Important homecoming at Wahluke this Friday

MATTAWA - Wahluke High School will have a homecoming this Friday that could prove the most important ever.

"Warrior Journeys: Pathways to the Future", a college and career exploration symposium, is a half-day event designed to encourage education.

The symposium is a part of the effort to turn Wahluke Schools away from their recent legacy of academic struggles. Twenty-one graduates will be home to testify that Wahluke students can succeed in college and life.

"They will demonstrate that kids from a poor community like Mattawa can go on to great things," Wahluke Principal Jeff Pietila said.

The idea for the locally-done symposium grew out of a Washington State University-sponsored event last year. Pietila said several educators suggested this year's concept.

Pietila said invitations went out to Hispanic and non-Hispanic graduates. Most of the non-Hispanics were not available or did not respond, he said.

The lone symposium presenter who is not a WHS graduate is Dr. Gabriel Gallardo, associate vice president for student services and academic support programs in the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity at the University of Washington. He will give the keynote address at an 8:10 a.m. kickoff assembly.

Gallardo is a native of Purranque, Chile. He came to the U.S. in 1976 with his family under refugee status. He started his administration career at the UW in 1997.

After Gallardo's address, there will be 21 presentations by former students. Students registered yesterday to attend 5-6 of the break-out sessions during the morning hours.

"They didn't know the name of the presenter, only the career field," Pietila said.

There will be a rotation of 25-minute seminar sessions before lunch. Students will attend regular classes in sessions of about half an hour in the afternoon, ending at 2:45.

The former students and the presentations are:

• Bilingual education, Juan Pablo Martinez Tlatenchi.
• Broadcast journalism, Veronica Quintero.
• Business/accounting, Marcela (Negrete) Bautista.
• Communications/public relations, Angelica Lopez.
• Community Health, Elena Calderon.
• Construction Management, Daniel Barajas.
• Cosmetology, Gabriela Leon.
• Dental Hygiene, Sidney Puentes.
• Elementary education, Monica Barajas.
• Law, Jose Garcia.
• Mechanical engineering, Jesus Osorio.
• Medicine, Alex Ruiz.
• Nursing, Nidia Lopez.
• Pre-engineering, Andres Ibarra.
• Psychology/counseling, Maria (Barajas) Bazzell.
• School psychology, Cristobal Santoyo.
• Social justice/human rights advocacy, Andrea Negrete.
• Social Work, Karla Sanchez.
• Speech therapy, Marie Greisen.
• Translating/interpreting, Ricardo Cuevas.
• Videography/photography, Diego Cazares.

Daniel Barajas, class of 2008, is a graduate of the University of Washington and is a project engineer for the Sabey Corporation.

Maria (Barajas) Bazzell, class of 2007, is just credits away from graduation at Eastern Washington University. She majors in applied developmental psychology.

Cristobal Santoyo, class of 2006, is working on his Master's in school psychology at EWU.

Alex Ruiz, class of 2006, earned a bachelor of science in biochemistry at the UW and is a project coordinator at the UW Medical School department of surgery.

Monica Barajas, class of 2008, is majoring in early childhood and family studies at the University of Washington.

Karla Sanchez, class of 2004, has a BS in applied developmental psychology from EWU. She works for Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Church in Mattawa and is member of the Columbia Health Association board.

Elena Calderon, class of 2009, is majoring in community health at EWU.

Diego Cazares, class of 2008, earned an associate degree from Yakima Valley Community College in TV/Video production. He has his own production company, and his customers include Heritage University and Educational Services District 105.

Sidney Puentes, class of 2005, studied at EWU from 2005-2010 and is pursuing an associate degree in dental hygiene at Columbia Basin College.

Ricardo Cuevas, class of 2007, has degrees in Spanish and psychology from Central Washington University. He is a caregiver for a private company in Ellensburg and coaches volleyball at Kittitas High School.

Veronica Quintero, class of 2009, is the reigning Miss Seattle Sefair. She is in the honors program in communications at the UW.

Andrea Negrete, class of 2004, has a Bachelor's in psychology and Master's in education from the UW. She is a member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission.

Marcela (Negrete) Bautista, class of 2002, has a BA in business administration from the UW. She is a senior associate with PriceWaterhouseCooper in Seattle.

Jose Garcia, class of 2006, has a BA in psychology from EWU. He is pursuing a Juris Doctorate at the University of Idaho College of Law.

Marie Greisen, class of 2006, has a BA in social sciences from Washington State University. She is pursuing a Master's in speech and language at Idaho State University.

Andres Ibarra, class of 2007, has an AA in mechanical engineering from Big Bend Community College. He is working and saving to enroll in the WSU mechanical engineering program.

Angelica Lopez, class of 2005, has a BA in communications and public relations from EWU. She develops procedures for customer resource specialists for Sterling Savings Bank.

Juan Pablo Martinez Tlatenchi, class of 1998, has a BA in foreign language teaching from CWU. He has been a Wahluke teacher for six years and is part of the Wahluke Academy, which focuses on K-5 students who struggle with math, reading and language.