Pueblo Alumni, Mr. Diego Ramirez from the Class of 2012, has returned to his alma mater as a math RTI teacher after graduating from the University of Arizona.
“I came back to Pueblo because I feel it will always be my school,” said Ramirez. “Everyone has been welcoming.”
After high school, Ramirez was an AVID tutor at Cholla High School for nearly five years. Then, he taught algebra at Desert View for a summer before teaching summer school at Pueblo last summer.
“I chose teaching because I wanted to help students realize their potential,” Ramirez added. “I want my kids to be as successful as they could be.”
Ramirez’ inspiration sprouted from the outstanding math teachers that he had in high school.
“Mr. [Roman] Badalov was my biggest inspiration to become a math teacher,” Ramirez said. “I also had a lot of cool math teachers at Pueblo over my four years.”
Not only does Ramirez want to be a classroom teacher, but he also plans on being a principal in the near future. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Arizona—in educational leadership. However, he wants to be remembered as the “cool math teacher”.
Among the more than two dozen new teachers and staff members new to Pueblo High School this school year is Ms. Janet Olvera, Pueblo’s Data Intervention Specialist—to interpret data to assist teachers in developing specific interventions to improve student learning. Even though this job may be new to Olvera, Pueblo is hardly new to her—as she graduated from P.H.S. back in 1997.
Olvera is joining the Warrior teaching/staff family with many years of educational experience. She taught elementary students at Henry Oyama and Lynn Urquides Elementary Schools. Then, she spent another three years at Pistor Middle School as a counselor after earning her master’s degree from the Northern Arizona University.
“I loved teaching [elementary students],” Olvera said, “but I really prefer working with students one-on-one, which is why I prefer counseling students. I like helping students with their academic, social and emotional needs.”
Olvera said that it’s no accident that she was steered in the field of education.
“I had great teachers at Pueblo back in the mid-1990s,” she said. “I can’t believe that a lot of my teachers are still here. I definitely remember Ms. Avila-Miranda, my math teacher. She sure had a lot of patience. Even though I was always respectful of teachers, I probably gave her a harder time than I’d like to admit. I remember laughing a lot in my classes—just having fun but always learning.”
She paused and added, “I also learned a lot in Mr. [Steve] Lopez’ math class! I never knew math could be taught with such enthusiasm and creativity.”
Olvera said that she also remembers Ms. [Wilma] Amaro, Ms. [Lydia] Morales, Mr. [Cristobál] Santa Cruz and Ms. [Dr. Maria] Bicknell and added that she is glad they’re all still teaching because they all made such huge impacts on her.
“Mr. [Rana] Medhi was my favorite teacher at Pueblo, though,” Olvera said. “Everything I know about English, I learned in his class. I can’t even write a letter without thinking of him and everything he taught me. He definitely left a lasting impression on me, and it was so good to see him again.”
Olvera also expressed that Pueblo Principal Dr. Augustine Romero has been extremely supportive.
“Dr. Romero is definitely the best administrator that I’ve ever worked for,” Olvera said. “He values and respects his teachers and staff members. It’s like being part of a family here at Pueblo, and I love that community feeling here.”
As for being back at Pueblo, Olvera said, “Some things never change—surprisingly, Pueblo is about the same as it was in the 1990s when I was a student here—minus students’ dependency on technology.”
Several years after graduating from high school, Olvera said that she had a few dreams about returning to Pueblo.
“Somehow, I always knew I’d be back here,” Olvera said.
Mr. Gerardo López, Pueblo Alumni from the Class of 2005, has now returned to become an Algebra 1 teacher. This will be Lopez’s first year here at Pueblo.
López was a former teacher’s aide in the Sunnyside School District, but he added this position pushed him to pursue a teaching career.
“It was during this time that I truly realized that I liked math and liked helping students just as much. So, I made the decision to become a teacher.”
Thus far, López said that he has enjoyed his experiences here at Pueblo by making connections with students and building relationships with them while teaching and motivating them to push themselves.
“I see some of the students going through the same struggles as I did when I was a teenager,” he said. “We can make connections, and so I’m kind of motivating them to do better in life.”
As a new teacher, López confessed that he has many strengths and a few weaknesses.
“One of my greatest strengths is being patient, which is one of the reasons why teaching has been so easy for me. However, one of my weaknesses is taking work home with me—not getting grading done at Pueblo.”
López said that he is “very happy” that he is initiating his full-time teaching career at Pueblo, and he is looking forward to adapting to a new lifestyle—a new school with great new students.
On Sunday, October 23, 2016, the second annual Pueblo Hall of Fame ceremony took place at the Hotel Tucson City Center, commemorating the latest inductees into the Pueblo Magnet High School Hall of Fame.
The Pueblo Alumni Foundation welcomed 12 new members this year: Robert J. Acuna ’61, Dr. Leonard E. Basurto ’62, Dr. Tim Dong ’60, Dr. Dale Frederick ’64, Richard M. Gastellum ’61, Dr. Coronado L. Gomez ’67, Adelita Grijalva ’89, Dan A. Klingenberg ’57, Dr. Miguel Palacios ’63, Dr. Rafaela M. Santa Cruz ’66, Saturnino “Curly” Santa Cruz ’62, and Ramon Valadez ’84.
“We are proud to have such an outstanding group of individuals representing Pueblo the way they have,” said Mr. Richard Guillen, President of the PHS Warrior Foundation.
These individuals were nominated due to their outstanding personal and professional achievements.
“Today we honor those who significantly improve the lives of others through their exceptional performance and efforts,” said Mr. Saturnino Santa Cruz, Chairman for the PHS Hall of Fame.
There was plenty of support from all of our Warrior community, including alumni, their families, and current staff and students. Pueblo Principal Dr. Augustine Romero was also in attendance to honor these distinguished Warriors.
Each inductee spoke of his/her struggles as well as their motivation and perseverance to keep pursuing their dreams.
“I learned speaking Spanish was an honor and to be proud of who you are, no matter who you are,” said Dr. Leonard E. Basurto. He added, “Dos idiomas abren dos mundos.” (Two languages open two worlds)
The inductees hope to inspire today’s Warriors—and for them to learn how to give back to their community as they have.
Dr. Coronado Gomez said, “I hope to inspire other students that are at Pueblo porque ¡Sí Se Puede!”
Inductees and guests were treated with a brunch fit for royalty. The Alumni Foundation funded the entire event and look forward to next year’s ceremony.
Mr. Rudy Valdez, one of the more than 300 Pueblo graduates in the Class of 2009, visited the advanced journalism class for a press conference explaining to them what life has been like following his high school graduation.
Valdez thought he had his whole life figured out, but after attending Pima for a short time after high school graduation, he realized how much more was really “out there”.
“I was scared at first [to move to L.A.] because I didn’t know what to expect,” said Valdez.
Prior to moving to Southern California, Valdez could be seen in several local commercials; he also had several promising modeling assignments. However, Arizona is not the place to act and model, Valdez said, because of the very few opportunities available.
Though he struggled a lot and hit many lows (including living in his car for nearly two months), his persistence allowed him to keep dreaming about “making it” in California.
“It’s humbling to admit how rough times became,” Valdez said. “But I wasn’t returning to Tucson so easily and quickly.”
His perseverance has paid off.
Valdez has been featured on shows such as Scandal, Switched at Birth, and Black Code and hopes to one day even move into production.
“It felt so great knowing I finally got here,” Valdez said. “Nothing has been easy, and I don’t expect things to stay easy for long. But, I love doing what I am doing—and everybody should love what they do for a living. It’s not just a living—it’s a life.”
Damaris Karely Ponce, graduated from Pueblo #7 in her class in 2016 with a 3.73 GPA. (She enrolled in 2012.) She was co-chair of the MEChA Club, a National Honor Society Member, Ivy League Tour Participant, TRiO Student & a member of our Swim Team. Damaris plans to continue her education to become an immigration lawyer.
Damaris read this reflection of her experience at Pueblo to our faculty & staff during their Back To School Meeting on August 1, 2016. You can play the audio clip to hear it in her own words.
Damaris Karely Ponce
I remember before Freshman year started, my mom was asked what high school I was going to. As soon as she told them that I was going to Pueblo their faces changed. They told her it was a horrible school and well… we all know what they all say. It didn’t scare me because I mean… I came from Mexico so let’s say I’ve seen worse schools. It didn’t take too long for me to discover that Pueblo was actually a really great school, with the best teachers and administration. I felt welcomed, and I received the help that I needed to accomplish my main goal which at the time, was to learn English. I will always feel thankful for the patience and respect that everyone showed me and other students in my situation. The people that think Pueblo is a bad school are the ones that are not part of Pueblo nor is informed of all the achievements we have made.
Damaris At MEChA Conference in Chicago.
Teachers have this incredible ability to change the lives of their students in such amazing ways. I know for a fact you guys do change lives everyday. Before I was a student at Pueblo I’ve never seen teachers so passionate about helping students develop. It always amazed me the amount of personal hours you give to students. Because of my mom’s job and my stubbornness to not take the city bus I used to come really early to school sometimes. There were always teachers already in school ready to give tutoring to students. And if that wasn’t enough, some of you stay after school really late. People outside of Pueblo would say “well that is their job”, but I know, the students know, that those hours are not going to be paid. You clearly don’t know how to be selfish.
Damaris in front of the White House during her Ivy League Tour.
The thing that impacts students the most is that you believe in their dreams and most importantly in them. Students are being told that they can’t go to College because of their background so constantly they end up believing it. But here in Pueblo, teachers and administrators not only believe in the students, but encourage them to great lengths and to be the best person they can be. I am a survivor of Mr. Santa Cruz’s class. I will never forget when the year was about to end, he told us we were special because we didn’t give up and continued with the class. The other day, I saw a classmate and she told me she thought the classes at Pima were going to be easy compared to Mr. Santa Cruz’s class. He prepared us so well, we now feel confident about College. This is just one example. I know each of you prepared us and helped us in every way possible. I don’t know if Pueblo was a bad school before, but I do know that Pueblo is the best school right now.
