6 EDCAL August 7, 2017
ACSA interns find value in the experience
ACSA’s Margarita Cuizon, left, poses with interns Jacqueline
Rosas and Ariana Santana along with Upward Bound literature
instructor Alfred Roman-Rodriguez.
ARRIAGA
Continued from page 1
Not one to rest on these laurels, Arriaga
shifted to a new challenge: helping to pre-
pare the next generation of school adminis-
trators for the same kind of success.
“To know that a child is well prepared
to go out and make their mark on our
world because we were there...nothing bet-
ter than that,” she said. “I am now proud to
pay forward my experience and expertise
as an instructor and chair at Cal Lutheran
University in the Educational Leadership
Department. I have the honor of working
with the emerging leaders in our state at
CLU to assist with the pr eparation of those
who will lead in the future.”
Arriaga also continues her work around
equity and cultural proficiency, aligned with
ACSA’s Equity Project. She has led dis-
cussion groups at networking events, par-
RODNEY
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alcohol. Stealing cars. Then I got into drugs
heavily. And I just liked that feeling. I did
crystal meth. That first feeling was just the
rush. And I was just chasing it ever since
then. It wasn’t a cheap drug. At 14, we don’t
have jobs or anything so we do what we
gotta do to get money. I stole cars. I robbed
drug dealers. I robbed people that loved me
because that was the easiest one.”
Rodney says he’s been arrested more
times than he can remember.
“I’ve been to all the jails in San Diego
and all the jails in Nevada,” he said.
JESSICA
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part, because there was nothing normal
about Jessica’s childhood. She and her twin
brother were born premature at just 30
weeks. Jessica was diagnosed with periven-
tricular leukomalacia, a brain injury that
affects development.
“They said it’s like if you took a pencil
and put pin points all over the brain, little
pin points,” Jessica’s mother Karen Silva
said. “They had no idea if she was ever
going to talk. They had no idea if she would
walk or be able to crawl. They had no idea
what the impact was going to be on her life.”
Jessica spent years in and out of hospitals,
missing copious amounts of school.
ACSA regularly invites promising students to serve
an internship in which they can learn about what a
member advocacy organization does.
This summer, ACSA had the opportunity to work
with two students in the Upward Bound program. It is
the second year in a row that ACSA Senior Director of
Member Services Margarita Cuizon has worked with
Upward Bound interns.
The program is connected to Harvey Mudd College,
helping low income, potential first-generation college
students in the East San Gabriel Valley community
generate the skills necessary for success in college. The
program has been operating for more than 30 years.
High school juniors Jacqueline Rosas and Ariana
Santana both said they got a lot out of the intern
experience, getting a taste for what an association like
ACSA does. They had an opportunity to work with
ACSA staff in Member Services, Educational Services,
Communications and Governmental Relations.
They gained valuable information from everyone.
“I learned about the importance of networking,”
Rosas said.
Santana agreed that learning to make connections is
key.
“I really learned about the importance of building
your communication skills,” she said.
Both Rosas and Santana experienced these skills
firsthand, when they took a field trip to the Capitol with
Legislative Advocate Iván Carrillo, who served in the
office of Assembly member Susan Bonilla before com-
ing to ACSA.
“I noticed he knew a lot of people over there,” Rosas
said. “Even though he doesn’t work inside the Capitol
any more, he keeps those connections going.”
“I saw how important it is to have good communica-
tion skills,” Santana said. “Iván introduced us to a lot of
people, and we had a chance to have some small conver-
sations with them. I could see that having that ability
would be a major skill in the future.”
Both girls said the intern experience opened the doors
for them to consider a future career in public policy. Both
would be interested in working in the Capitol someday.
After the 10th grade, Upward Bound participants
must attend a second six-week summer program with
either the Capitol Internship program at UC Davis or
the La Jolla Science Project at UC San Diego.
At each site, students take four hours of classes and
participate in a four-hour internship in a professional
office or agency every day. Over the years, students have
interned in the California Assembly and Senate, Scripps
Research Institute, The Robert Birch Aquarium and the
Veterans Hospital, among many other institutions and
offices.
The goal is to prepare the students to enroll and suc-
ceed in a four-year college or university. More than 90
percent of Harvey Mudd College’s Upward Bound stu-
dents have enrolled in post-secondary institutions after
graduating from high school.
ticipated in panel discussions and recently
published a book on the subject.
“My (book), ‘Opening Doors,’ has
allowed me to travel throughout the U.S.
and share my passion of equity, access and
opportunity for all. I’m in the planning
stages of a next book focusing on the unique
aspects and impact of a female leader on a
culturally proficient environment.
“I am most inspired when I see progress
in decisions, policy, practices that occur
on behalf of our children that truly ensure
equity and access for all,” she said. “I have
worked with stellar administrators in my
career at all levels of the organization and
was so inspired by the courageous decisions
that were being made to benefit all students
and their communities.
“I am inspired by the skillful classroom
teachers and paraprofessionals that give
everyday, all day to the students of our
communities. Making decisions that are
culturally proficient and truly open doors for students, families, staff and community
inspire me.”
As a member of ACSA since 1987,
Arriaga had high praise for
what the association offers.
“ACSA has been a mainstay
in my career. From the profes-
sional development, to advo-
cating on the Capitol steps, to
ARRIAGA networking with colleagues, I
attribute much of my success
to ACSA.”
“I am now in a position where I am able
to give back to ACSA as a debt of gratitude
to all those who gave to me,” she contin-
ued. “I am currently co-chairing the New
Superintendents Seminar Series with my
colleague, Dr. John Roach. What a privi-
lege to work with the new superintendents
in California and to assist in their success
in their very unique position. I am also
the Region 13 coordinator of the ACSA
Mentoring Program, which allows me to foster and guide the relationships mentors
and protégées have throughout our region.”
The theme of the Leadership Summit
this ye ar is “Leading Beyond Limits.” We
have asked each of our Administrators of
the Year to share what this means to them.
“Throughout my career, I have been able
to ‘lead beyond limits’ because of those who
mentored me, believed in me and supported
my work,” Arriaga said. “This second chap-
ter (in my career has) far exceeded my hopes
and dreams for the future. Without those
around me, I would not have ever been able
to lead beyond limits.
“ACSA has definitely been an organiza-
tion that gave and continues to give oppor-
tunities to continue to carry the dreams
forward.”
All ACSA Administrators of the Year will
be honored at the President’s Gala and Awards
Celebration during Leadership Summit in San
Jose, Nov. 3. To register, go to www.acsa.org/
leadershipsummit.
After two stints in prison in Nevada,
Rodney was released in 2015. It had been
eight years since he made contact with his
family. When asked how he could explain
the lengthy estrangement, Rodney chalked
it up to fear and disappointment.
“I love my family,” he said. “I love my
mom and dad so much that when I’m on
drugs, I don’t like them to see it. I don’t want
to be around them. So as long as I’m on
drugs, I stay away. It just hurts me for them
to see me all strung out and messed up. So
I just stayed away. Because of my embar-
rassment, I would never have the energy or
the power to even call or reach out and call
them.”
Rodney called his mom and said he was ready to return home to San Diego. His
parents welcomed him with open arms. But
his father had one rule: Rodney needed to
return to school and earn his diploma.
“I would not tolerate him being with me
and not doing anything,” Jose Lacanienta
said. “I’m not going to have him languish,
watching TV all day and do nothing.”
Rodney enrolled in Poway Adult School
where he quickly excelled as a student.
“He was so eager to make a change in his
life,” Poway Adult School teacher Johanna
Reynolds said. “And to just finally finish up
his education. He knew what he wanted to
do. And he did everything he could to do it
well. So he took pride in his work. And he
took pride in his choices to make a better life for himself.”
Rodney initially feared he would struggle
going back to school. But he credits his
teachers for his success.
“I just felt like I could do this,” Rodney
said. “They made me realize my potential.
And they gave me so much encouragement
and it became a reality for me.”
On Aug. 2, Rodney graduated from
Poway Adult School and plans to pursue
a college degree in theology in hopes of
becoming a faith-based counselor.
“It doesn’t matter how far gone you are,”
he said. “You can always pick up the pieces
and succeed if you want to. It’s not going to
be easy. I can tell you that. But if you want
it, you can have it.”
“It’s really frustrating,” Jessica said. “I got
kind of depressed for awhile because of it.
I would go to doctor’s visits. I would come
back from a surgeon and they’d say, ‘Oh,
you’re doing great.’ And then I’d come back
a few weeks later and they’d say, ‘I think you
need another surgery.’”
But no surgery was more daunting than
during Jessica’s eighth grade year, when doc-
tors determined she needed a spinal fusion.
“They put two rods in, about 80 screws,”
Silva said. “She’s fused from between her
shoulder blades all the way down to nearly
her tailbone. And it was about a 10-12 hour
surgery.
“We just didn’t think we were going to
make it through that. She’s a fighter. She’s
been a fighter since birth. She’s always a
fighter. She did everything that was ever asked by a therapist or a doctor or anything
she’d work extra hard to get back to what
she needed to be doing.”
Through it all, Jessica stayed committed
to school at Six Rivers Charter High. She
never fell behind in her classes. In fact, she
made the 4.0 honor roll.
“She’s not one to give up easy,” Six Rivers
Charter High Principal Ron Perry said.
“She’s the one who sticks around the longest
to get the work done. She’s the one who
is making plans and doing her work while
she’s in the hospital so she can stay on track
with her peers.”
Perry is not alone in that sentiment.
Jessica has captured the hearts of many edu-
cators at Six Rivers Charter High, including
resource specialist teacher Tara Millsap.
“From the day I met Jessica and realized how hard she was willing to work to get
what she wanted, and what she needed for
her education, really taught me how to be
a better teacher,” Millsap said. “Every day
when I get to see Jessica, it’s definitely the
favorite part of my day.”
Jessica hopes to one day become a physi-
cal therapist or a nurse. She says she wants
to help people in the same way others
helped her. It’s that type of outlook that
makes her so special.
“She makes me see the world differently
because of the way her attitude is about
everything,” Silva said. “I want to be as
strong as she is. Who wouldn’t want to be
that strong? She’s an amazing child. And
she’s a gift. Every day with her is a gift.”
ACSA ESS students will be honored at a
Leadership Summit luncheon.