Sabrina Avitia, Pueblo Alum of the Class of 2011, is Assistant Office Manager, at Castillo Associates, specializing in health and life insurance. Daniel Castillo, President of Castillo Associates, is so impressed with Sabrina’s skills and work ethic, he wants to hire another Pueblo Alum for his expanding business.
Ms. Avitia credits her CTE Tech Apps/Business with her mastery of typing, composing business letters and organization of Excel Spreadsheets. She also says her job shadowing and internship at St. Mary’s Hospital were meaningful opportunities that taught her to interact with the public, skills she uses in her current job.
Jose Santay- Jim Click Nissan
Jose Santay, the poster child for hard work, won the prestigious Jim Click Automotive Scholarship in May 2012. He is now working in the service department of Jim Click Nissan on Automall Drive. As the Scholarship winner, Jose receives $4,000 in free tools and his education is paid for courtesy of Jim Click. After Jose completes his Automotive Certification at Pima, he will continue on to complete his Associates Degree and then his Bachelor’s Degree.
Jose’s supervisor, Jason Davis, said that, “Jose has the attitude and the aptitude to succeed.” Jose gets up at 5:00 a.m. to open the shop at 7:00 a.m. Jose credits his Pueblo experience for where he is today. Endless hours working as Manager for the Basketball Team with Coach Romero, and his internship with Spraymasters Autobody, readied him for work at the professional level.
Bill De La Rosa (Left) with Brandon Sanchez at NHS Induction Ceremony
Bill de la Rosa, class of 2012 Senior, is one of 1,000 talented students nationwide to receive the Gates Millennium scholarship in 2012. The scholarship provides full funding through graduate school.
“I see this like a once in a life time opportunity, knowing that I will be secure financially for the next four to eight years of college,” says de la Rosa. “The generosity of Bill and Melinda Gates is a gift from God to me that I will benefit from and be responsible for. I know that God has great plans for me and I will make sure to prepare myself to serve others through the degrees I will receive from my education.”
De la Rosa’s notification letter stated that his “accomplishment is especially notable in context of the more than 24,000 students who applied, making this year’s the largest and most competitive group of candidates in the program’s history.”
De la Rosa has been accepted to Bowdoin College, a nationally renowned college of liberal arts and sciences in Maine. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he plans to attend Harvard Law School, with the goal of using his law degree to assist families unable pay for legal representation.
Since his freshman year, de la Rosa has been one of the top five students in his class. He is currently valedictorian, with a 4.12 GPA. He’s achieved his academic success in spite of family hardship, providing care for his father and siblings during his father’s illness.
Pueblo High counselor Teresa Toro says that de la Rosa “has made being smart a ‘cool’ status on our campus. He is very popular among his peers and is highly regarded by his teachers. He is constantly talking to students about the need for them to do their best and be their best.”
Toro states, “I am beyond proud for Bill and his accomplishments. He is a true example that no matter what life throws at you that you cannot make excuses for not succeeding. He has such high standards, walks the talk, and is still so down to earth and loved and respected by all of his peers and faculty. I have such high regard for him that I asked him to be the peer mentor for my son, who is a current freshman at Pueblo Magnet High School. He is truly deserving of this most generous award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.”
To complete the circle of giving, De la Rosa’s goals include establishing his own foundation to provide scholarships to future students.
More information about the scholarship is available at gmsp.org.
Pueblo Magnet High School science teacher Dr. Andrew Lettes received the Ron Mardigian Memorial Biotechnology Explorer Award, as part of the National Science Teachers Association (NTSA) 2012 Teacher Awards Program.
Lettes has brought biotechnology into the classroom for over ten of his eighteen years as a teacher. When TUSD’s Career and Technical Education Program decided to offer a bioscience curriculum, Lettes was one of the first teachers onboard. At the time, he was teaching an AP Biology class but only six students were enrolled. He wanted to go beyond traditional topics to get more students engaged in science, particularly those students who might not see themselves as “scientists.”
“I noticed that the students who were enthusiastic about heart dissections were even more enthusiastic about DNA fingerprinting,” Lettes recalls. “Biotechnology jobs are on the rise in Tucson and I want to prepare my students for those jobs; so I developed a Biotechnology curriculum.”
The Biotechnology Explorer Award recognizes teachers who have made biotechnology learning accessible to students and Lettes’ curriculum has done just that. Pueblo serves a predominantly low-income Hispanic population – a population that is typically underrepresented in science, engineering, and technology fields.
“This program opens up doors to careers in science that students didn’t realize had been closed to them,” Lettes noted. “Students that were not interested in upper level science classes before are now lining up to take Biotechnology.”
There are currently 105 students enrolled in the program with 140 interested in enrolling next year.
Dr. Lettes’ former students have gone on to pursue degrees in neuroscience, molecular biology, and science education. Students who have gone on to pursue degrees in other areas have said that Lettes’ class provided them with a strong foundation for their college science course requirements, and for the overall expectation of college studies.
As the recipient of the Biotechnology Explorer Award, Lettes received a $250 monetary gift, a $500 certificate for Bio-Rad products for his classroom, and a trip to attend the NSTA National Conference on Science Education in Indianapolis last month. Interesting tidbit: While at the conference, Lettes had the opportunity, among other things, to meet and talk science with television actress Mayim Bialik of The Big Bang Theory, who holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience both on TV and in real life. Bialik and Lettes both received their doctorates from UCLA.
For more information on Career and Technical Education Programs offered in TUSD, visit the Career and Technical Education Program Web site.
Another awardee also has introduced innovations to the classroom. Andrew Lettes, a science teacher at Pueblo Magnet High School in Tucson, Arizona, received the Ron Mardigian Memorial Biotechnology Explorer Award, sponsored by Bio-Rad Laboratories, and says he has “worked for over 10 years to bring biotechnology into the classroom.” He points out that “students must be engaged with relevant ‘hands-on’ curriculum, but the trick is to find the ‘hook’ for our student population…At Pueblo, I found the ‘hook,’ biotechnology.” He says his school’s biotechnology program “provides college preparation for our students, plus provides genuine work-based learning. Students work in science, not simply read about it during a career search on the internet.”
According to Lettes, biotechnology “not only attracts the already college-bound students, but also those who are interested in work experience. Students who have mastered the content and students who have mastered the technical skills are equally valued in my classroom. This fosters a cooperative atmosphere where all students try to do well. Truly biotechnology is the rising tide that lifts all boats.” His award also provides funding to attend NSTA’s national conference. When asked about his agenda in Indianapolis, he replies, “I plan on enjoying the workshops given by my peers. Classroom teachers have a wonderful insight on what works. I also would like to network with other educators.”
Congratulations Dr. Andrew Lettes! You represent Pueblo with Pride!
On Saturday, February 4th, 2012 the Regional SkillsUSA Fire Competition met at the Rural Metro Fire Training Center here in Tucson. The 40 participants from the region were from the west and east campuses of the JTED Fire Program including 6 from Pueblo’s Fire Program.
The competition included the following events: ropes & knot tying, hose rolling, breathing apparatus timed competition, climbing a ladder with tools in hand and a victim drag with a 200 lb. dummy.
The day culminated with a Fire Fighter Combat Challenge that mixed Pueblo students with JTED students and a very delicious barbeque.
Pueblo Fire Science At SkillsUSA Competition
We are very ecstatic to announce that our team made Pueblo proud. Out of the top 10 scores, we had 4 of our 6 participants in the following places:
First Place- Carlos Meraz (Senior) – 2nd year in the program
Second Place- Juan Aguilar (Freshman) -1st year in the program
Fifth Place-Victor Grutzius (Junior) -2nd year in the program
Sixth Place- Luis Mendivil (Freshman) -1st year in the program
Manuel Cedre & Hector Ortega made a great showing and just missed being in the Top 10.
Congratulations to the Pueblo Fire Science Program! They showed up at the competition with one thing on their minds and that was to put Pueblo Fire on the map. They did it in a big way!
If Alvaro Gallego could eat anything, he’d probably stop by McDonald’s or Burger King, grab a couple of cheeseburgers and a bag of french fries and enjoy a hearty meal with his friends.
But, that’s not happening anytime soon.
For now, it’s oatmeal in the morning, a few pieces of chicken for lunch and vegetables for dinner. Oh yeah, he also has a few cups of water with his meals.
“I really miss the fast food,” Gallego said, laughing. “And to make it worse, my friends always eat it right in front of me.”
Gallego, a senior at Pueblo, will get his burgers and fries soon enough.
First, there’s a state championship to win.
As a junior, Gallego went 35-4 and finished second at 103 pounds in the Division II state meet. This year, he’s chasing a state title at 106 pounds and closely monitoring his diet to stay in his weight class.
He’s already 29-0 this season and has won championships at the William Bell Invitational and the Phoenix Moon Valley Invitational.
“Right now, I haven’t lost yet and I’m just trying to get better each match,” Gallego said. “An undefeated season and a state championship would be the perfect way to go out.”
Here’s a closer look at Gallego’s road to becoming one of the top wrestlers in the state.
Youth
Memories: Gallego first stepped onto a wrestling mat as a fourth-grader and finished second in state his first full year. He was hoping for a first-place finish as a fifth-grader but instead had a disappointing season and he quit wrestling after the season.
Quotable: “I really liked the sport. But, I started losing in fifth grade and didn’t do well at state and didn’t want to do it anymore. I felt like I had dedicated myself to wrestling and it ended horribly. I was mad and had the mentality that I didn’t want to do it anymore.”
Big finish: Gallego took seventh at state his fifth-grade year before walking away from the sport.
Middle school
Memories: Still upset with his finish in fifth grade, Gallego didn’t wrestle or play any sports in middle school. Instead, the fun-spirited Gallego hung out with his friends and focused on doing well in school.
Quotable: “I thought I was too cool for sports. I wanted to be the cool guy, so I just did nothing.”
Big finish: Gallego was in touch with Pueblo coach Steve Lopez by the end of his eighth-grade year and knew he was ready to get back on the wrestling mat as a freshman in high school and wrestle for Lopez and the Warriors.
High School
Memories: Gallego wrestled junior varsity his freshman season because he “was only 70 pounds and wasn’t allowed on varsity yet.” He got his weight up to 86 pounds as a sophomore, his first year on varsity, and eventually 103 as a junior, when he broke out with his 35-4 season.
Quotable: “They just told me to keep eating and I’d get there sooner or later. They had me lifting weights and working out and I gained about 10 pounds each year. It seemed like I would eat whatever I wanted and still wouldn’t gain any weight. Now, that I’m there, I have to control it.”
Big finish: As the No. 2 seed at 103 pounds, Gallego took out Nogales’ Juan Dorame in the semifinals, before dropping a 9-7 decision to Moon Valley’s Mikah Trejo in the finals.
Senior year
Memories: Gallego was named the wrestler of the tournament at the William Bell Invitational one day after his grandmother, Olga Rosales, passed away. Gallego wrote her name on his headgear during the final day of competition and dedicated the tournament win to her.
Quotable: “It’s been a great year so far, but it’s all about state. My mom has never seen me wrestle in person. She only watches the videos and still gets nervous even though she knows I win. So, I really, really want her to come to state this year and hopefully she can watch me win a state championship.”
Big finish: That’s still to be determined. This year’s Division II state meet in Prescott Valley is set for Feb. 10-11. Gallego, ranked No. 1 in the state at 106 pounds by Azwrestler.com, will likely be the favorite in his weight class.
