This article was provided by San Benito High School District.
A San Benito High School senior and teacher were each recently awarded regional honors by a Migrant Education Program that covers 35 districts in six Bay Area counties. SBHS senior Rolando Pablo Lorenzo was selected for the student honor, while resource specialist Irma Albright — a longtime Baler teacher and alumna — earned the alumni honor.
Lorenzo, who has a 3.67 overall grade point average in high school, was recognized because of his “perseverance, citizenship and academic achievement,” according to Liliana Ruiz, the SBHS migrant program specialist. “He started in ELD (English Language Development) 1, knowing little to no English. He is now CSU and UC (University of California) eligible and hopes to attend a California State University in the fall.”
The native of Guatemala came to the United States alone at age 14 and now lives with an uncle; his parents remaining in their home country. In his application for the regional honor, Lorenzo acknowledged the challenges of being in a new country and learning to speak a new language, but said that did not deter him. He said “education is the key to success and opens many doors. I have gone through many difficult situations, but here I am. I was born to succeed in life.”
“I always say that the efforts and the hard work are worthwhile,” he wrote. “Now I can speak English a little more thanks to the teachers for motivating me and saying that I can do it.”
Lorenzo, who hopes to become a lawyer, said he draws inspiration from “the people who come out ahead — those people who want to study hard because in life nothing is impossible. The teachers, the doctors, the lawyers are also inspirations for me because I know that someday I’ll be like them.”
He says that his goal is not what’s best for him: “I want the best for the people; the hard-working people, to help them not to be ignored.”
Lorenzo’s immediate goals include getting accepted to college and earning scholarships that will allow him to attend. “One can go very far with dedication,” he said.
The Director of Region 1, Rigoberto Elenes, said, “consideration was based on his high evidence of leadership, academic improvement or achievement, attendance and behavior, character development and citizenship, perseverance, and community service or job training. His story is compelling and quite amazing. I sincerely wish him the best in his altruistic dream to study laws.”
SBHS Spanish 1 and 2 teacher Vanessa Kirchner, who has known Lorenzo since he was first a student in her ELD 1 class as a freshman, said his linguistic and educational progress in three years “is nothing short of amazing. Imagine coming to a foreign country, speaking little or no English and knowing no one, and in just three short years you are an honor roll student with a 3.5 GPA!”
Lorenzo and Albright have been invited to the three-day Migrant Education Program State Conference that will be held in San Francisco in March 2018.
Albright, a former migrant student herself and 17-year veteran teacher, has worked with migrant students during the regular school year and summer school. At a recent Board of Trustees meeting at which she and Lorenzo were recognized for their awards, Albright expressed gratitude for the migrant ed program, which she said helped her learn English.
She also noted that she is grateful for the free meals that she received through the program as a youth and the work-study program that allowed her and others to earn money and school credit during high school.
Albright, who is the president of the Baler Education Foundation, noted that her parents would be proud to know that their daughter now has the opportunity to give back to the migrant education program that helped her so much during her time as an SBHS student. She called the honor “a full-circle moment.”
Elenes, the Region 1 director, said, “We are honored to have such a dedicated teacher and role model for all our students and especially our migrant families.”