Every graduating senior has a story. Read where 20 members of the class of 2009 have been and where they're headed in this collection of snapshots.
Brittnie MarcellBrittnie Marcell, Jefferson High School
Brittnie Marcell grew up literally across the street from Jefferson High School. Now, after four years at the North Portland school, where her résumé includes National Honor Society, the elite Jefferson Dancers company and the title of valedictorian, she’s ready for her next step. She’ll attend the University of Southern California to study business and dance.
Although an avid dancer, the business degree she’s eyeing is not a fallback position.
“I want to start my own production company,” she says. Her ultimate goal is to found a performance art charter school and plans to come back to North Portland to do it.
“We need something right here,” she says.
Brittnie says her determination to succeed began with her mother – “her strength and her willingness to persevere through challenges.”
From there, she enjoyed the support of mentors and coordinators at Self Enhancement Inc., the North Portland youth development organization she became a part of in the second grade, and Jefferson, a school she believes has a bright future
“I think we’ve grown a lot as a school,” Brittnie says. “I think we’ve seen it all, and I think it's only going to get better.”
Brittnie has family in Los Angeles, but still had to overcome some early jitters before committing to USC, where she took classes as a sophomore. She came to believe that success in the bigger Southern California pond will be up to her.
“I was hesitant about going,” she says. “But it’s not the school that makes you, it’s the person who makes the experience at school. I’m excited.”
Jia “Lynn” LuiJia “Lynn” Lui, Renaissance Arts Academy, Marshall Campus
“As long as I know I won’t die, I’m not afraid of trying anything!”
Born in a tiny Chinese village, Jia “Lynn” Lui came with her family to Portland when she was 8. Responsibility came early as she helped care for her younger sister while their parents worked long hours to support the family. Her early experiences have forged her into a strong young woman who tries her hardest in every situation.
Erin Hale, Lynn’s school counselor, calls her the “most diligent, self-reliant and conscientious student” out of this year’s senior class at Renaissance Arts. Hale notes that during Lynn’s junior year, she took an AP English course and the college-prep program Minds Matter while working 30 hours a week.
Lynn chose Renaissance Arts Academy because she loves making art: drawing, painting, photography, ceramics.
“Because of school,” she says, “I had the opportunity to try lots of different things. As a freshman I was way shy, but I learned that if I open up to people, they’ll open up to me. And I learned that your attitude can change your experience when you’re in a group. If you have an open mind, you’ll learn lots of new things.”
She looks to “keep on learning,” saying: “Maybe someday I will be a full-time artist. But my parents want me to know how to support myself.” Lynn heads to Portland State University this fall, where she will major in business and continue her study of art.
Fatuma MohamedFatuma Mohamed, Cleveland High School
Her childhood was spent in refugee camps in Kenya. Today, says Fatuma Mohamed of Cleveland High School: “My goal is to be a pediatric nurse. I want to give the care that I didn’t get in my childhood. I saw a lot of children — adults, too — with malnutrition, lack of medicine, just so sick.”
Fatuma’s family fled Somalia when she was an infant, and she lived in refugee camps until her family came to the United States when she was 14. After one year in Chicago, they moved to Portland and Fatuma enrolled at Cleveland.
“Cleveland is the greatest school. I love it here!” she says. “I got to choose my classes with my counselor, and I can interact with my teachers. It was a great opportunity to study. Plus, I can choose to be myself here.”
Fatuma says she’s especially grateful for her ESL teachers, who helped her immensely, not just with language issues but with personal support. “They showed me it’s OK if you don’t get the good grade, just try your best. They really showed me the path to success.”
For Fatuma, that path to success included classes exploring medical careers at OHSU and a local pediatric clinic. A Venture Scholars School-To-Career Scholarship will fund her education at PCC this fall, where she’ll study for an associate of arts degree in nursing.
Will she take her nursing skills to Kenya? “It depends on the opportunity,” Fatuma responds. “No matter where I go, there will be people who are sick and need care.”
Alden Harris-McCoyAlden Harris-McCoy, Lincoln High School
The high-voltage city that surrounds New York University might just be a perfect fit for Alden Harris-McCoy, who will enroll at the Manhattan school after graduating from Lincoln High School. Alden has already shown he knows how to make things happen.
An accomplished jazz guitarist who will study music at NYU, he was the young man behind Curbstock, a 2008 benefit for Portland Public Schools that brought together 18 bands at Oaks Amusement Park last spring, among them popular local acts Curtis Salgado, the Thermals and 3 Leg Torso. With the help of classmate volunteers, he secured the venue, booked the artists and lined up marketing and media support.
“The whole process was really a success,” he says.
That is, until presidential candidate Barack Obama showed up almost unannounced for a Portland rally on the same day as the event. Alden had hoped for 1,000 attendees. Two hundred showed up.
Still, the energetic Portland native has reason to believe in himself. Another endeavor, a food cart outside Lincoln High he called Curbside Market, was so successful he considered franchising at one point.
That’s the kind of moxie Alden is sure will serve him well in the Big Apple.
“It seems like a great place to grow and learn,” he says. “I don’t know where I’ll be in four years, but the goal is to be in a place where people are passionate about what they’re doing, be around people who are taking care of business.”
Anthea VangAnthea Vang, ACT, Roosevelt Campus
Back in her sophomore year, Anthea Vang couldn’t quite get on the same page with her math teacher. The result was a B grade, the only blemish on a four-year record of academic excellence. Her 3.95 GPA was still good enough to make her valedictorian of the Arts, Communication and Technology Academy on the Roosevelt Campus.
The oldest of five children, Anthea plans a career in the fashion world. She’ll be in Corvallis in the fall, studying apparel design with a minor in business at Oregon State University. The business represents her practical side. The apparel is her passion.
“I’ve always been really interested,” she says. “I'm graduating from an art school. I’m creative.”
Anthea’s vision isn’t about haute couture, the fancy runway stuff. She’s just not that way when it comes to clothes. “The high-end stuff, a lot of people aren’t buying,” she says. “I’m a bargain shopper. I would never pay $500 for a purse.”
She enjoys hanging out with friends (“they get my mind off schoolwork”), loves going downtown and is borderline ecstatic when she comes across a value while shopping. She says her favorite item of clothing is a pair of high-top Pumas she got for $20, less than a third of their original price.
While Anthea is sure her path would have led her toward fashion no matter where she’d grown up, she’ll remain grateful to her North Portland school.
“I got a lot out of attending Roosevelt,” she says. “I can’t really imagine myself at a different school.”
Carmen ChavezCarmen Chavez, Madison High School
“I’m a small school person,” says Carmen Chavez. “I love the atmosphere here at Madison. It’s so accepting of everyone. If there are cliques, it’s not noticeable. And I got to develop strong relationships with all my teachers. The teachers are really supportive, both academically and personally. They’re always thinking about ways to challenge the students. And they’ll work with you to push you to your limit.”
Carmen, a valedictorian, pushed her limits during her years at Madison. She took several AP classes, played varsity volleyball and tennis (going to State competition for two years in doubles tennis and one year in volleyball), was part of the newspaper staff, was a member of the National Honor Society, mentored another student for two years through Impact Northwest and attended summer academic camps, including an engineering camp at OSU after her sophomore year.
That OSU summer camp set her on a path that leads to the University of San Diego, where she’ll study engineering, assisted by a Presidential Scholarship, renewable for four years at $10,000 per year.
And while she is looking forward to being in San Diego, she says of her time in high school: “Madison is my home. I can’t imagine having gone somewhere else.”
Berenise DelgadoBerenise Delgado, SEIS, Roosevelt Campus
Berenise Delgado’s mother was the first person to suggest she could set her goals high, asking her to imagine becoming the first doctor in the family. “My mom kind of planted that idea on me,” she says. But an older sister who never finished high school was Berenise’s inspiration. While the sister works and owns a home, she has encouraged her younger sibling to use education to go further.
“Not wanting to fail has made me push harder,” Delgado says. “I want to make my sister proud. I want to make myself proud.”
Berenise, originally from Los Angeles, is graduating from the Spanish English International School on the Roosevelt Campus. She played volleyball for Roosevelt for four years while taking AP courses and excelling in math and science, posting a 3.75 GPA.
She is leaving her career options open while considering psychology and engineering as well as pre-medicine as majors. As much as anything, she’s looking forward to the independence she'll enjoy when she travels to Oregon State University in the fall.
“I’m superexcited,” she says.
Delgado has enjoyed her time at Roosevelt’s bilingual SEIS High School and the larger North Portland school.
“It was great,” she says. “There’s good people here who want to learn, and the teachers are amazing.”
Allison EinolfAllison Einolf, Cleveland High School
Allison Einolf has been a model of a well-balanced high school student: She played French horn with the Portland Youth Philharmonic. She was a counselor at Outdoor School (“Science is cool! It explains how things work. And Outdoor School is a window to a world that’s accessible to everyone.”). She’s a full IB candidate, a National Merit Scholar and one of Cleveland High School’s valedictorians. And she participated in Cleveland’s lacrosse and cross-country teams.
When asked about her rigorous schedule, Allison shrugs. “When I’m not challenged, I don’t do any work. Challenge is a huge motivator for me.”
She’s more interested in talking about Cleveland High School than in talking about herself: “Cleveland students and teachers are friendly, excited and enthusiastic. School spirit at Cleveland isn’t competitive; it’s more that people are enthusiastic about being here, and they’re really supportive of everyone.”
Allison hopes to find that same spirit at Macalaster College in St. Paul, Minn., this fall, where she’ll use two major scholarships to fund her studies in physics, with an eye toward alternative energy resources and environmental applications.
She’s also toying with the idea of adding music and earning a double major: “I’m not sure yet. But by studying physics, I’ll open up more areas for my career. I do know I want to help the world in some way. Here at Cleveland, people really care about the community and about giving back.”
Danny DanciuDanny Danciu, Madison High School
Danny Danciu is already raving about his soon-to-be alma mater. “Madison High School helped form me into the person I am,” he says. “It feels like a really diverse community. I have friends here from all over the world, friends from all religions. It’s not a fake school, where you have to try to be popular.”
Danny, one of Madison’s valedictorians, is a strong example of how the school’s teachers and counselors push students to find opportunities and run with them — in Danny’s case, literally. He was track captain this year, and made it to state competition three years in a row for track and one year for soccer. He was on the newspaper staff and a peer tutor for ESL students, teaches Bible study to young children at his church, took several AP classes (“AP environmental science was amazing!”) and passed all the AP exams, and represented the Madison valedictorians in a recent presentation to the Portland School Board.
“Madison presents so many opportunities that go unnoticed,” he says. “It’s sort of like a secret to us, and so different from what we hear about Madison in the media.”
Danny leaves Madison with two scholarships: the Sportsman of the Year award and the Oregon Student Assistance Commission scholarship. He’ll attend either Concordia College or Portland State University, and hopes to work with children in some capacity, possibly as a pediatrician or a child psychiatrist.
Luna TesfagiorghisLuna Tesfagiorghis, Benson High School
Luna Tesfagiorghis of Benson Polytechnic High School is a bit shy when it comes to expressing herself, but she’s absolutely clear about where she’s going. Luna, who came to the United States from Eritrea as a young teenager, will continue her education in health care at Western Oregon University in the fall.
Her interest in medicine began in her native Africa. While accompanying her ailing grandfather to the hospital, she was able to observe the work of doctors and nurses during long waits at the only facility within miles of her childhood home. The impression stayed with her.
“My plan is to spend my life working for the people that need it the most,” she says.
She hopes to one day work for a humanitarian organization like Doctors Without Borders, perhaps returning to Africa at some point, but she would consider any developing region where health care is in short supply.
In the meantime, she’ll spend the summer working at a local medical facility as a certified nurse assistant, a title she was able to earn through vocational programs at Benson.
“If I was in other schools, I'd be waiting until college to see if I love medicine,” she says. “At Benson, I get to learn what I want to do now, what it could be like.”
Stephanie JohnsonStephanie Johnson, Grant High School
Stephanie Johnson is graduating from Grant High School with a GPA of just under 3.0, which would be unremarkable if she hadn’t begun classes only three years earlier with no formal education. In fact, she didn't learn to read until she was 13.
Stephanie was raised by parents she says were so determined to shield her from the outside world that she didn’t make her first friend until adolescence. Finally, with the help of that friend and her own older sisters, she persuaded her mother to let her enroll at Grant as a 17-year-old sophomore.
She is graduating after three years with plans to study accounting at Portland State University in the fall.
“I want to be an accountant. I want to have my own family. I want to just know I’m OK," she says. “I’ve accepted where I came from. I’ve embraced it. As long as I try harder, I can make a better place for myself. Other kids talk about drama — I’m like, ‘You don’t even know.’ ”
Johnson credits the faculty and counselors at Grant for supporting her during her time there, but also recognizes the role she herself played in breaking away from a difficult past, one she is ready to leave behind.
“I did struggle a lot,” she says. “I was really scared to go into a world I didn’t know. But I did try really hard, too. It felt so good to know that I could handle it.”
Josh Hood-MarvinJosh Hood-Marvin, Meek Pro-Tech High School
At first glance, it looks like the odds were against success for Joshua Ryan Hood-Marvin. But firm, loving grandparents, his Native American heritage, teachers and counselors at Meek Professional-Technical High School and a deep belief in himself and his role in the world all contributed not only to the high school degree he’ll be claiming but his plans for the future.
Josh and his family lived with other Klamath and Modoc tribe members in Southern Oregon until he was 5. That’s when his father died and his mother brought the family to Portland. Not long after, her sons were removed from the home and placed with their grandparents, Harvi and Connie Hood.
“She made it really hard for me to succeed because she was so wrapped up in the drug world,” he says. “I don’t know if she knew that — she didn’t realize it was our issue, too.”
His freshman year at Lincoln High School was a tough one. In fact, school had been a struggle for him for years: “I couldn’t wait until I was 16 and could leave and get a job.” A Lincoln counselor told him about Meek, one of the Alliance High Schools, and he started as a sophomore — backed by his grandparents, neither of whom had earned high school degrees and refused to consider it for their grandson.
His counselor, Luke Saporito, pulls up Josh’s transcript on the computer: There’s a night-and-day difference between the records. Josh explains: “I started going here and got a feel for school.”
An artist, Josh designed the winning entry in this year’s greeting card design contest for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). He didn’t enter to win; he entered because proceeds from the sales will go to help abused and neglected kids.
Josh doesn’t do anything just for the experience. He holds deep reverence for the Earth: This summer, he’ll be working for TrackersPDX, helping make children aware of their surroundings. In the fall, he heads to Portland Community College for two years; after that, he plans to transfer to Portland Northwest College of Arts and earn both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
In late May, he visited his home in Chiloquin for the first time in 10 years. He was deeply moved that his tribe’s elders told him he was ready for a vision quest — a “growing of one’s soul,” he calls it.
“You left as a boy for the city; you returned to us as a man,” the elders told him.
Christina ArmstrongChristina Armstrong, Linus Pauling Academy, Marshall Campus
Christina Armstrong leaves the Linus Pauling Academy on the Marshall Campus as student body president. But at the start of her freshman year, she was wait-listed at another high school. “I didn’t want to be here and was expecting the worst,” she says. “What I found was really awesome teachers and a school with a warm, friendly vibe. My friends and I call this our second home.”
Tina is now passionate about small schools: “Students here have relationships with their instructors. They get individual attention. It’s core to being successful in life.”
Tina’s academic achievements, along with her passionate school involvement, helped her win the Diversity Enrichment Scholarship, which will provide her with a full, four-year tuition scholarship to Portland State University.
“Tina is incredibly bright and articulate,” says Stevie Newcomer, Pauling Academy principal. “She’s graduating as a junior, and she was a candidate for the Gates Millennium Grant.”
Outside interests include a reptile rescue society she co-founded with her father and younger brother. Johnny and Tina’s Reptile Rescue started with two iguanas: a 5-footer named Godzilla, and a 2-foot, bright red, very moody one named Madonna.
“We did everything from baby alligators to peacocks,” she says. “Want to see the scars from where an 11-foot Burmese python bit me when I was 10 years old?” She seems perfectly calm describing another incident during which a cobra coiled around her neck.
Tina will bring her love of small schools back to Marshall when she returns next year as a volunteer tutor. Marshall may be in her long-term career plans, as well: She wants to teach English at a small, low-income high school. “That’s where I grew up, that’s what I relate to; that’s what I want to give back to the community.”
Vinnie SpillmanVinnie Spillman, POWER, Roosevelt Campus
Vinnie Spillman can afford to speak softly. His accomplishments speak for themselves. When he enrolls this fall at Chicago’s Columbia College, one of the top music business schools in the country, he'll bring something to the table, having performed around town with his hip-hop group, Turf Noize.
“I want to be a record producer,” he says. “I’m gonna do that.”
Vinnie has that kind of confidence. He’s been an accomplished athlete as well as a high-performing student at Roosevelt’s math and science-oriented POWER Academy (3.50 GPA). He also has left an impression on the youth of his St. Johns neighborhood, having mentored and taught children at James John Elementary School for three years.
“That’s the best part of my day,” Vinnie says. “I just like kids.”
For all of his self-assurance, Vinnie still marvels remembering the day earlier this year when he learned he’d become a Gates Millennium Scholar, which will fund his post-high school education.
“It doesn’t happen to people from St. Johns,” he says. His mentor, Hanif Fazal of the youth empowerment program Step Up, says such things do happen to young men like Vinnie, who walked a straight path even as friends veered toward trouble.
“He is an example of what is possible,” Fazal says. “He has made a lot of great choices along the way and learned from some of the wrong choices.”
Nirvana FairbanksNirvana Fairbanks, MLC
Nirvana Fairbanks has been refreshingly clear about who she is for a long time. The senior at Metropolitan Learning Center was asked to address classmates who were unsettled by her arrival at the Northwest Portland school as a second-grader.
“She would get around crawling,” says Janice Holstine, a para-educator at MLC for 10 years. Fairbanks’ explanation of her cerebral palsy to that mixed class of second- and third-graders broke the ice.
“They were like, ‘OK,’ ” Holstine recalls. “They were able to see her as a person after that.”
Nirvana hasn’t needed student elections, which don’t exist at MLC, or conventional letter grades, which are optional, to prove herself at MLC.
“I do very well,” she says with no false modesty. “I like to do good work. I’m not a person who comes in and says, ‘I forgot to do this thing.’”
“When people have disabilities, there are things they feel they have to do to prove themselves. You develop another way to prop yourself up. Learning how to write was kind of hard. I had to get good at it.”
Nirvana, who plans to someday do without the walker she currently uses, will take a year off before continuing her education, probably at Portland Community College. She wants to master some of the life skills others take for granted, like taking buses around town.
“I need to learn how to be a person who’s in control of my own life, just be more independent,” she says.
Fittingly for the writer she dreams of being — and the girl who found her voice early — Nirvana says she will return to school when she has found the necessary “voraciousness.”
Jill SchmidtJill Schmidt, Wilson High School
Shy and nervous heading into her freshman year at Wilson High School, Jill Schmidt today embodies the best qualities of Portland’s graduating seniors: bright, confident, ready for the next step.
A strong student, Jill also gives back to the community. She traveled to Mexico to build houses; helped organize a prom for students with special needs; planned holiday parties for a battered women’s shelter; and raised money for schools in Uganda.
“Jill is powered by a strong moral compass, effective leadership skills, a probing intellectual curiosity, a fantastic work ethic and a bold sense of her own personal agency,” says Kathryn Wolff, counselor at Wilson.
Jill balances her community work with school activities — contributing to the newspaper, yearbook and literary magazine — and a part-time job at nearby Seasons & Regions Seafood.
Jill will attend the University of Oregon.
Thuan VuongThuan Vuong, Benson High School
When Thuan Vuong is asked about her favorite way to waste time, she goes blank. She barely understands the concept. “I don't watch TV. I don't shop,” says Thuan, who regards sleep as a luxury. “If I don’t help my mom cook, I do homework.”
That helps explain how this Vietnam native got to be vice president of National Honor Society at Benson Polytechnic High School as well as captain of the school’s Color Guard, a member of MESA (Math Engineering Science Achievement) Club and a Gates Millenium Scholar.
The considerable financial award that accompanies that last distinction should come in handy. Vuong has been interested in medicine since she took a class at Oregon Health Sciences University as a sophomore and plans a career in clinical researcher. That could mean as many as 13 more years of school.
“It’s like starting over from kindergarten until now,” she says. “In order to do research, you have to do a PhD.”
She's grateful for her four years at Benson, but also eager to move on. She’ll enroll at the University of Washington in the fall:
“I did make a lot of memories here, but I know I'll meet more people at U Dub. I’m totally looking forward to that.”
Taylor MaherRonnie McKenna and Taylor Maher, Biz Tech, Marshall Campus
Ronnie McKenna (right) and Taylor Maher (left) attended middle school together; played football together and worked at the same fast food restaurant. So it’s not surprising that the longtime friends both were singled out as outstanding BizTech seniors.
Ronnie McKennaBoth young men say the small size of their school helped them succeed.
“I’m much more outgoing now than when I got here as a freshman,” Taylor says. “Playing sports and meeting people helped me be less shy.”
Ronnie tosses him a look. “You were always outgoing. But I was really shy freshman year. And then junior year I took the leadership class. Now I’m co-president of the RSVP group — Raising Students’ Voices and Participation.”
The leadership class, Ronnie says, got him much more involved in school. “I know everyone, from all the seniors right down through all the freshman,” he says. “I know all the teachers, even the ones I’ve never had.”
His mother, Ronnie says, was opposed to his attending school at the Marshall Campus: “All my siblings went here back when it was a comprehensive high school, and they all dropped out. But I really wanted to come here, because of the small academies. And I had such a great experience my freshman year, I told my mom that if she moved, I would do whatever it took to come to school here … hours-long commute, whatever.” His mom stayed in the neighborhood.
Taylor’s experience at BizTech was similarly positive. He succeeded academically and athletically, winning an Education First scholarship this year, and district wrestling titles his junior and senior years. His strong work ethic comes through when he talks about his experience on Marshall’s football team. “I played running back for three years, and also linebacker. Then this year I got moved to center.”
He grimaces. “I guess that’s where I was needed. So for the first three games of the season this year, I played every single play. The only time I was off the field was during halftime. Then I broke my foot.” Getting trampled by enormous linemen might be enough to end anyone’s season, but Taylor was back in time for the last game.
Taylor is headed back to the construction industry job he had last summer — hanging drywall. He’ll work full-time and attend night classes at Clackamas Community College, earning a business degree geared toward the construction industry.
Ronnie has been accepted at University Technical Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, where he’ll enter the Motorcycle Mechanical Institute. When he’s done in 18 months, he wants to start a mobile motorcycle repair business.
Ronnie and Taylor will continue to give back to the Marshall community after they leave. Ronnie’s leadership role with RSVP resulted in the state Department of Transportation agreeing to put in a crosswalk at a dangerous street crossing near the Marshall Campus. Taylor hopes to return as a volunteer wrestling coach, and in the future be certified as a wrestling referee.
Sheila HeathSheila Heath, Renaissance Arts Academy/Marshall Campus
As Renaissance Arts Academy’s first Gates Millennium scholar, Sheila Heath has gotten used to questions about her academic story. She’s an outstanding scholar with a strong interest in dance and visual arts. She was accepted at Cornell, Boston, Brown, Stanford, New York and Columbia universities and the University of Chicago.
What’s not so well known is her background story: Born in Los Angeles to parents who were ill-equipped to raise her, Sheila moved to Portland when she was 12 to live with her sister and brother-in-law, who have been her primary family and support system. They urged her to excel, which for Sheila included AP History and English classes; they encouraged her to apply to a variety of top-tier schools.
At RA2, Sheila found the same close community feeling that she has at home: “The smaller size of our school helps people to stay connected because the class is so small. I found that I can connect with people even if they’re very different from me.”
Sheila will take that open attitude to Columbia University in New York City. She’ll also take an opportunity for a fully funded education: Her scholarship pays her way all the way through graduate school.