Use words that inspire!

Use words that inspire!

  June 11, 2013    Verenice Gutierrez, PhD

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The picture above is the Madison HS graduating class of 2013.  The picture to the left of this text is the changing of the tassel.  The third picture is the class of 2013 celebrating by throwing their mortar boards in the air.

Tonight I attended the graduation of one of my former middle school students, KMG.  She is now a graduate of Madison HS in Portland, OR.  It was very important for KMG that I be at her graduation because she didn't know if she would make it to this milestone in her life, especially since she is undocumented.  KMG was in my mentorship group for Latino students at Hosford MS know as FHL, short for Future Hispanic Leaders.  Towards the end of her 8th grade year, KMG was ready to quit pursuing an education.  She was worried about her future and the future of her family in the United States.  That year Oregon was having lots of discussions about driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.  She worried about deportation, finances, having to return to a country she doesn't know, and everything that comes with living in the shadows when you are undocumented.  She had dreams but didn't know if they were worth pursuing because her adopted country kept sending her the message that she wasn't welcomed here.  I'll never forget the walk we took to Starbucks so that she could poor her heart out to me and then look to me for answers I knew I didn't have.  I cursed the fact that I had all the privileges that come with citizenship and wished I could relinquish all of them to her.  All I could do was love her and offer her hope even though I didn't think there was any.  Tonight she graduated high school and is headed to University of Portland with two scholarships in hand.  She has applied for differed action and she is again hopeful about her future in the America that she loves.  She will be majoring in Public Relations and I pity anyone who is on the receiving end of her charm, her persuasiveness and that beautiful smile she is quick to share.  This girl will get her way!

As we were leaving the coliseum I ran into another one of my former FHL kids, LRM.  Her high school, Cleveland HS, would begin their commencement exercise a short 30 minutes after Madison had completed theirs.  There she stood with a group of girls, all smiling for pictures.  She shouted out my moniker, Dr. G!!!  I stopped, turned around and hugged her tightly.  I was so happy to see LRM in her cap and gown because it was touch and go whether or not she would actually graduate.  Senior year was hard for her but she pulled it together and made it through.  At her 8th grade promotion LRM was one of the representative speakers of the Spanish Immersion program.  While she was giving her speech, LRM made the following statement:

Dr. G once told me to reach for the moon because even if I failed, I would still be among the stars.

I remember thinking, "I said THAT?".  I guess I did.  And she was listening!  She aimed for the moon and she got the stars.  She is also university bound in the fall.

Working with kids is a gift that should not be taken for granted.  Use words to inspire them because they are listening.  Congratulations girls!  I can't wait to see all that you will accomplish.