Othello senior following dreams, ambitions

OTHELLO - About two years ago Araceli Placensia faced a decision, one that had her leaving home in pursuit of a better future.

Araceli is a senior at Othello High School. Although she was born in Othello, her parents moved back to Mexico when she was about 2, she said. Her aunt and uncle, Maria and Antonio Dominguez, still lived in Othello, and when Placensia was a sophomore her aunt suggested that she move to Othello and go to school.

Last Friday Araceli graduated with the Othello class of 2012, finishing with a 3.49 GPA.

The prospective move was a major decision for a 16-year-old - a new country, a new language, a new town, a new school. "It was a big decision, but I wanted a better life, a better future." She wanted a chance at a better education, she said. "And that was the only decision that I had."

There was something else. "I wanted to know the place where I was born," she said.

Araceli enrolled at Othello with about two months left in her sophomore year.

It wasn't easy. "When I came here I didn't know how to speak English," she said. The students and teachers were friendly, but there was still the language barrier. "They were trying to talk to me, and I couldn't answer back," Araceli said.

Actually doing her coursework was the second step - first she had to understand it. "I had to translate every single word using a dictionary." Her cousins, Evein and Claribel Dominguez, were always willing to help her out. "They helped a lot. They would tell me, 'This means this. You have to write this.' I think that is part of my success."

She doesn't speak English perfectly, but she can make herself understood, she said.

And all her teachers, her fellow students and friends, understood her motivation, no matter the language. "Every single person, they saw I wanted to learn," Araceli said.

"In two years, I've been doing all the work I had to do in four years."

To get through four years of high school in two years and two months, Araceli studied. "I've been working so hard." She went to summer school, even though she thought maybe she should work a little, to help out her aunt and uncle. "They're like, 'Hey, study, study. Don't worry about it.'"

So she studied. One of her best friends back in Mexico was killed in a car accident just before she moved to the United States, and she made a promise in his memory - she was going to finish school. There was some extra motivation, because graduation would be on the second anniversary of his death.

In addition, Othello students who have a 3.5 grade point average and higher wear a gold cord at graduation. Students who have a 3.0 to 3.5 grade point average wear a silver cord. Araceli wanted to wear that gold cord.

She just missed the gold cord. "I'm going to wear a silver thing," she said.

It wasn't all studying. She made friends, and she was the ASB representative for Othello's MeCHA club. She volunteered for projects around Othello. "I like to help in the community, and in that way I can give something back."

Araceli said she misses her family, especially her mom Maria Soledad Mendez; her parents couldn't make graduation. "I just want to give her a hug." But she has received a lot of support, and she's grateful for it, she said. "My aunt, she was always there."

High school is just the first step toward her goal. "I see myself in college, graduating from college." Her goal is to become a dentist, starting at Central Washington University.

"I really, really want to study. I want to make my family proud of me." Eventually she hopes to reunite with her parents and brothers and sisters in the United States, she said.