Boston students overcome obstacles to earn high school diplomas
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Contact Information: Communications, 617-635-9265 or communications@bostonpublicschools.org
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Compelling success stories from Class of 2009 graduates
June 5, 2009
*** Marcela Dodi, West Roxbury As a sophomore Marcela Dodi was skipping school, failing all her classes, and nearly dropped out of school. After many interventions, however, she turned everything around and has been a high honor roll student ever since. Marcela recently traveled to San Diego as part of a class she is taking Wheelock College and managed to organize her high school’s talent show from the West Coast. Marcela, who was this year’s winner of the Mayor’s “School Spirit” award, will attend Brandeis University in the fall. Her headmaster describes her as “our most extreme turnaround from very low to very high.” *** Kim Guillaume, Roslindale Kim Guillaume grew up speaking Haitian-Creole at home. She had trouble learning to read English in elementary school, and in middle school she was “jumped back and forth” between special education and regular education classes. There were meetings at school about her poor attitude and behavior, but she didn’t understand what the adults were saying. It wasn’t until she arrived at Fenway that she was taught to “sit myself down and say, okay, I have a learning disability, now I have to learn to succeed with it.” Kim has succeeded, indeed. Her dream college, Stonehill, sees her potential and has awarded her a full scholarship. She plans to major in organic chemistry. *** Edner Paul, Hyde Park Edner Paul came to this country from Haiti three years ago, unable to speak English fluently and recuperating from a serious illness. Because he had a strong desire to learn, he participated in mentoring and tutoring programs for academic enrichment. He was consistently prepared for class and the leadership ability he exhibited on the soccer field moved his team to promote him to co-captain. His membership in the Math and Amnesty International Clubs provided other avenues for him to develop or hone skills that have contributed to his all-round success. He is the valedictorian in the Class of 2009 and will start at MIT in the fall. *** Bang Pham, Dorchester Bang Pham was born in South Vietnam after his father returned from eight years in a North Vietnamese prison camp. At an early age, Bang moved to the United States with his parents. While they worked night and day shifts on minimum wage, assembly line jobs, Bang worked on his studies in the public schools. The family only saw each other on weekends. Bang’s goal as a Fenway senior has been “to go to a good college without having my parents pay a dime.” He has met his goal: Bang will be going to Hampshire College next year, and for three years following, on a full scholarship. He will major in architecture. *** Janice Li & Justin Shu, Hyde Park Twins Janice and Justin (pictured here) came to Urban Science Academy (USA) in the middle of their ninth grade year after moving to Boston from Shanghai. Rather than enroll in a Chinese bilingual education program, Justin and Janice opted to attend USA due to its emphasis on the sciences and their desire to “fit in” to their new community as quickly as possible. Although Janice and Justin recall their first year at USA being very challenging due to their difficulty communicating in English, they quickly felt welcomed as they were surrounded by caring staff and students during and after school. “We stayed after school every day for two years,” Justin said. “Besides the one-on-one extra help, being able to use picture dictionaries and reading software were very helpful. Also, during this time, our teachers went out of their way to give us independent reading books that helped our English vocabulary grow.” Janice and Justin challenged themselves further by taking many Advanced Placement courses, and the siblings immersed themselves in the school community as participants in the garden club, New Orleans community service trip, school band, and other extra curricular activities. Janice and Justin will both be attending Northeastern University beginning this fall. Janice, who earned a full scholarship to Northeastern, plans to major in chemistry to prepare for a career in forensics or medicine. Justin plans to major in finance and then pursue a career in business. *** Moriah Smith, Dorchester For the past two years, Moriah has served as the student representative to the Boston School Committee. According to School Committee Chair Rev. Gregory Groover, Sr., Moriah has “represented the student body with passion, maturity and grace.” In January, Moriah introduced Mayor Thomas M. Menino for his annual State of the City address at Faneuil Hall. A competitive swimmer and member of several extracurricular clubs, including the Boston Student Advisory Council, Moriah recently traveled to Reno, NV to compete in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair. She will attend Wellesley College next year (her first choice) and has earned the Wellesley College $20,000 scholarship. *** Charles Williams, Roxbury Described by his headmaster as “amazingly articulate,” Charles Williams has already gotten a head start on his college and career goals. He just completed a course at Emerson College this spring working with Kevin Bright, producer of the television shows Friends and In Living Color. Charles also runs his own DJ business and has been working at Greater Media Boston (five radio stations under one roof) in their production department for almost a year. This fall he will go to Emerson on a full scholarship and wants to work in media to transform how the media portrays people of color. *** Michael Wogbeh, Dorchester Michael Wogbeh emigrated to Boston from Liberia four years ago. Although you would not know it from seeing how well he now interacts with the students and teachers, he carries the burden of having been born into a country at war, and having lived in such a condition until his move to Boston. Since then, he has made his mark at New Mission High School by excelling in everything he does. He is part of the soccer team, has won awards for Track & Field, and has kept his grades at Honor Roll status. *** Excel High School Class of 2009 The nearly 70 seniors graduating this year as part of the Excel High School’s Class of 2009 have collectively earned a record breaking $3,129,622 in scholarship money. The students have beaten – by nearly $1 million – the record held previously by the Class of 2007, which had accumulated $2,331,400 in scholarships by this time that year. *** See also information about the Valedictorians who graduated at the top of the Class of 2009:
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BOSTON – As graduation activities get underway in the Boston Public Schools (BPS), students from high schools across the city will walk across stages to collect their hard-earned high school diplomas. From twins from China who overcame language barriers to graduate and go on to college, to a student who was on the verge of dropping out two years ago who turned her life around and earned a full scholarship to college, each member of the BPS Class of 2009 has a unique story to tell. Here are some of them:The Boston Public Schools serves more than 56,000 pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students in 135 schools, and in 2006 won the Broad Prize for Urban Education as the top city school district in the country. For more information, visit www.bostonpublicschools.org.
