting out their day.</p>
<p>Marquez believes that this is actually the hardest thing about being a firefighter. When he goes home, his family already has a routine, so he feels he has to fit into that somehow. One of his daughters actually said to him that if she could have any wish in the world, it would be that he would never have to go back to work again.</p>
<p>Despite these challenges, most firefighters don’t think about quitting because they love what they do. </p>
<p>“You have to be selfless because this job is thankless and you have to be okay with that,” Medina said, having just returned to the station from his second call during our meeting. “We love what we do and we do it simply because we love to do it. It’s a passion—you don’t join accidentally.”</p>
<p>Additionally, because they invest so much time and effort just to become firefighters, without the guarantee that they will actually be hired permanently, quitting is the farthest thing from their mind.</p>
<p>Medina and Pettit only recently got off their probationary period, the first and perhaps most testing year of a firefighter’s career.</p>
<p>For Pettit, completing probation was harder than graduating from Cal Poly Pomona, comparing the first year of his career to being in finals week for a year.</p>
<p>“Everybody is watching you, trying to see if you’re going to fit in,” he said.</p>
<p>As the rookies, both he and Medina had to prove themselves to their crew, which meant arriving at the station at the crack of dawn to make sure the flag was up, the coffee was ready, and the apparatuses were checked and ready to go.</p>
<p>Being a “probie” also meant conducting presentations to the crew regarding different aspects of the job, especially equipment. Medina says that they “have a lot of pride” in their equipment and go to great lengths to maintain them.</p>
<p>“If your stuff doesn’t work, it can cost somebody their life,” he said.</p>
<p>Medina actually created a small booklet listing all of the equipment and different parts to the fire truck and the fire engine. Pettit went as far as to call the company in charge of manufacturing the department’s apparatuses to go over all of the equipment and how they have to be serviced before presenting to a crew that knew the equipment better than he did. </p>
<p>“You have to prove to us that you should stay,” Guerrero said, having been a firefighter for 24 years and a captain for 11. “We make [probies] get up early and pay attention to details—if they can follow those details consistently, they are able to do the job. In this job, it’s the little details that can kill you.”</p>
<p>Guerrero believes that in order to be a firefighter one has to be “self-motivated” and “hardworking.” The probationary process filters out people who just want to “slide by.”</p>
<p>On a lighter note, probies are subject to pranks. Some nights they may find their mattresses missing. Bucketing, or soaking someone from head to toe, is an old tradition. According to Firefighters Jeremy Frazier and Chuck Inglis who filled in for Medina while he was on a call, it teaches new firefighters to look up as they would have to when approaching a burning building to see where they can put up a ladder. However, due to potential lawsuits, bucketing is now frowned upon, which Frazier says “takes something away from the tradition.”</p>
<p>Tradition is a big part of any fire station. While speaking to Guerrero and Vaca (Vaca was assigned to Station 26 at the time), “New York Style Cherry Cheesecake and Rocky Road” blasted over the intercom twice.</p>
<p>Believe me, as soon as the deep voice rang through the station, ice cream flavors were the last thing I expected to hear. </p>
<p>This must be code for something, I thought. As it turns out, if someone is working overtime, they get to buy the rest of the crew ice cream. Not exactly the mind-boggling code for “emergency” or “fire” I was expecting.</p>
<p>I was surprised yet again when, while interviewing Pettit, Frazier walked into the room to notify him that he was baking cookies.</p>
<p>A macho firefighter baking cookies? </p>
<p>That day marked Frazier’s 13th year with the department, which meant baking cookies for everybody once he had completed his other duties.</p>
<p>At all three stations that I visited, the friendly atmosphere and familial vibe amongst the firefighters made it hard not to feel like somebody’s house rather than a workplace, despite the professionalism that they all carried. </p>
<p>There is even a bit of sibling rivalry between those who work on the truck and those who work on the engine, a “my horse is bigger than your horse” kind of thing.</p>
<p>A truck carries the ladders whereas the engine holds the hose and pumps water. The engine also responds to more medical calls. </p>
<p>While chatting with Inglis and Frazier, both of whom work on the truck, Medina, who works on the engine, returned from his second call and walked up to us with a grave expression on his face, one that I will never forget.</p>
<p>“Did they tell you what they did today?” he asked me, pointing to Inglis and Frazier as they left the kitchen.</p>
<p>Blazing fires and screaming children, maybe?</p>
<p>“They cleaned the truck.”</p>
<p>Another thing I noticed? Firefighters can be wisecracks, and indeed they enjoy teasing each other. Medina feels that the job would be hard without the camaraderie. The competition also makes the job a little more thrilling, pushing everyone to be on top of their game. </p>
<p>Although they get fire calls on a daily basis, they aren’t exactly massive structural catastrophes, but, according to Medina, “have the potential of getting bigger.” </p>
<p>Brush, dumpster and stove fires are typical circumstances that firefighters have to respond to. They may get house and apartment fires once or twice a month, and as evident by the recent L.A. arson fires, which ended with 52 fire breakouts in less than a week, they must always be prepared.</p>
<p>Though their lives may be endangered, firefighters like Pettit and Guerrero enjoy responding to fire calls, feeling that it allows them to put a great part of their training to use.“We go to the edge of our fears and limitations,” Guerrero said. “Afterward, we may be thinking ‘oh, that was dangerous’ but we survived.”</p>
<p>Part of being a firefighter also means being involved in the community. Firefighters take 18 of the most disadvantaged families under their wing and pay out of their own pocket to provide them with a Turkey Dinner over the holidays. According to FF/PM Chris Mays, who coordinates the Spark of Love Toy Drive in Glendale, the children of the family receive toys through the toy drive foundation; however, if the family includes an older child close to or in their teens, firefighters will pay to get them gifts more suitable for their age.</p>
<p>On Dec. 21, I had the opportunity to join Station 26 as they delivered toys to the Riverdale Head Start program in Glendale. This year, the department had received a large donation of over 140 tote bags, each bag containing about 10 toys.</p>
<p>As we pulled into the parking lot of the preschool (in the fire truck), over 100 preschoolers waited before the gate, some looking terrified to see the huge fire truck, others eagerly anticipating what they knew meant toys.</p>
<p>They all shouted “presents;” however, most seemed shy upon taking the gifts as the firefighters cheerfully passed them out. A young boy with motor and speech difficulties fell crying on his way to see the fire truck and to pick up his toys. However, once the firefighters gave him a bag and he took a picture in the truck, his mood significantly brightened.</p>
<p>I have to admit, seeing those toddlers so happy made me respect firefighters all the more. The Glendale Fire Department (G.F.D.) doesn’t require the firefighters to put in so much work to collect toys, gift wrap, and hand-deliver them. Mays says that it is all volunteer work, but that seeing the “smile on their [parents and their families] faces” is what makes it all worthwhile.</p>
<p>He volunteered to take over the coordinating position after his captain, Harold Scoggins, was promoted to chief. Scoggins, who was at Station 21 when we returned, said that because firefighters are so “blessed” with such a great job, they appreciate the chance to “bless the community” in return.</p>
<p>It doesn’t take a genius to see that these firefighters enjoy and take great pride in what they do. Still, they all shy away from the word “hero,” or as Pettit put it, the “warm and fuzzy” part of the job where people think they are the Herculeses of our day.</p>
<p>“Fundamentally, why we get into this job is so we can make a difference for people,” Pettit said. “There is nothing purer than being able to come in, see a situation, help resolve it, and make a difference.”</p>
<p>Marquez feels that anybody who is willing to provide a selfless act can be a hero, but that wearing the badge doesn’t automatically make someone Mother Theresa. It’s doing the right thing without the badge and when no one is watching that he believes makes somebody a hero.</p>
<p>Imagine having a job where you directly impact peoples’ lives and your split-second actions serve as crucial factors to someone’s survival. Imagine rushing to save a life after what may be the fifth time you’ve been awakened after midnight by a loud alarm that, according to Guerrero, takes your heart rate from 60 to 180 in less than a minute, and each and every time you have to head out of the station with the same amount of fervor and urgency no matter how exhausted you may be. Imagine seeing and hearing people in pain for the greater part of the day and being exposed to people that the rest of society considers, as Pettit said, “nasty”—AIDS, Hepatitis, tuberculosis…would you be willing to give up most of your personal life to do this, even if you were paid to do so?</p>
<p>Guerrero keeps a picture of the late Patrick J. Brown, a New York City fire captain who died during the 911 attacks, in his wallet to keep him going on days that may be particularly grinding. Though he was among the more than 300 firefighters and paramedics who died that day, the captain was “a living legend” in the firefighting community.</p>
<p>Brown took risks and was willing to do things other firefighters were not, even when it meant breaking the rules to save a life. If there was a burning building, he was always the first one to go in. One of his most famous feats, which was reenacted on FX Network’s Rescue Me, includes a rooftop rescue where he held a rope with his bare hands as another firefighter climbed down to rescue a victim that was about to jump from a burning building.</p>
<p>“He paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Guerrero said. “He reminds us of what we must be willing do. We may never reach his stature, but he inspires commitment.”</p>
She’s classy, involved and, above all, fashionable. Annie Lee (’12) inspires us with her edgy yet comfortable style.
Lee, who says she loves vintage clothing and dark tones, finds inspiration for her clothing style from Elle magazine and celebrities like the Olsen twins and Rachel Bilson.
Lee’s passion for fashion transfers over into her involvement at school as well. She is extremely active, serving as Vice President of the Key Club, a third-year choir student, and a Varsity tennis player. As this is her senior year, she is hoping it will be the best yet, full of fun activities and memories.
“All my experiences at school have been great,” Lee said. “I especially love choir because it allows me to work with people who share my passion.”
Although Lee loves fashion, she doesn’t think she will pursue it as a full-time career. She does, however, hope to someday create an online clothing store.
The school bell rings on April 6 and you rush out of school only to find you have no plans for a whole week. For some, this may be a relief, but for those of you looking for a good time, even on a tight budget, here are a few suggestions.
The Bucket List
Spend your week checking things off
your bucket list. This list can have anything
you want on it, so be creative.
For example:
Go for a hike to the top of a nearby mountain.
Take a funny picture with 5 random people
at the mall.
Be in two places at once.
Tornado Times Staff Bucket List
1. Skydive (Edward Nadurata)
2. Ride the tallest rollercoaster in the world (Kimberly Bondoc)
3. Adopt a pet (Christine Babayan)
4. Take a cross-country road trip (Arpineh Oganesyan)
5. Go to the planetarium show (An Uong)
6. Go to the Ellen Degeneres show (Lili Mikaelian)
7. Be in a flash mob (Ashley McClure)
8. Go to Amsterdam (Jeannie Mai)
9. Visit all the famous Korean eateries (Se Yeon Kim)
10. Be involved in a crime scene investigation (Alex Karibyan)
11. Volunteer at a homeless shelter (Maryam Soorma)
12. Shadow human trafficking victims (Agnessa Kasumyan)
13. Volunteer at a hospital (Danny Hovanessian)
14. Stargaze (Josh Briggs)
15. Go the the zoo and meet a Giraffe (Daphne Ong)
16. Get my license (Ani Kirakosyan)
17. Bungie jump (Arbo Keshishi)
18. Go to Venice beach (Harut Kazaryan)
19. Go to Palm Springs with friends (Alejandra Rosas)
20. Train a pet (Brian Crosby)
Yard Swap
Spring cleaning takes on a whole new
meaning when you get to swap with
your friends. Plan a day when you can
get together and exchange your old movies
and clothes with your friends. If there is excess
stuff that no one wants, donate it to a local
charity—it’s a wonderful way to give back.
Pool parties
Plan a themed pool party and make it a potluck. This is a cool way to spend some quality time with friends. You can also play pool games like
Marco Polo.
Pool Party Theme Ideas
Luau Party/Surfing Party
Go to any party store and you will be able to find hundreds of Hawaiian decorations. Make sure to include exotic drinks and lots of fruit on your menu. If you want to go all out, hold a limbo competition or a conga line.
50’s/ Retro Party
Have everyone in attendance wear vintage bathing suits and play lots of swing tunes. For decoration you can also add old records or cut out music notes to put around the party area.
Pool Party Games
Colors:
Pick someone to be “it” and have them sit on the outside rim of the pool with their eyes closed. All the other players choose a color and whisper it to another player. The “it” player then calls out random colors and when the players hear their color they must swim to the other side of the pool without being tagged by the “it” person. If someone is tagged they become “it.”
Pool Volleyball:
Toss volleyball across the pool without it touching the water.
Chicken:
Get four people together for this game and split into two teams of two. One player from each team goes on top of their team members shoulders. The objective is to knock over the other team’s players into the water.
Noodle Fight: Grab a pool noodle and challenge your friends to an epic duel.
Road Trip
If you or one of your friends can drive, grab your car and hit the road. Plan your stops ahead of time and try to stay with family and friends along the way. For amazing memories, challenge yourself to take pictures every time you stop at certain landmarks.
As a licensed driver that has already been through it all, here are some tips on how to pass your license test, what to do and what not to do while on the road, and how to avoid accidents.
Before the day of your license test:
1) Make sure you drive around the area the DMV is located at to familiarize yourself with the area you’ll be tested at; getting a feel of where you’ll be the day of the test will make you feel better prepared
On the day of your license test:
1) Have a good breakfast
2) Bring all the necessary paperwork the DMV requires you to have on that day
3) The most important rule of them all: BE CALM. It can be a pretty nerve racking experience, but if you let your nerves get the best of you, you could possibly do worse than you would if you were at a pacified state.
4) When it is your turn to take the test, observe your examiner. Often by observing the examiner, you can tell whether they’ll be a little easier on you than usual so be friendly.
5) Pay close attention to all the directions the examiner gives you and simultaneously focus on the road. You wouldn’t want your first accident to be on the day you’re hoping to receive your license, n would you?
Once you pass the test and receive your license, you feel free as a bird and relieved that you will never have to take that exam again; however, keep in mind that just because you are now free, you should still drive as safely and skillfully as the way you were taught by your driving instructor.
Once you pass the test and receive the card of freedom:
1) Remember all the rules, lights, signs etc. and actually enforce them while driving.
Just because you have your license now, doesn’t mean you should become a reckless driver and that you shouldn’t turn your signal on for a left turn.
2) Keep the noise level down, whether its from the radio or people talking in the car. You never know when at the most unexpected moment ambulance will be racing down the same lane you are in and you need to be able to hear it ahead of time to know which direction it’s coming from. When you hear/see an ambulance coming, remember to ALWAYS move to your right hand side. Failing to do so could cost you a $600 fine. Ouch!
3) Never text and drive. As simple as it sounds, many teens fail to follow that rule and end up finding themselves in fatal accidents, all due to a single text. Keeping your eyes on the road and arriving to your destination safely is far more important than a text.
4) Avoid having to drive someone under the age of 21 around. If you received your license, you have to follow the one year provisional rule which does not allow you to drive any minors. Sounds like no big deal to take all your friends with you to lunch though right? However, if you get into an accident, you would be paying a high cost for any of your friends who may be injured. Plus, if you are stopped by the cops, you’ll definitely be receiving a not so fun ticket.
5) Focus on your vehicle’s tires, oil, etc. At times, a mishap while driving could occur due to failure and negligence of the cars parts. You want your car to be in the best condition as possible in order to drive safely.
Movie Nights
Movie Night List
Anchor Man
The Big Labowski
Blue Valentine
Caddyshack
Fight Club
Forest Gump
Goodfellas
Good Will Hunting
Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark
Jurassic Park
Life is Beautiful
North by Northwest
The Notebook
Pulp Fiction
Schindler’s List
The Shawshank Redemption
Some Like It Hot
Singing in the Rain
The Sound of Music
Star Wars (any of the movies)
The Sting
Sunset Boulevard
Taxi Driver
Toy Story 1, 2 or 3
Up
Theme Parks
Theme parks can be a little more expensive than the other activities, but if you can get a bunch of friends to go with you, it will be worth it. Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Six Flags are all less than 40 minutes away and can provide a day full of fun and memories.
It’s Christmas Eve, you’re hyped up on sugar, anxiously waiting to rip open your presents and wondering if Santa got you what you wanted. You’re excited, but just a tad bit anxious, hoping you’ll like the surprise.
For girls, shopping brings about the same type of anticipation. We’re always eager and excited at the idea of buying pretty clothes, stylish accessories, and fashionable shoes. However, when it comes time to try on clothes, the excitement is replaced with dread. It’s time to acknowledge the fact that you may not fit into some of the clothes you want to buy, and no matter how perfect, stores won’t hold a suitable size.
Fishing through the racks, you finally find the right pair of jeans and grab two of the same, one that’s your actual size and another that is a size smaller, secretly hoping that you will fit the smaller size.
Fitting into clothes has always been a source of anxiety for the female gender.
Society places unjust scrutiny on celebrities who don’t live up to the impossible standards of weight, hammering people like Demi Lovato and Christina Aguilera who have packed on a few—healthy—pounds to their skinny frames, now harboring a far more voluptuous beauty. Even when they defend themselves and declare their satisfaction with thier weight, magazines and gossip columnists continue to harass them, all the while making other women with curves feel ugly.
Oftentimes, girls will buy clothes that they barely manage to fit in, which makes them look bigger than they really are in the desperate attempt to satisfy the need to live up to society’s standards of beauty. We are programmed into fixating on size.
Stores know how to take advantage of these insecurities. You know those size two jeans you’re desperate to fit in? News flash! They aren’t really size two. According to Cosmopolitan, clothing stores manipulate customers into buying their products by making them believe they are a size smaller than they actually are. They add more fabric to the clothes, which allows them to manipulate the sizes and the people who desperately hope they will fit into them.
Before you freak out and start googling detox diets, take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Do you look less appealing even though there is a possibility you may not be a size 2, even a size 4 or 6?
Didn’t think so.
Instead of making the clothing size your number one priority, you should make looking good your priority. You can wear a size 2 or a size 4, but at the end of the day your body is going to look the same. In fact, you will look better in the size that you are because it accentuates your curves and hides your problem areas.
What you need: a box of pasta, a jar of marinara sauce, chicken breast (optional), two pots, one pan, salt, garlic seasoning (optional).
With an overwhelming amount of homework, hours of after school practices and rehearsals, most of us don’t have time to cook our own meals. If it weren’t for mother dearest, I don’t know where we’d all be. Thankfully, most meals aren’t as complex as they look. In a few short steps, Paul and I are going to show you how easy it is to whip up a meal. If we can do it, anyone can!
For our first month, we decided to keep it simple. For someone home alone with nothing to eat, and no mother to cook anything, we figured it doesn’t get much easier than pasta with red sauce and chicken.
For this meal, we used Barilla’s penne pasta, which can be purchased at a local market for only $1.79. We bought a jar of premade Ragu sautéed onion and garlic marinara sauce, which usually goes for about $3-4. This part is optional, but we wanted meat in our pasta, so we also purchased chicken breast, which ranges anywhere from $2-3 per pound.
Step 1: Turn your oven up to full heat and boil water in a small to medium sized pot for about 9-10 minutes. Pour pasta in and wait for the shells to soften.
Step 2: While the water is boiling, warm up your marinara sauce. Simply pour the sauce into the other pot and wait as it heats up.
Step 3: While everything is heating up, defrost your chicken. We microwaved our chicken breast for about one minute.
Step 4: Once the pasta is finished, drain the water and leave the pasta off to the side. While you’re waiting for the sauce to heat up, you can cut up your chicken into thin slices, cubes, or however you like it.
Step 5: Immediately, you should be ready to fry the chicken. Take the pan out and pour oil onto it. Place the slices/cubes of chicken side to side and let the chicken cook. We decided to add a little garlic seasoning (Kirkland Signature granulated California Garlic, $7.49) and salt for a little extra flavor. Occasionally flip the pieces over, and take them out of the pan once they’re a nice golden brown. Careful not to burn it!
Step 6: Your sauce should be long finished. Pour your marinara sauce onto the pasta, and toss in the chicken. Mix it all together and voilà! Your meal is complete! Sit back and enjoy your easy, yet delicious masterpiece!
Warning: Please be extremely careful when handling sharp kitchen utensils and remember to never leave the oven on longer than necessary.
Sometimes life can feel like a pile of manure, a real wasteland where you have been placed and forced to clean up the mess. However, every time you try, it just gets messier and messier until you’re as filthy as the mess you were trying to clean.
Other times, you wonder how life could be so wonderful and why you ever bothered with such dark thoughts about it. Still, at the back of your mind is a nagging inkling reminding you that this feeling of euphoria can never last, despite your desperate attempts to cling on to it as it swiftly and cruelly escapes the clutch of your fingers, like smooth and delicate silk, leaving you to wonder if you ever really felt it at all or if it was just a tantalizing dream.
But what if there was a pill that could make that feeling last forever? A pill that could make you feel invincible, transcend you into an ultimate state of bliss, and make you exempt from a reality that constantly reminds you of your limitations?
You’d have to be a madman not to take that pill every day for the rest of your nonsensical existence.
But hold on—what if you knew that pill came with one condition: you would thrive on the pleasures and seemingly endless horizons the pill would give you, but your life would be cut short, and eventually your mind would lose its grip on reality and sanity altogether.
Would you still take the pill then?
In a world that is an oxymoron in itself, it shouldn’t be surprising that many people would prefer the pill.
There comes a point in most of our lives when we wonder what it would be like to go under the influence, to willingly allow ourselves to be seduced by drugs and consumed by an illusion created by the substances that help us escape a harsh and bitter reality.
It’s tempting to give in to the curiosity, especially when it seems like your world is spiraling out of control before you and any attempt you make to bring some order back to your life equates to you pulling the toilet handle over and over again.
When you’ve just about had all you can handle, life throws another boulder at you, and everybody expects you to catch it stoically and carry it regardless of your breaking bones.
At this point, why not take some of that ecstasy (E) somebody offered you and just roll with it—no pun intended, of course.
The drugs, no doubt, would feel better than anything else that life has offered you thus far.
Unfortunately, the temporary illusion of invincibility and bliss fades, the consequences of getting high overflowing until it’s like somebody clogged the toilet with too much paper and when you pull the toilet handle once again, the grimy waters just spill over, disgusting and useless.
Who has to clean the ugly mess and get rid of the appalling stench?
You.
All the while, you get dirtier and dirtier, inside and out until you’re a bitter, unredeemable mess.
Disgusting, I know; but, this basically sums up your life once you hand it over to drugs and seal it with a snort.
There is no denying that most people submit to drugs either to mess around and have some seemingly harmless, teenage fun or to run away from their problems.
As wonderful as that may sound, the fact of the matter is that the effects of drugs will catch up with you and only make your problems worse, crankier and with more vengeance than karma itself.
According to psychologyinaction.org, 50 percent of seniors in high school admitted to having used drugs, and about 10-15 percent grew an addition. Drug Enforcement Agent (DEA) Special agent Sarah Pullen says that methamphetamines (meth) and prescription drugs are Los Angeles County’s most common sources of drug abuse.
A senior in the school, who would rather remain anonymous, battled an addiction to prescription drugs during his junior year. He started off with NyQuil Syrup, a cold medicine that has the ability to knock somebody out for up to eight hours.
He “desperately needed some sleep,” so he didn’t think it would hurt to take the syrup just once. However, with his inability to sleep only getting worse, he began to use the syrup regularly, leading to a continued use of Tylenol as well.
During this time, he was dealing with personal problems while also tackling with the growing pressure of excelling in school. He had something to prove, and the drugs helped him deal with the inner turmoil he had created for himself.
He began taking Adderall, a medicine used to treat people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD.) The student claims that it gave him an incredible ability to focus. According to healthlifeandstuff.com, Adderall has been gaining popularity in treating ADHD since it was first introduced in 1996. Though it is effective in treating ADHD, it has potentially serious side effects. It contains amphetamines, thus Adderall abuse can lead to fatal heart and blood pressure problems. Webmd.com states that amphetamine-type drugs like Adderall are “habit-forming,” thus addictions are not uncommon.
Though the student was able to beat his addiction when he realized he was doing himself more harm than good, he did not do so until several trying experiences, including a suicide attempt.
It was only after the failed attempt when he realized that his life was out of control and he was hurting more people than himself, including family and friends.
When asked about why he felt the need to turn to drugs, he described an inexplicable feeling of anger towards society and the people around him, in addition to his insomniac-like symptoms. Though these feelings of animosity are often associated with teen vapors, it’s something much more than just some teenage rebellion and peer pressure problem. As an increasing awareness of society’s demands and pressures increases, so does the need for coping mechanisms. Some turn to video games, others books, and, of course, some to drugs.
Assistant Principal Hagop Eulmessekian says that when he finds out a student has been resorting to drugs, it “stings,” especially when he has to notify parents who are usually dumbfounded to find out that their child has a problem.
“It breaks their heart and you just sit there,” he said. “There is nothing you can say or do to make them feel better.”
Meth is more commonly known for inducing addictions.
During her 14 years as an agent, Pullen has seen people go to great lengths for a good high. During one drug raid, she and her colleagues found two parents cooking meth after having placed plywood over their baby’s crib in a pathetic attempt to keep from harming their baby. Nonetheless, the meth was still able to impose itself on the baby’s lungs.
Pullen says that though they have seen a decrease in drug activity over the past ten years, there has been a rise in the use of synthetic drugs like meth and cocaine.
Abovetheinfluence.com states that meth is very hazardous to the body’s central nervous system. Even when taken in small dosages, the drug increases heart rate, leading to irregular heartbeat and elevating both blood pressure and body temperature. Additionally, like most drugs, meth alters the way the brain functions. It not only increases dopamine levels, but prevents the released dopamine from being absorbed, negatively affecting motor and verbal skills.
Eventually, chronic users lose not only physical abilities but mental ones as well. They begin to engage in psychotic behaviors and experience paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions.
Irregular and elevated dopamine activities have been associated with schizophrenia, a disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and mental deterioration among other symptoms. Cocaine leads to similar effects of paranoia, anxiety, and even aggression.
Synthetic drugs can aid the onset of schizophrenia for people who are genetically predisposed to the disorder. Even if one does not seem to have any family history with the illness, drugs alter our brain chemistry at such dangerous levels that our minds no longer function the way they should, leading to disorders including but not limited to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, manic depression, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCD), and anxiety among other attacks on one’s psychological state.
Drug Counselor Inese Zalkalne says these situations are called “dual diagnoses,” which she feels is the worst condition somebody can have.
“Addicts typically have mental illnesses,” Zalkalne said. “But it’s hard to tell which came first—the mental illness or the addiction.”
Because people with a dual diagnosis take medication for their mental illness, they experience the same side effects that somebody would have had had they taken certain drugs. Sometimes, they may be going through hallucinations or delusions caused by their medication. If they take a hallucinogen drug like LSD, for example, they will experience the same symptoms and side effects that both their illness and medication already give them.
Zalkalne recalls a 40-year-old woman with bipolar schizophrenia that claimed to have tried “every drug available on the street,” from marijuana, meth and mushrooms to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD, commonly referred to as “acid”) and cocaine. Addicts with a dual diagnosis no longer behave normally and forget about everyday tasks, like taking care of their hygiene. Oftentimes, the woman would arrive at the Adult Day Health Care Center where Zalkalne works without having bathed for days or changed her clothes.
Zalkalne has seen many addicts who have lost their teeth and nails, like the 40-year old woman, have scabs all over their body, and who have acquired diseases like Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis. Formerly beautiful and handsome individuals transformed into “living corpses.”
“Richie,” who is currently being treated for schizophrenia, said that if he could go back and change anything about his past, he would never go anywhere near drugs. He remembers having started with “weed” or marijuana, after which everything went “downhill.” He began to experiment with a variety of drugs, including meth and cocaine, but was ultimately addicted to LSD. He said it’s “a wonder” that he is still around, even with a disorder that has changed and in many ways limited his life.
He wants to do more with his life, but he feels that he simply “can’t.”
Though not all drug addicts end up with a mental illness, most share that feeling of being trapped. They can break their addiction, but they are convinced they can’t because it’s too hard to break up with something that they’ve had a relationship with for so long.
After attending a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting at a recovery treatment center in Los Angeles called New Choice, it became easier for me to tap into the mind of an addict, though no one can ever claim to truly understand what it is like for addicts on the road to recovery unless they are recovering addicts themselves. This may be why, according to Zalkalne, most drug counselors are former addicts.
One of the employees who helps to run the center, “Caleb,” had been addicted to drugs since the age of 20. At 51, he is 12 years sober, but it wasn’t until he migrated from the Ukraine to the United States when his recovery journey began. He was “a musician by trade” during his 20’s so “it was the thing to do.”
Caleb says that in the 80s, drugs were everywhere, “free and accessible.”
In the beginning, he felt like “Superman,” because his senses and abilities to focus were sharpened, so it opened many doors for his career since he was able “to do more.”
Additionally, like many drug addicts, he found drugs were a way to escape reality.
Eventually, however, his addiction caught up with him and closed more doors than they opened. Things were no longer “peachy,” even though the drugs helped him keep believing that everything was okay. He was constantly chasing after that “feeling of being Superman” and it was all about the drugs, “get more, feel more…it’s a 24/7 job, you’re busy chasing for more, it’s always about the next one and the next one and the next one.”
It was after he “lost everything” when he recognized the need for change. He had been arrested several times, lost his loved ones, his career, and even contemplated suicide. According to Zalkalne, it’s usually when people have hit “rock bottom” when they realize they need help.
Caleb says that though he had made the decision to quit years prior to his recovery, help wasn’t available. He didn’t know how to get it or to how to even minimize his use.
When he arrived in the U.S., he came across Narcotics Anonymous (NA) where he met people battling the same “disease.” He heard stories about “junkies” who had started their lives over again, and seeing people fighting and winning gave him the hope to continue.
Though recovery percentages are low, it is possible. Caleb believes that relapsing is part of recovery; however, as Zalkalne pointed out, it’s okay to relapse as long as you pick yourself up soon and don’t stay down for too long.
Caleb, who is not only helping run New Choice but involved with two bands—going back to his music career—says that he doesn’t consider himself an addict, but if he could take drugs without facing the physical, emotional and mental consequences, he would because the feeling of being high is not bad. It’s obvious that the temptation is still there, but he knows that he isn’t physically or emotionally capable of going back to his old lifestyle.
“You need to get tired of the way you live. If it still works for you, you’re never going to stop,” Caleb said. “I’m superman without the drugs now.”
“Keri,” a drug counselor training to be a case worker, was addicted to heroin for 27 years, having first taken the drug at the age of 11. At five years old, she was already drinking beer.
She says that addicts will do anything to get satiate their addiction, including “kill, rob, prostitute…the consequences don’t mean nothing.”
Though Keri is in recovery, she believes that she will always be an addict.
“I’m two years sober, but I’m not cured,” she said. “The disease of addiction…there is no cure. You’re never cured. You have to work hard at getting sober and there is progress every day.”
“Mary,” who currently attends NA meetings at New Choice, began taking cocaine, heroin, and speed at the age of 11. She doesn’t remember why she started, just that “it was the thing to do.”
Though she overdosed four times throughout her addiction, it wasn’t enough to stop her from taking more drugs. She even did six years for armed robbery of a bank because she “needed money for [her] habit.”
She attempted recovery several times in L.A., but attending anonymous meetings where she heard stories about people relapsing after 25 years of being clean didn’t work wonders for her confidence in abandoning drugs.
Zalkalne recalls meeting someone with a Masters in Business who relapsed after years of being clean when his father died. Addicts usually experience relapse when they are going through something difficult in their lives, whether it’s the passing of a loved one or feeling “rejected and angry,” like Mary did when she would go back to drugs.
Typically, it takes addicts years to even reach recovery because they are in denial about their disease. One woman at the NA meeting, “Anna,” denied being addicted to drugs, claiming social workers took her baby away from her because she had taken two tablets of ibuprofen prior to going into labor.
According to her drug counselor, a former addict herself, she had not taken ibuprofen, but meth, to which she is currently addicted.
Anybody watching Anna sitting in the chair, twitching and fidgeting, would know she is an addict in denial. However, if she remains sober until August, she will be allowed to move back in with her husband and daughters, including her newborn. Until then, she resides with her mother.
Addiction and recovery isn’t easy. It often requires breaking ties with people in your life, especially those who do drugs as well. Mary distanced herself from her husband, a former addict and current counselor, and moved to Oklahoma where her sobriety began. She has had several relapses, but has been sober for five years. Still, she knows that she can go back any day, so she takes it one day at a time and “thank[s] God for every day that [she] is clean.”
“Tammy,” another woman who attends the NA meetings, battled with addiction since the age of 31. An abusive relationship with her husband triggered the addiction, though she smoked marijuana prior to that. She finally left for the sake of her children, not wanting them to think that it is okay to hit a woman. However, her addiction to cocaine grew worse and she was raped while under the influence by her friend’s sister’s husband. She left her children in the care of her mother and hasn’t seen them for 19 years but currently saving up money to move back to Connecticut and see her family. As of April 2, she will be sober three years.
For many, drug addiction seems like an overrated problem, made to sound worse than it is. But in fact, it’s worse than most people would think. You lose everything and everyone you cared about, including yourself, and the drugs become the center of your life. There is nothing else but you and the dope.
Even though you may not feel you are getting addicted at first, it has a way of catching up to you until it’s too late to stop. The problem builds up like a tornado, growing stronger and stronger. When the storm is finally over, the damage is so severe that it can takes months and years to recover. During the storm, however, lives can be taken forever. After the storm, full recovery of what was lost is never guaranteed.
But, as Mary said, you have to do it for yourself because the pressure of doing it for others creates more stress, which only contributes to relapses.
“I’m doing this for me, not for anybody else,” Juana said. “I want to live.”
Most of us can only dream to see the world from a bird’s eye view. For Adiss Benlian (’13), this is his reality. Every week, Benlian soars high in the sky in his Cessna 172, chasing his dream of becoming a licensed commercial pilot.
Benlian began working on his private pilot’s license nine months ago. He takes guided flying lessons for 5-7 hours a week at Vista Air Academy, based at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima. The school offers licenses of all types, whether it’s private, commercial, transport, or instructor.
Benlian spends about 20 hours a week researching anything to do with planes and flying. He claims he even researches crashes and watches videos of accidents in order to learn what not to do.
Tony Benlian, Adiss’ father, has also been a major supporter of his goals. Adiss credits his father for sparking his interest when he gave him a flight simulator for his 16th birthday. He has also financially supported him throughout the process, paying close to $11,000 for him to go through flight school.
In order to work for a large commercial company, Adiss must complete several hundred hours of flying as well as receive a commercial license and type-rating license for the plane he wishes to fly in addition to his private pilot’s license.
Mohammed Elghobashy, Adiss’ flight instructor, suggests that those interested in becoming professional pilots should start early so they can compile hours and experience.
Adiss must also have at least a bachelor’s degree to apply. Adiss hopes to go on to work as a flight instructor in order to get hours for flying time while attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to get his bachelor’s in professional aeronautics. He wants to eventually become a commercial pilot working for major airlines such as Delta or United.
“There [are] a million pilots and it takes a lot to become the best,” Adiss said.
Adiss says his brother, Evan, who is also a pilot, is his biggest inspiration.
“He always supported me and pushed me to go far,” Adiss said.
Evan already has his private pilot’s license but is mostly using it for recreational purposes. He usually helps mentor his brother by teaching him what to do on the simulator and discussing flying techniques.
“I think it’s a career that needs a lot of passion and patience,” Evan said. “Adiss has those things.”
Although Adiss will be a young pilot, the process of becoming a pilot is not simple. First he had to take an hour long trial class in which he was shown how to work the main panel of a small plane, and then taken for a quick ride to experience what it is like to control the plane.
“[During] my first ride, my instructor took me to 8,000 feet and made a 60-degree turn,” Adiss said. “It was [unlike] anything I had ever experienced.”
Adiss said he wasn’t nervous at all. After his ride, he started taking regular classes with an instructor and working towards his private license.
Adiss eventually wants to fly to places like Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Israel. The promise of new cultures, foods, and friends is what inspires him to travel.
A beginning pilot’s pay is not considered very high and Adiss said he even considered going into the air force as a pilot, but when he found out this required an 8-year commitment as well as a bachelor’s degree before entry, he decided against it. Because of the time and schooling commitment, Adiss feels this would not be a good use of time as he hopes to be a Captain by the time he is 30.
“I find the time because [flying] is what matters most,” Adiss said.
Although it may take several years for Adiss to reach his dream of becoming a commercial pilot, he says all the hard work is worth it.
“If I want to do something, I do it well or not at all,” he said. “I want to become the best.”
Adiss will be receiving his private pilot’s license within the next 5 months as he nears the end of his training.
For him, the sky is not the limit but only the beginning.
We’ve all noticed a six-foot tall, tough, and well-built security guard patrolling the campus and monitoring student behavior as a typical security guard would. However, not everyone has noticed that the former security guard supervisor Delvon Jackson is now a teacher for the Public Safety Academy (PSA), a 3-year educational program where students learn about law enforcement.
For the last two years, Jackson was working as a security supervisor, but over the summer, he was promoted to Lead Police Instructor for PSA.
After Jackson sat down with Principal Jennifer Earl and Assistant Principal Hagop Eulmessekian giving them an overview of his experience in law enforcement, he was asked whether he was interested in becoming a teacher for PSA.
Jackson claims he was rather hesitant whether to pursue the position due to possibly lacking the requirements the district needed such as a teaching credential.
The entire process, which included a variety of paperwork, interviews and setting up a lesson plan for the class, took an entire two months. After coping with such a lengthy process, Jackson was left discouraged and fatigued at times, but it all paid off when Jackson was given his clearance three days before the school year started.
“I never really thought teaching was something I’d do in my life, but now that I am a teacher, I am very excited,” Jackson said.
Jackson claims that nerves and anxiety began to kick in once he attended his first teachers’ conference of the year.
“There I was in a classroom full of experienced wise teachers and [there I was,] a rooky old teacher that barely knows how to spell his name,” Jackson said.
As I took a walk around campus with Jackson, he introduced me to his life and the experiences that led up to his interest in law enforcement.
In 1997, he had a criminal case of assault and battery against him. Not long after, the case was dismissed and no charges were pressed against him. According to Jackson, after being on “the other side of the fence” he started to take life more seriously.
Jackson’s revelation led him to attend Texas State University for a short period of time, but he later transferred back to Cal State Dominguez where he had initially began majoring in political science, but this time, as a criminal justice major.
Not long after, Jackson joined the force at Inglewood Police Department in 2004 where he taught Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction until 2006.
Eulmessekian who interviewed Jackson personally says that Jackson fit the position as an educator for PSA because he had the field experience as an officer.
Since the class is being funded and run through the Regional Occupational Program of Los Angeles County, it does not necessarily require someone to have teaching experience.
“We also noticed that he was good with the students, giving them advice and helping them,” Eulmessekian said.
Now, as the new teacher of PSA, he is glad he has the opportunity to teach something he is passionate about.
“I teach them the ‘Do’s and Dont’s’ of becoming a successful officer,” Jackson said. He claims that he tries to not just teach a lesson, but to get the students to learn from real cases and crime scenes through videos.
Senior Sasoon Amerian, a student in the PSA class, says that Jackson is a teacher who really understands [the students] and takes the time to answer their questions. Amerian claims that Jackson gives them “real world and hands on teaching” which helps them learn on a more realistic level.
Not only does Jackson want to educate them on law enforcement, but he wants to be able to reach out to them on a deeper level for them to become mature and responsible human beings.
“My goal is to make sure [students] obtain confidence, wisdom, and knowledge to be productive and successful citizens and potentially become law enforcement officers,” Jackson said.
Many students join a sport they are passionate about. However, not all make good use of that interest—taking it to another level where one helps others achieve and express their love for that same sport. Meet Desiree Garzona (’13).
Garzona decided to join the dance team her freshman year because of her passion for dance. However, unlike others, she took her interest in dance to the next level by helping to coach Mark Keppel’s Drill Team.
In the summer of 2010, Mark Keppel and Toll Middle School drill team coach Cristine Neel contacted Garzona and asked if she would like to accept the job of coaching the Keppel Elite Prep, a non-competitive team. Without hesitation, Garzona agreed.
“My favorite word to describe Desiree is passionate,” Neel said. “When Desiree performs, she puts her soul into what she does.”
When Garzona first started in 2010, she was coaching the Elite Prep team every Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30; however, in 2011 she was asked to coach Keppel ELITE, a competitive team that perform at many different venues on Mondays and Fridays from 3:30 to 4:30 as well.
Keppel ELITE Prep consists of 12 novice girls who are taught the basic techniques of body placement, pointing of toes, and head looks in order to move up to the ELITE team.
“I want the girls to believe in themselves, and achieve everything they want from dance with the most important thing—practice,” Desiree said.
By the time Garzona gets out of school and arrives at Toll’s gym, the girls are already stretched, warmed up, and ready to go. She has them practice a routine they have been working on, and based on her observations, helps them with the things they need work on such as counts, ripples, etc.
Garzona’s interest in dance and her skills in leadership developed early on in her life when she became part of the Mark Keppel Drill Team in 3rd grade up until 6th grade. After promoting from Keppel, she continued dancing on Toll’s Drill Team throughout middle school.
A love for dance and the mentality of a leader gave Garzona the position of captain when she was on Keppel and Toll drill.
Neel is very aware of Garzona’s strong talent and knowledge of the art, finding her to be perfectly suitable to coach Keppel’s drill team.
According to Neel, she saw Garzona as perfectly adequate to take on the job because of her “creativity and flexibility” in taking directions and her saint-like patience.
“I am thrilled and honored to have her working with me,” Neel said. “She shares my vision of where the team should be and how to get the look that we want for each routine.”
Garzona spends every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon with the girls of ELITE prep and ELITE teaching them the proper skills and techniques of dance, routines, and preparing them for performances.
According to Garzona, she spends a lot of her own time preparing routines and creating formations and visuals for the team. Neel makes a copy of the music that Garzona can take home so she can then work on it there.
Her sister Valerie Garzona observes her spending time listening to the music on the computer and figuring out how many counts she has left to choreograph along with drawing and organizing formations for the girls on a sheet of paper.
According to Valerie, Desiree sometimes asks her to perform certain moves that she choreographed in order to get the visual image of it and decide whether to add anything.
“Although it’s a lot of work, [Desiree] likes being able to share that love of dancing with girls that want to learn,” Valerie said.
Simultaneously, Desiree finds time to manage school work, volunteering at the Glendale Memorial hospital, and attending her own dance practices.
Although it is sometimes a struggle to handle so many different activities at a time, Garzona claims she is more than happy to coach Keppel because she wants to help these girls become “stronger and more confident” dancers.
According to Desiree, her relationship with the girls is not only that of a coach and student, but also that of friends. Her closeness with the girls increases everyday and has made them more of a family.
“I tend to make jokes with the girls all the time that make us develop a friendship,” Desiree said.
The girls, who are crazy in love with Justin Bieber, always feel astonished when she jokingly says that she is married to the Biebs.
Desiree is firm with the girls yet amicable to the point where they are very comfortable around her and are never afraid to ask her for help.
When working with the ELITE team, she sets “the bar high” with her choreography and the girls work extremely hard. According to Neel, Desiree encourages the girls to come up with their own ideas and counts for the routines.
Knowing that they have a say in the routine makes it feel like their “own” and “encourages them to give 120% effort to make it look great.”
Desiree enjoys spending a lot of her time practicing with her own dance team, but she definitely is fulfilled knowing that helping coach Keppel’s drill team is impacting girls’ lives and their passion for the art of dance.
“I want to share my passion for dance with the girls and help them take their passion somewhere higher,” Garzona said.
As we grow older, the question that tends to come up the most is what we want to be when we grow up. Most children dream of becoming a firefighter or an astronaut.
At age 13, junior Leo Trajano dreamt of joining the army.
When Trajano was in the eighth grade, his family went on a Fourth of July trip to the Americafest at the Rose Bowl. He recalls “admiring” the military forces and marines booth. Trajano watched everyone attempt to win a prize and when he tried, he won a dog tag that he still wears everyday.
Trajano has talked to Sergeant Hayden Roe (an army recruiter from the Burbank Army Recruiting Office) at the career center the few times he’s been on campus. Trajano visits Roe in order to have his questions regarding enlisting, benefits, and requirements answered.
He plans on becoming a Unit Supply Specialist (USS). Some of the duties of a USS include “inspecting, organizing and installing supplies and equipment, working with unit level computers, maintaining an automated supply system for equipment and scheduling maintenance on weapons,” according to goarmy.com.
Roe has been recruiting for six years and has been in the military for a total of 20 years. He also visits other campuses such as Glendale and Crescenta Valley to “answer students’ questions and help stop misconceptions about the army.” He wants students to know that the army life is “different from what’s seen on television.”
When thinking of his future, Trajano “always admired how these men would risk their lives for their families and friends to serve their country” and “wanted to pursue a career that [he’d] feel proud of doing and that could be helpful to others.”
His family, especially his sister, Marilyn (’12), supports him through his efforts to pursue a career in the army. She feels it is important for her to support her younger brother because he is “doing what he loves.”
A few of his friends don’t feel the same way.
Austin Millera (’13) is “afraid for him” and wants him to “experience his life first” before he makes such serious decisions of leaving his family and friends behind to join the army.
Trajano fears that his biggest challenge will be the basic training, but feels he can persevere because this is something he really wants to do.
According to baseops.net, the US Army Boot Camp is “where the civilian recruit is transformed into a US soldier.” On the first day people arrive, they are given uniforms and personal equipment. Soldiers live in an “open-bay barrack” for nine weeks during basic training. The everyday routine begins at 5:30 a.m., with physical training such as jogging. The lengthy day doesn’t end until 9:30 p.m., long after multiple training sessions and “Drill Sergeant Time.”
In order to enter the military services, Trajano must pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), a series of tests use “to determine the individual skills and abilities of personnel intending,” according to asvabprepinfo.com. He has been preparing himself for the test, which focuses on four critical areas—arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension and mathematics knowledge. According to military.com, a higher score on the test will better the chances of “getting the specialty/job and signing bonus” Trajano signed up for.
Even though Trajano is serious about joining the army as an adult, he still spends his free time enjoying his childhood. Trajano taught himself how to play the guitar in the eighth grade and has started to write his own lyrics and sheet music.
In 2008, Trajano and friend Patrick Kesachekian (’13) formed a band known as Thr33 Simple Words. They later brought in Jeremy Zadoorian (’13), Noah Zelezny (’12), and Patrick Tumbucon (’15), at which point Kesachekian left to focus on football. Currently, Trajano and Tumbucon are the guitarists, Zelezny is the drummer and Zadoorian is the lead singer.
Since then, the four members of the band have had little time to practice except when they participated in the 2011 talent show, performing a cover of Blink-182’s “All the Small Things.”
Aside from being an active Key Club member, Trajano enjoys paintballing with friends and cooking for his family. He also is interested in photography in which he likes to take photos at “low apertures” and developing film photos.
Here are some faculty members who attended Hoover as students.
By: Alejandra Rosas
After four years of stressful studies, extracurricular activities, and all the wonderful things high school has to offer, many students are ecstatic to graduate and never look back. However, some of the teachers on campus were once Hoover students themselves, and have come back to the place where their futures began. But what made them want to come back?
Angers
Advanced via Individual Determination, English, and French teacher Kathy Angers was once a student here and is now a teacher.
According to Angers, she was a very productive and hard-working student in high school, involved with many activities such as the Latin club, the drill team and Associated Student Body (ASB).
Even as a high school student, Angers already knew that she wanted to pursue a career in teaching. However, she did not necessarily see herself teaching at the very school from which she graduated.
According to Angers, at the time in which she was in need for a job, the school needed a French teacher leaving it all to be very “synchronous.”
“I just love learning. I love teaching. I love everything about it,” Angers said.
Angers claims that her favorite memory about being in high school is that of her and her friends always paying attention to the leaves of the trees in the lower quad changing color in the fall.
“The leaves changing color make me reminiscent of the old days,” Angers said.
Social science teacher Donald Ashman was Angers’ former Latin teacher when she was a student here. According to Ashman, Angers was “one of those students who made you feel like teaching was worthwhile.”
Surprisingly, Ashman claims that having her as a student and now a co-worker is not weird at all, but rather “rewarding” and wonderful.
Stepanyan
Social science teacher and ASB Director Edgar Melik-Stepanyan, who is one of the newest teachers at the school, always wanted to be a teacher. He especially had Hoover in mind as the “second home” he would be working at after he graduated in 2000.
While being a high school student, Stepanyan was very dedicated to his journalism class and basketball team.
Stepanyan’s favorite memory of high school was his senior BGD when everyone was going “crazy” ready to win the bell.
Soon after high school, Stepanyan decided to continue his passion for writing by working for the Glendale News Press along with continuing his social science major at USC.
Later on Stepanyan began to teach social science and was ASB director at Toll Middle School hoping that it would not be too long until the day he would be working on campus.
“Hoover is one of the places where I know I can make a difference in students’ lives the same way my teachers and mentors made a difference in mine,” Stepanyan said.
Although there are a lot of things that have not changed at Hoover, there are also many that are not like they once were when these teachers were students here.
For example, students today create a mesh of different racial groups “hanging out” together but when these teachers were here, there seemed to be more segregation between students and definitely a larger amount of cliques
During his time as a student, Stepanyan remembers the stabbing of Raul Aguirre in 2000 due to the strong conflicts and racial tensions between Armenians and Latinos.
He claims that he is glad to see that since then, racial tensions have seemed to decrease by a vast amount and students of almost every culture have become intermixed.
Van Patten
As a student, social science teacher, athletic director, and basketball coach, John Van Patten was very dedicated to his academics and the basketball team, which he began to coach after high school.
Van Patten’s favorite memories of high school are completely filled with basketball games into which he put so much time, effort and passion.
Like Angers, Van Patten had an interest in teaching while still in high school. Not long after graduating, he was certified as a social science teacher, and while looking for employment, the GUSD needed teachers at the school, so he took the opportunity as he felt “comfortable to work here.”
He claims that at the time in which he attended the school, the campus was much cleaner than it is now. Back then, students seemed to have taken the importance of keeping the campus clean much more seriously than students do now.
The methods teachers and administrators use to guide students into the right path also have changed. According to Van Patten, teachers and administrators today put more of an effort to make sure students “do their best” and succeed much higher.
The wonderful high school experience that they had as teenagers contributed to them wanting and enjoying working at Hoover, and they want to be a part of making students’ high school experiences wonderful.
Being a student on this campus was definitely memorable for them and coming back to work here is something they never regret.
They walk the same, they talk the same, they even look the same—they must be the same, right? Wrong.
It’s easy to see why strangers would mix up identical twins Katherine (Kate) and Kristine Paguinto (’13) so frequently, but, to be quite honest, they could not be any more different. Though they have the same aspirations, Kate and Kristine have extremely contrasting personalities.
Meet Kate: She describes herself as “outgoing” and “friendly.” She enjoys listening to Good Charlotte and reading The Perks of Being Wallflower. Kate spends her free time making art and writing short poems and creative stories.
Photo Credit: An Uong
Meet Kristine: She describes herself as “more calm” and “reserved” than her sister. She enjoys listening to The Smiths and teaching herself new songs on the guitar. She also has a keen interest in fashion and enjoys comedies like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
Photo Credit: An Uong
Though very different, however, both share a passion: theatre.
“We were never close before,” Kate said. “This was the first year we really opened up to each other.”
Their mutual interest in acting shaped their friendship and the two are now inseparable.
It all began in the summer of 2009, when there was only one seat left in David Scate’s Health class. Kate quickly snagged the spot, leaving Kristine with drama for the first semester of summer school.
Kristine instantly fell in love with acting and gives drama teacher, Dave Huber, all the credit. When second semester came around, the sisters switched classes, leaving Kristine to take a semester of health and Kate with the class that her sister had been talking about nonstop for weeks.
“When I joined drama, I immediately loved it,” Kate said. “Not just the art of acting, but the environment in our theatre was so carefree and open.”
So far, both have appeared in school productions such as “12 Angry Women,” “J.B.,” “Spoon River Anthology,” and “The Yellow Boat.”
However, it was not until this past November that Kate and Kristine finally experienced changes in terms of their acting careers. The twins were used to playing similar roles in school productions but for “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Kristine was cast as the lead role of Anne, while Kate did not receive a part in the production, but took the responsibility of being one of three stage managers for the production.
Huber said that he “likes the way they support each other” and that Kate did not show “jealousy” upon her sister receiving the lead role. Her “maturity and professionalism” really stood out to him.
Kristine found it “strange” to act in a play without her sister but thought it was “good that it happened” because realistically, both know they will not always be working together in theatre.
“Since they first arrived in my class, whenever they leave, they say ‘thank you for teaching me.’ In all my years of teaching, I’ve never had a student say that to me,” Huber said.
Kate says that she looks up to her father, Michael Paguinto, as her biggest role model and inspiration because of all the love and support he has for their interest in acting. He attends all the shows the girls appear in and drives them to auditions whenever necessary.
Michael says that he just wants to “make [his daughters’] dreams come true.” He knows that the acting industry can be a difficult one, but is willing to do whatever it takes to make his girls happy.
“At first, I was skeptical about their interest in acting, but after seeing how much of their own time they gave up for after school and even weekend rehearsals, I realized that this was something important to them,” friend Samantha Flores (’13) said.
In August of 2011, the girls got their first real taste of “Hollywood” when they created online profiles on LAcasting.com and were casted as extras in an independent film called “nightdreamblues,” directed by Nadine Truong. They played students sitting in a classroom.
Though a “small role” in Kristine’s eyes, she found the entire experience “motivating.” As it was their first time on a real set, the girls were amazed to see how the cast and crew worked together.
The plot of the movie involved three childhood friends reuniting and reminiscing about the hopes and dreams from their youth. The movie is currently in post-production and is set to release in 2012.
After high school, the twins hope to stay close to home and attend Chapman University to study filmmaking, producing and/or directing.
Kristine’s dreams include succeeding as a professional actress and living in a “cozy, modest home” with a husband and two sons. Like her sister, Kate hopes to marry and have two children, whilst achieving a career in acting, but also sees herself helping run the family business.
In 2003, Michael opened a small family jewelry business named “Kriskate & Co.,” which the sisters help run. They sell anything from sterling silver rings to engraved necklaces.
Kate likes that the jewelry company gives her a chance to work hard and that she learned “the value of a dollar” at a young age.
“I really like the way they support each other—they’re best friends. You don’t see that often with twins,” Huber said.
“I’m not comfortable with myself. I secretly don’t like what I’ve become. I feel like I don’t have anyone to talk to. I feel like I can’t trust people anymore because I’ve been betrayed so many times.”
This dejected passage was written anonymously, in what students around campus are calling “the wandering journals.”
Grace “Jojo” Tabayoyong (’13), is the founder of the “the wandering journals.” She got the idea from the 1000 Journals Project that was started in 2000. The project was an experiment of 1000 journals, originated in San Francisco and was followed throughout their travels around the world about people’s experiences and heartaches—creating a link among people of various cultures and ethnicities.
Being neglected by family members, betrayed by friends and the feeling of being “unseen, unheard, misinterpreted and discredited” ignited this idea in Jojo. As an individual of society, she does not just want to remember herself as someone who never took action in helping someone out. It does not matter “how simple or how grand of a deal” the change is as long as she knows she has been able to affect someone’s life in a positive way.
The journals are passed on from one student to another, for free expression of their innermost thoughts and feelings. Its popularity stems from its anonymity—freeing students from judgment and repression. Each year brings a new journal; two are completed so far, and one remains “wandering.”
The journal entries come in various forms of poems, letters, and drawings. All aspects, from one corner to the next, hold strong opinions and perspectives that are meant to be read by others involved with the journal.
Each corner of the 9.75″ x 7.5″ composition journals are filled with students’ hate, despair, joy, and even tear stains. Surprisingly, expressing these emotions onto paper was not as difficult, considering over 60 students felt the need to add an entry into these journals.
All who take part in this journal are allowed to view what others have written or drawn. Although it is possible to keep an entry anonymous, its purpose is for students to get to know each other liberally, without the feeling of being judged.
I was given the chance to take a look at the past two journals and read certain entries, which caused chills to run down my spine, proving to my own self that these stories are real and undoubtedly powerful. Some stories made me cry while others made me laugh. Overall, I felt the bond that holds all of these people together.
Written in a black Sharpie, I found the words, “Wow, what a way to express myself!” on the cover of one journal along with “a never ending stream of hope” on the front of another.
According to Evin Shordon (’12), the journals are “anything you want it to be,” and it’s the one thing that is “always available” for students to feel comfortable with expressing themselves and “streaming” out their train of thought.
Shordon, who has personally written in the “wandering journals,” views them as “a scrapbook of a bunch of different individuals.” She has taken advantage of these journals knowing that she can rely on them for expressing herself to the fullest on its pages without being afraid of other’s opinions.
Shordon claims that it is a sense of relief for her and for others to be able to feel comfortable with themselves and their hopes, their dreams, and their hardships.
“It is a blank canvas in which I can paint a clear picture of my thoughts upon,” she said.
Those who desire to be part of the journal have the freedom to approach Jojo and ask to write in one of the journals. One of these “wandering journals” is available to the many willing hearts across this campus—sans fear and sans judgment.
Students who leave high school at 16 are usually considered dropouts. Many are. But there is another category: 16-year old high school graduates. These kids are on the fast track to receiving college degrees and professional success.
Most students spend four years in high school and then get jobs or head off to college. The 16-year old graduates get a ticket out when they take the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE). Under California law, passing this test is equivalent to receiving a high school diploma. It is similar in format to the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), but with a longer exam and more difficult questions.
These students chose to take this path and leave school early. They have a few things in common: the desire to pursue a professional career as soon as possible, the freedom to learn at an individualized pace, and dissatisfaction with the high school environment.
SHEILA BAGHAEI
Sheila Baghaei was initially on track to graduate with the rest of the class of 2011, but left two years early.
“I wanted more time to focus on my performing arts career,” Baghaei said. “High school was getting in the way of my bigger picture. It was a commitment, eight hours a day, and five days a week.”
Baghaei’s parents were not as enthusiastic as she was about the idea.
“When my daughter first told me she wanted to become home schooled, I was skeptical,” said Baghaei’s mother, Afsaneh Shoustari. But Baghaei was persistent. She explained to her parents that even though she would be missing two years of high school, studying independently made the most sense for her future.
“After I was reassured that this is what she truly wanted and knew would be the right decision, we went ahead and made the step,” Shoustari said. “Not by luck, but by her hard work, we now know it was the right choice.”
At the end of her sophomore year, Baghaei signed up for homeschooling and doubled her workload. She was able to finish two years of schoolwork in nine months. Then she began taking community college courses. Currently, she is training as a vocalist and actress.
SARAH SAFUTO
Sarah Safuto, part of the class of 2011, transferred to Verdugo Academy, an independent study program sponsored by GUSD, during the end of her tenth grade year.
“I found that teaching myself was a fantastic choice,” Safuto said. “I started to enjoy what I was learning about instead of just going through the motions to get a grade.”
Although leaving early to take college courses makes sense for a few students, it is not for everyone. It requires maturity and time management skills. Unlike in high school, there is no pressure to complete assignments and study for tests.
“No one is there to baby you,” Safuto said. “Most people are not mentally or emotionally ready for that.”
LAURA BALTAYAN
While some students who graduate early typically do so to focus on future careers, like Sheila, others simply want to learn at their own pace, like Laura Baltayan.
“During my freshman and sophomore years I took college classes and really enjoyed them,” Baltayan said. “I wanted to give myself more time to explore career options.”
She appreciated how college professors provided course material and how the student is responsible for learning and doing well on tests. She will be going to UC San Diego as a junior this fall.
“I am right on target for achieving my goal and am exactly two years ahead of where I would have been if I had remained in high school,” Baltayan said.
We arrived in the morning at 11 a.m. at the Charles De Gaulle airport where we converted our dollars to euros and spent two hours waiting for our bus to take us to the Mercure Hotel, the best of the three hotels we stayed at during our trip. At 3:30 p.m., we took the Metro, which is like a subway, to the Notre Dame cathedral. It is the most common and convenient way to get around in Europe, even though some stations are filthy and smell terrible.
The architecture of the Notre Dame cathedral was extremely detailed, and like the rest of Paris, sophisticated and beautiful.
At dinner, we met our tour guide, Laura, who would be with us for the next nine days. We had a common European dinner called “flam.” It is basically a really thin pizza only half a centimeter thick. While some people enjoyed it, I personally thought it tasted like a tortilla with mayonnaise and parmesan cheese.
On day three, breakfast in Paris consisted of croissant rolls and cereal with room-temperature milk. I was disappointed to find that the croissant rolls tasted identical to the ones from Costco, but I was not complaining…anything was better than flam.
We went to the Louvre museum after breakfast, and took pictures by the inverted pyramid. After that my friends and I decided to go to Denon, the best section of the three in the Louvre, and home to two major masterpieces: “The Winged Victory” (a.k.a. Nike), and the “Mona Lisa.”
On day four, we were all excited to have a bus tour for the beginning of our day, because of all the walking we endured through our first two days. We were dropped off at the Arc de Triumph where we walked up over 1,000 steps in the spiral staircase to see the breathtaking view from the landmark which is in the center of Paris.
After climbing back down, we decided to visit the Eiffel Tower. Because the streets in Europe are not rectangular, but instead trapezoidal, we got lost for a good 45 minutes. We finally made it to the world famous tower – which is much more stunning in person.
By the evening of the sixth day, we had our bags packed ready for our overnight train to our next destination: Barcelona. We were all very excited to be in a sleeper train, but when I found out there were four people to a room, and the room was so small that my arm span could reach from wall to wall, all I could do was laugh at the disappointing situation.
.barcelona
After a long night on the train, we woke up in Zaragoza, Spain. From there, we transferred our luggage to our tour bus, and drove a couple of hours to what would be our favorite city on the trip – Barcelona. We stayed in a hostel, a cheaper type of lodging mostly found in Spain and Hispanic America. Although we did not like it, we knew we would not be spending much time in it anyway.
Our first stop was Park Güell, where Antonio Gaudí lived and created his mosaic designs. It was amusing to walk through and be able to take pictures of what we once saw in our textbooks back home. In the late afternoon, we were free to roam around the city on our own.
Of course, we went shopping and were a lot happier with the prices here compared to the designer price tags in Paris.
.madrid
The bus ride to Madrid took around four hours. We all tried to get some sleep during this excruciatingly long ride, but were unfortunately woken up by our guide almost every hour, to show us historical landmarks. Before arriving there, we stopped by the Plaza de España to see the Miguel de Cervantes monument.
April 10. Day 9: In the morning, we went to the Palacio Real. We had seen the architecture of several buildings in France and Spain that were beautiful, but nothing compared to this palace. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside.
By the evening, we were able to go to El Sol, the best part of Madrid. It was a lively area to shop in, and eat incredible food. In the evening, we stayed out late to go to the Chocolatería San Ginés to eat the best thing in Madrid: churros dipped in dark hot chocolate.
It is 1:30 a.m. As you ask yourself why you stayed up so late, you contemplate skipping first period. You climb into bed to savor a few precious hours of sleep before you get up for school.
We have all been there. Sleep deprivation is becoming a bigger and bigger problem among students. Teenagers who juggle school, work, and other activities while trying to maintain a reasonable sleeping schedule often have difficulties focusing or even staying awake in class.
“After seven hours of school, I have basketball practice and then a game. I get home at 8:30 p.m. and do homework,” Amatia Golbodaghi (’11) said.
According to studies by genh.org, a coalition of doctors, educators, and fitness experts, most students get an average of seven hours of sleep per night. Seniors report only six and a half hours of sleep. Although the average number of hours a student should sleep each night is eight, only 58% of students actually get that much rest.
Josh Briggs (’12) drinks “a cup of coffee every morning.” He believes it is the only way he is able to stay awake throughout the school day.
Interrupting the deepest stage of sleep (REM) in the early morning disrupts sleep patterns.
“Teenagers are owls—they naturally stay up late and wake up late,” explains AP Psychology teacher Kate Duggan. “When students don’t get enough sleep, their bodies force them to repay the sleep deficit, and they fall asleep during their morning classes.”
To help sleepy teens, some school districts have delayed their starting times. The Minneapolis school district, for example, pushed its start time from 7:20 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. Students reported less depression when there was a later starting time, and teachers reported that students were more alert and tardy less frequently.
One way to get more sleep is to avoid websites like Facebook late at night. The bright computer screen tricks your body’s internal clock into thinking that it is still daytime. Instead, do your Internet chatting in the afternoon or early evening. Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon also helps.
No shoes, no service. A simple phrase that states that it is common courtesy to wear shoes when in public places. But what about children in developing countries who barely manage to feed themselves? Shoes are definitely not their first priority.
In 2006, Blake Mycoskie founded Toms shoes to help combat injustices in impoverished countries. He started the “One for One Movement,” which rapidly became a growing trend in and around the world. His goal was simple: to provide comfortable shoes for impoverished children.
While on a trip to Argentina, Mycoskie befriended underprivileged children who could barely afford shoes. Due to this experience, he made the decision to quit his 80-hour work week job at a technology firm in Los Angeles and start a shoe company.
After actively participating in a shoe drive in Argentina, he made a promise that for every pair of shoes bought from his company, he would donate a pair to a child in need.
According to Toms.com, shoes in a developing country can make the difference between life or death, whether contracting an infectious disease or not.
Valentina Fuentes (’11), a Venezuelan student who recently moved to the United States last year, has had a first hand experience in developing countries like Venezuela , places where the Toms company tries to focus its attention on due to its extreme poverty. Fuentes was fortunate enough to attend a private school in Venezuela, but other students in public schools could not attend classes because of their lack of shoes (which violates dress code regulation), a serious problem Toms is trying to fix.
Megan Lee (’11) describes the popular lightweight crimson red canvas pair that she owns as being “comfy, chic, and charitable.” As the company developed, it created new styles such as boots and heels, even developing further environmentally friendly products with dye made from vegetable oils. The alternative styles (based on Argentinean shoes) are what reel in customers to buy the shoes.
With celebrities like Kristen Stewart, Brad Pitt, and Scarlett Johansson introducing Toms into popular culture, the stylish shoes are being established as a fashion trend. In the last four years the company has made the number six spot on the Most Innovative Retail Companies, demonstrating its originality, according to Fast Company.com, the organization that tracks the success of companies.
The brand’s growing popularity helps spread its message to people around the world. Meagan Knight (’11), admits to being vulnerable to Toms marketing methods, claiming that after getting over the expense of the retail price which ranges from $50 to $70, she decided to purchase them because it was as if she “bought a pair of shoes for another child.”
The Toms company started out as a charity event and it still keeps its inspiration in mind: children in need always come first. The company currently continues with its contributions, and initiates charitable events such as encouraging people to walk a day without shoes to show how shoes affect lives.
Most high school movies have bullying scenes that seem clichéd. But they are not.
Bullying in recent years has taken on a new form. Aside from physical and verbal abuse, cyberbullying has made its mark on students through social networks and other technological means.
Experts agree that with the widespread use of cell phones, the Internet, and social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, bullying has become an epidemic.
CNN states that 30 percent of children feel they have been bullied in some form and 60 percent of parents believe that it is an issue. Many students do not report to an adult about the bullying, afraid that they will be deemed “snitches”.
Two out of five bullying cases will escalate and have devastating endings if not reported right away, according to CNN.
Some causes of bullying have been linked to the victim’s sexual orientation because of the polarizing issues that surround homosexuality. Little is done to prevent or stop this kind of bullying.
According to Gallup, a polling website, tolerance for gay students is on the rise, but homophobia is still prevalent.
One Gallup poll found that 62 percent of young adults (age 18 to 29) consider homosexuality acceptable, but only 52 percent of Americans nationwide find it acceptable.
“People do not think about the damage done to others when they talk about them on Facebook and sites of that sort,” said Dr. Betty Gonzalez-Morko, a child psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
Out of 100 students surveyed on campus, 78 of them feel as though bullying is not a major problem. However, those students who said bullying was, in fact, a problem, claimed it was verbal, not physical, abuse.
“There is a lot of name calling that goes on at school and no one really seems to pay attention to it; people take it as a normal everyday thing and continue doing it,” Jessica Hernandez (’11) said.
Sandra Gonzalez, the mother of a Toll Middle School student, is “surprised” by the fact that “students would harass their fellow friends and peers.” Gonzalez has even witnessed bullying by her daughter who “talks about other students on Facebook [without thinking] about that student’s feelings.”
If a student on campus is found to be bullying, the consequence consists of a warning for the first time, a five-day suspension for a second violation, and an automatic pre-expulsion the third time.
“There is a Zero Tolerance policy towards bullying of any kind and that victims are encouraged to come forward and let us know,” Assistant Principal Tanya Stoddard said.
Advanced via Individual Determination, English, and French teacher Kathy Angers was once a student here and is now a teacher.
Social science teacher and ASB Director Edgar Melik-Stepanyan, who is one of the newest teachers at the school, always wanted to be a teacher. He especially had Hoover in mind as the “second home” he would be working at after he graduated in 2000.
As a student, social science teacher, athletic director, and basketball coach, John Van Patten was very dedicated to his academics and the basketball team, which he began to coach after high school.
Meet Kate: She describes herself as “outgoing” and “friendly.” She enjoys listening to Good Charlotte and reading The Perks of Being Wallflower. Kate spends her free time making art and writing short poems and creative stories.
Meet Kristine: She describes herself as “more calm” and “reserved” than her sister. She enjoys listening to The Smiths and teaching herself new songs on the guitar. She also has a keen interest in fashion and enjoys comedies like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
