Lupita Faustino May 8,2009 (This story in 50% true and 50% fake but it’s the things I want to accomplish when I grow up. And it’s true I have learned something things during the years I’ve been in High School] Hi, My name is Lupita Faustino. I was once a student in High School of Telecommunications Arts and Technology in 2009 and eventually I graduated from High School in the year 2011.It feels good to graduate on time and with you’re close friends. I know you wouldn’t like it if you stayed behind and saw your friends graduate before you. During my four years of High School I learned from my mistakes and yes I did repeat some of my mistakes but that’s what got me to who I am now. You’re probably wondering what I was like when it was 2009. I wasn’t no angel but I wasn’t a devil either. I just never did my work and disrespected my teachers. 2009 was a hard year for me. I failed most of my classes, when they were really easy to pass, but the laziness was my major problem. In my years of High School I did have advice from other students and friends. I did get carried away by some of the other people but I had good friends who made me stay on task. My years in high school had ups and downs. One thing that affected me the most was that. My mother passed away when I was in freshmen year, the first two weeks. Now I’m here to tell you class of 2019, what you should do and not do. I know some of you have a hard time getting used to the whole High School thing. If you really look at it it’s the same thing you have learned over the past years just a little harder. Right now you’re all sophomore and 10% of you are on the wrong path already. Freshmen year was different. It was easy when you do your homework, projects, and class work. About 15% of you disrespect your teachers, which could cause you a bad grade so think twice before you say something. When I was a sophomore I had this little brother who was a pain in my behind. He was a 50 average student. Of course my father was never happy with his grades, but he did his best to make him do better. Now he is 24 years old and still lives with my father. I don’t think you want to live under your parent’s roof at tat age. Maybe but you did some mistakes in your life and it is not too late to fix them. Just change your bad ways to good ways. This advice is for the GIRLS, most of you have boyfriends right?. My advice to you is don’t really pay attention to them. They distract you from school work. Trust me most of my close friends experienced that and it brought nothing but trouble. Now to the BOYS don’t get caught up in fashion, the latest sneakers or whatever. What will make your parents more sad than seeing you not graduate? Now I’m 25 years old, pretty old huh?. Age doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I have a good job now. You’re probably all wondering what I did after I finished High School. Of course I went to college! Right now I’m single and I’m not really looking for someone. I’m more focused in my career and trying to raise my younger sister who is 12 years old. She is the last thing my mother left before she passed away. It was a big change in my life and my family’s life. I have two brothers who never helped out around the house. They helped me become more mature and made me respect myself more as a woman. I started to have more respect on myself because I was the only one who did everything around the house. I cleaned, cooked and sometimes even take care of my sister when I had vacation. But that changed I couldn’t take it anymore and I spoke to them and they respect my decision. This was for them to help me in whatever they could help me in. So they did and things got better. I finished college. It took me a long tome but I finally finished. Now I work with little kids in an elementary school. I had to go to six years of college. This wasn’t easy when you have a single parent and you have to work most of the time. There was a while when I lost contact with my close friends because I was focused more on working then hanging out wit my friends. However I’m happy I did whatever I had to do to accomplish my dream and moms dream to finish High School and College. I’m the only one who went to College out of my whole family. My job makes me happy. Even if I have to stay up late, it makes me happy and makes the kids happy. I work with children of the ages three – four. I stay up all night just so my students could learn and be someone in life. I’m sorry if I bored you but I hope you learned something from this and always keep in mid life is short and make sure that you make your parents proud.
My name is Dana Melendez. I am 23 years old. In 2009 I was a student at the High School of Telecommunications Art and Technology. As my time as a student I learned a lot of new things. Going to Telecommunications gave me a different yet positive outlook on life. Going to this school helped me gain and improve on skills I would need for my job. It’s now the year 2019 I am a poet. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if I didn’t stay in school and work hard. The hardest thing for me to accomplish when it came to school was the Algebra Regent. I failed that regent two times. The reason why I failed was because I thought math was confusing and boring so I didn’t try my hardest to pass the test. If I would have paid better attention in class and studied for the regent like everybody else I would have passed it the first time I took it. Soon after thinking back on the things I have done in math class I realized that my methods weren’t helping me do well enough on the Algebra Regent to pass. I tried a different method which was looking over my notes to help me solve complex problems. This taught me that in order to achieve your goal you must work hard for it. During my High School years my main problem was stress. Stress can affect anyone’s ability to do good work. Try not to over work yourself or under work yourself up to the point where you start to freak out. I had to overcome many obstacles like regents, making more friends, and becoming a poet. Becoming a poet really stressed me out because I would have to come up with a lot of poems in order to publish a book. Even though that stressed me out I still worked hard and achieved my goal. I have already published a book of poems called Poems Are My Life. Buy the book if you would like to read some of my work. There were so many things I wanted to do but I had already set my mind on becoming a poet. The reason why I wanted to become a poet was because it was my number one passion next to drawing cartoons. The only way I was able to become a poet was because I worked hard in school and I kept working towards my goal. This reminds me of the time when I was a sophomore. When I was a sophomore I realized that if I truly wanted to pass the Regents I would have to work hard, study for tests and try to achieve a love for math. (If you don’t like math you won’t try to do well in math.) Doing these things helped me to prepare for the Regent. Balance is always key when it comes to stress. You have to work hard but not too hard. If you work too hard you begin to freak out or if you don’t work hard enough you still begin to freak out. That’s why it’s always good to balance out the amount of work you set yourself up for. You would want to do good work and feel good about it. The way I was able to become a poet was because I worked hard in school and kept working towards my goal. Before you can get a really good job or your so called “dream job” you must do good in school and graduate college. Going to school improves or creates needed skills for a job. Hard work comes with rewards which may be a good job. I had times in my life where I felt like dropping out of school but I didn’t. The reason why I didn’t drop out of school was because I wanted my friends, family and myself to feel proud of my accomplishments. If I would have dropped out of school I wouldn’t be where I am now. I’m glad I stayed in school. Just remember to stay in school because it will give you the tools you need to get a job You can’t have a good job if you don’t work hard for it. If you graduate college you will feel proud of yourself and so will others. Also others may look as you as a role model which is always a good thing.
(This is my revised speech so the one I sent before this one was a mistake.)
Hi, my name is Destiny Cedeno. It’s an honor to be back at HSTAT with all of you students today. When I was in HSTAT I used to be typical teen who always tried her best at every thing she did. I was an average student who was sometimes lazy to do her work but at the end always accomplished it. I was not so smart and not so dumb. I always was afraid to ask questions but then until the end of the year I started to realize there is no such thing as a stupid question. As I grew older I realized what I could have fixed up and should have fixed up in school. Now that I’m older, I’m more mature now and I know from my rights and my wrongs. I’m here today to tell you that everything you do now in school reflects on what will happen throughout your future. I’m also here to let you know that everything you have been through or is going threw now; well I’ve pretty much been through it as well. You should know you’re not alone! Now it’s the year 2019 and I’m happily married with one child. Her name is Faith and is 1 year old. We have a small family; for now; and we live in Manhattan in a condominium. I’m a dance teacher in Manhattan. I teach kids from ages 4 & up. I put up this organization because I rather see children and young adults as yourself be occupied and not wondering around in the streets getting in to any danger. I also started this because ever since I was younger I used to be a dancer. I started dancing when I was 4 years old. I remember from dancing in my bedroom with my good friends Andrea, Beth, Shantel and Lupita to dancing up on stage with my dancing group urban motions. The college I had attended to was SUNY in purchase N.Y. This college helped me become what I am today. One major achievement I had achieved was graduating high school. One obstacle was graduating college. When I was in high school there was times where I thought I was going to give up. But, then I just thought to myself “All this hard work and struggle is going to lead up to something good.” This was an obstacle because college was a very big struggle for me. It was very tough but I had to do what was best for me and only me. I knew that all that hard work and struggle would pay of later on in my life. The best advice I can give you would have to be do what’s right for you and only you because at the end the only thing that matters is you and what you accomplished. You should also listen to what your heart says and not what your friends say. Be a leader and not a follower. Then you will see what it will lead you to!
Hi. My name is Amy Zeng. This is the year of 2019. I have graduated high school in the year of 2011. I went to the High School of Telecommunications of Arts and Technology. High School is always full of drama and issues. In my English class in 2008, we I was always a very quiet person and would like to go on my own pace whenever I am in that class. For some reason, I could never catch up in English class. My English class teacher was a woman named Ms. Munnell. She is a good teacher but she needs to make sure that her students understand the material while teaching it. Now, in the year of 2019, I am a very successful lawyer and live with a husband and two kids. It took me a long way to get to where I am now, but it is all worth it. It is quite difficult to get where I am before and what I’ve become now. I didn’t think that I get a chance to even be a lawyer because of my high school grades. One major achievement that has brought to my success would be my high school diploma. My high school diploma has helped me a lot. My diploma has got me several jobs and got me closer to my future career too. I am thankful that I got a high school diploma. Without the diploma, I would be working in McDonalds and taking orders every single day. I am happy that I managed to receive a diploma. That was my major achievement. One major challenge that I overcame to achieve my success was that I was missing two credits for gym. For senior year, you must have at least 44 credits. I only had 42 credits in total. I didn’t know what to do at all. I needed to get the other 2 credits before I graduate high school. I have no choice. I needed to find a solution really fast. I needed to find a solution. My solution was to attend P.M. school. P.M. school is extra time in school to make up for the credits that you happen to be missing. I was only missing two credits. I would have to take gym for about two terms. My solution was easy. I went to gym everyday after school and received my two credits in order to graduate. My advice to you is to make sure you stay on track in school. School may be boring, but it can change who you are in the future. School is an important thing in your life. You spend more time in school than at home. You should do well in school just to show your parents that you can be responsible and you can earn their trust to you.
Hi. My name is Bethzaida Lopez. My friends and family call me Beth for short. I attended the High School of Telecommunication in 2009. I love to listen to music because it makes me concentrate when I do my work or when I’m sad or also mad. Music is basically life. I also love to hang out with my friends and family. I would always be with the best people (Shayna, Destiny, Nena, Angel, Berto, Shanty and the best love Joshua) these people are the best to be with and also fun. When I m bored I will either be on the phone or on my computer. I love watching movies with my family. By my four years in high school, I had learned a lot. I had tried to do all my work on time, made sure I did all my homework’s and even class work. Sometimes I was too lazy to do anything. At first I was doing well but then I started slacking. I noticed I was slacking and started doing better. School was not really easy because you could get three projects due maybe the same day but I had made sure I did them. What was good about high school was that I had people who helped me and also was on top of me to make sure I was doing my work which I did the same for them also. It is also good to have someone who cares for you and helps you out but make sure you do the same for them.
My goals for the future were to finish high school and to get an advanced diploma and go to college to become a teacher. I also wanted to have my own house, be independent and help my parents. I wanted to be a good mother just like my mother was to me. I wanted to have a good life.
Now in 2019, I am 25 years old, married to my high school sweetheart and have two great, lovable kids. My daughter is five and my son is two. I am still in college taking classes so I can be a good educated teacher. I am an 8th grade writing teacher in J.H.S. I love being a writing teacher because I want the kids to express themselves in writing. I love to read what the kids tell me in writing. I don’t have a big house like I wanted but I got a house. I love to spend time with my husband and kids. They are the best thing ever.
The achievement I had done that got me to where I am now was finishing high school and getting all my credits. I made sure I did all my work in high school and even homework’s. For doing well in high school and getting all my credits it got me to where I am now.
One obstacle I had was that I was going to school and taking care of my kids at the same time. I was late on some of my work but made sure it was handed in. It was difficult for me because I was a very busy person working, going to school and taking care of my kids when my husband worked.
I overcame this obstacle by having my loved one help me like my husband and my parents. They would help me by watching my kids for me while I would do my school work and go to school.
One bit of advice I would give you is to be a leader. Don’t follow your friends a lot. Don’t listen to nobody. The only people you should listen to are your parents, there are the only ones that will be there for you and help you. Follow what you want. Believe in yourself.
Hi. My name is Ashley Cruz and 10 years ago I’ve been in Mrs. Karvunis English class. As a student I’ve always worked hard and got good grades. I was also a person with an attitude and got mad easily. My personality in 2009 was just me and it was kind of rude at times with others. I did not understand when I had an attitude it, would make people think that I was not the kind of person they wanted to be around. I had a friend named Milagros and she always supported me even though I was wrong. She would give me advice telling me the right things to do. Till this day we remain friends.
Now that I’m much older I’ve let some of my attitude go because, it doesn’t do anything for me. Now that I’m 26 years old I’m much wiser and calm. I live in my beautiful dream home with my two girls that always drive me crazy. Becoming older made me act older and understand right from wrong. It has also made me become a better person in life. Becoming older means a lot more responsibilities and harder obstacles to overcome. As I’ve grown I understood why having an attitude with people is wrong because, they begin to think that I’m a girl with problems which wasn’t true.
One major achievement that I’ve made in my life was finishing eight years of college and reaching for my PHD. All I need is about a year or two more of college and I’ve finally made it to one of my main goals. Completing this many years of college sounds crazy but, I did it because, I knew I could. When I started to understand the work I finally got the hang of it and, knew what I had to continue to do in order to complete these challenges. Medical school is difficult and, you have to be serious with what you really want to do. Another achievement I’ve overcame was making it this far and never giving up on it.
I’ve had many obstacles in my life but, a major obstacle for me was cutting down on hanging out with my friends and other fun activities for a long time. In order to reach your goal you must make sacrifices to succeed. Another problem for me was trying to pay for college on my own in the begging but, then my parents didn’t want me struggling so much so they decided to give me whatever I needed to take the classes I needed. I also had to work for eight hours a day and my other time was taking classes then getting home exhausted trying to make some times for my daughters. There were times where I’ve felt so overwhelmed my parents where always there to calm me down by making me laugh about how I act.
There were things I’ve done to overcome my obstacle, taking counseling to calm me down. I would also talk to my best friend and drive her crazy. I would ask her what I should do, she would tell me that I’m almost there and it’s too late to turn around. Dealing with these obstacles was a major challenge for me but, I’m just happy that I did it and its over with.
To the fellow students that are in high school and who are about to give up don’t because without a high school diploma you can’t get a very good job with a very good pay. But if you have a high school diploma you can get a great job that would make you feel good about yourself. When you have a high school diploma people take you serious and you leave a good impression behind. Don’t give up now, you came too far to give up now. When you graduate it’s the best feeling because, you know that you finished all everything you needed to do in order to make to where you are.
Hi. My name is Milagros Salazar I was once a student at this High School H.S.T.A.T in the year of 2009. I am glad to be here today to share who I was in the year f 2009 and who I am today 2019. In 2009 I was a sophomore just like you guys are right now. I might know how most of you guys might feel. With homework’s, tests, projects, quizzes seems like never ending. When I was a sophomore I was a hard working student that didn’t get in trouble and always listen to my teachers and attended to school everyday. I was always did my homework and tried my best in the projects that were given to be and always tried to find the bright side of it which was hard because I wanted to go out side with my friends because I took very long doing my projects so I could get the grade I wanted. As a student I would push my self in doing things as in school work I would tell my self if I wanted to become something in life I have to get my work and stop benign lazy. I pushed my self in order for me to graduate on time and go off to college so I could get it all over with. My goal as a sophomore was to finish High School with good grades, go to college and become a veterinarian but to get this far I have to do everything that is asked.
I am now 25 years old I have a nice apartment for myself. All of the hared work I did work out it all pays off later in life right now you may not think so but it really does . I finish all of my studies and now I am a veterinarian working and getting paid very well. If I didn’t finish High School nor college I would be needing help from my parents and searching for a good job which is really hard to find. Since I finish college I don’t need anymore help from my parents anymore instead now I could help them out. I believe in life everyone has to work hard in order to get what they want in any case. Along the way I had some obstacle and achievement.
A obstacle I had along the way was that I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish college because I had to work to pay for my books and many bills that include my apartment .I was coming home late from work and couldn’t find the time to study because I was to tried to do anything. My parents noticed what was happen and offer me to come back to the house to live with them because they had a lot of space since my sister has moved to, to go to college, but I didn’t want to move back so my parents deicide to help me out with my bills so I could send less time working and find more time to study so I could finish college. Thanks to my parents I was able to finish studying.
A major achievement thanks to my parents was to finish my studies and become in who I am today. This was a job that I always wanted and now that I am I feel very proud. Thanks to my achievement I don’t need my parents help. I feel glad that I push myself in life and now I could help my parents out now that they are old .They help me when I need it the most and now it is my turn to help them out in anything they need because for them a had a career .
Last but not least I will like to give you all an advice to never give up and try to push yourself and it will all work out for you in the further.
(This is fake so don’t take it seriously) Hi. My name is Paul Birkelund. I remember sitting in those seats ten years ago in 2009. I am a very successful person in 2019. I help a lot of people and I have experienced many things like climbing Mount Everest and went to the moon. When I was in school in Ms. Karvunis’s writing class, I was very quiet and shy and did not have a very bright future a head of me. I was always lost and was given many projects from Ms. Karvunis. I did not think I was going to graduate on time but I did and was proud.
After high school I joined the Army. The training was difficult and dangerous but I stayed. Then on Wednesday, January, 4, 2012 Russia and Japan formed an alliance and threatened America with an atom missile. It became World War 3. I was sent to war four months after the threats. They sent me to Tibet in search of the missile. It was very frightening but I got through it. It was not all bad. I did climbed Everest like I mention before and stopped the missile launch from the top of Mount Everest. When I returned I was awarded a medal of honor.
Afterwards I was told to be chosen to be for Secret Service. I had an assignment to protect President Obama from a giant asteroid that would land directly in Washington. I was sent to the moon to set up a laser that will break the asteroid into little pieces and will burn up in the atmosphere. Something went wrong, the laser was jammed and my partner saw a meter storm. My partner was hit by one shattering his helmet and died because of the lack of oxygen. I dived in a crater with the laser as then as I saw the giant asteroid pass by; I manually activated the laser and shoot the asteroid. I stayed in the crater until the meters passed by. I was low on oxygen so I ran to the spaceship and went right back home.
When I returned I quit because of the fear of not seeing my wife and kids if something was to happen to me. Afterwards I became a carpenter that lives in a multimillion dollar home that was paid for from the government in Dominican Republic and raised my four kids and my dog.
So what I tell you kids to follow your heart and don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something. I was told I was not going to graduate on time but I did and became a very successful person owning numerous homes and cars.
Hi. My name is Anthony Calixto. I am happy to be here with you today. In the year of 2009, I was a sophomore student who had goals of achievement and success. Although I had goals, I was never able to achieve them because of my lack in responsibility and participation. As a sophomore, I was a very neat, quiet and organized student who always did his homework, which is how I maintained my 70 average. Learning to be responsible and prepared taught me a lot. My future was not a big concern for me so I never took the time to think about it.
It’s the year of 2019, and I successfully completed four years of college at NYU. I’m currently a professional web designer. There were many obstacles and achievements that I had to face in life but thanks to my faith and confidence, I made it through. These are obstacles and achievements that you should watch out for because they can really affect you. Finally, my responsibility has rewarded me major in my life and I’m living the life that I always wanted. My major regret is doing bad in High School because I realized that it really affected me and my future but I’m glad that I’ve got a second chance to improve. I’m getting good salary and supporting me and my family isn’t a problem. I currently live in Florida with my family. We own a two family house in Miami. As long as you live up to your dreams and be responsible and prepared throughout your life and try your hardest, you could have the same life as me.
One of the biggest achievements I overcame in my life was being accepted into college. All my life, I thought that I would never get into college. In 2009, it was the middle of sophomore year and I knew it was time to step up and improve and do what was best for me. Homework became a daily exercise for me as I was always practicing for tests and essays. I became one of the smartest kids in the whole sophomore grade and I was doing my best to raise eyebrows for college observers. The day finally came for mail and I rushed home and noticed that one of the best colleges in New York, NYU, had accepted me. I felt so relieved and so achieved and I realized that I finally overcame one of the biggest achievements in my life.
One of the biggest obstacles I overcame in my life was cutting. In the beginning of the school year, my classes were never important to me and I had always cut them to go to lunch and hang out with my friends instead. My report card was extremely low and I started thinking to myself like “Is this the future you want for yourself?” All my friends were looking at me in shame and I said “Cutting is normal for High School students” They said “Yeah, until you over do it and become addicted, it’s a step closer to dropping out.” I knew it was time to stop cutting classes just to hang out with my friends and time to make improvements. I made a promise to myself that I would never cut for the rest of the sophomore year.
Overcoming this obstacle wasn’t easy but I knew I couldn’t keep making myself suffer over my friends. I had to start thinking about doing the right thing instead of following others footsteps. It was the beginning of the new marking period and I knew my time to change was now. I started going to school and its been two months since I’ve cut and school was interesting, so I successfully came back to school without cutting and I thought to myself, I should have been done this a long time ago because its worth it.
There is so much advice that can be given to you, but I’m going to give you the type of advice that made me successful. Remember to always be responsible, its one of the best pieces of advice you can get. Without responsibility you are pretty much a failure in life. Do not get lazy because it will affect you major. Also be prepared for anything. This piece of advice is helpful because it helped me in life and without it I’d be nothing. So remember to follow this piece of advice and I guarantee you achievement and success in your future. You should never give up in school because it’s just like giving up in life.
Hi. My name is Angel Cruz. I am excited to be back in HSTAT. Back in my sophomore year I was the kind of kid that always did his work. I would sometimes slack off. I was a 15 year old boy who really didn’t know much. I had a lot of personal things going on from the ending of 2008 and half the year of 2009.My life was distracted by many things but some how I managed to do well in school. My goals weren’t set yet. I had one thing on my mind and that was to finish my education. I knew I wanted to be successful in life. I had many dreams. I was a good student who tried to do the best. I know I wasn’t the perfect kid out there but I tried to be on top of everything in class. 2009 seems like a long time but I remember it as if it was yesterday. Ms. Karvunis as my English teacher made it very challenging in class. Sometimes I would get stressed out I would think of my personal problems while I was in school which was a bad idea because it would affect my work. Sometimes I wouldn’t want to do my work but at the end I would suck it all up and did what I was told. Thanks to Ms. Karvunis I learned how to be a better writer. I gained a lot of writing skills, writing skills that would help me in college and further in life. I’m 26 years of age and I work for myself and not for anybody else. I feel that working by for myself can test me in many ways not only mentally but physically as well. I am entrepreneur, meaning I create my own business and work for myself. Basically what entrepreneur means to me is “ordinary people creating extraordinary lives”. Over the past few years I have made great new friends and even stay in touch with the old. Today I live in a penthouse in Manhattan. In my spare time I help my cousin go to different schools within New York to help make students understand and learn about Aids. We do this because we once had a friend who was tested positive for Aids. When she first found out she had Aids she thought her life was over. She would never come out, stopped talking to everyone she knew, and always cried. I would always tell her that life is too short to enjoy it. Many months later I got a phone call saying that she had past away from Aids. I didn’t know what to do at that point I had mixed, confused feelings about the situation. So I and my cousin created a program called “protect you”. We talk to students and make sure that they always choose the right decision and if you are sexually active make sure you protect yourselves. We want students to know that not everything is sweet in this world, that you cannot get everything you want in life; life is about having ups and downs and learning from those mistakes. We want them to know by protecting yourself you are making yourself safer. I like being an entrepreneur but I love bring a spokesman for Aids and dedicating this job for my friend. My major achievement that brought me to my success was going to school and putting my problems outside, and to stop hanging out with the wrong crowd. I always followed my dream, and now that my dream is my reality I’m happy because all that hard worked paid off.
One major challenge that made me stronger and made me who I am today is overcoming my problems and going to school. In the year 2009 was very stressful for me. But now that I’m older I realized that I’m stronger and that everything happens for a reason. By overcoming my challenge I had cut off people in my life that was close to me but it was the best for me. I kept going to school every single day even if I didn’t feel like it. I knew it would pay off when I got older. I learned to be a leader and not a follower. By overcoming this challenge I learned a lot from myself that I can achieve. I’m not happy that I went through those experiences but it taught me a lesson. A lesson that I would never forget. A little advice I would give to you is to always follow your dreams and your heart. Be who you want to be and don’t listen to anybody else.
Hi. My name is Maritza Mendez and I’m 26 years old. When I use to go to HSTAT, I use to do really good in freshmen year. As well the other 3 years in school. This school helped me to do better in my writing and how to open my self more. I had really good friends who where there for me, we always use to hang out together. As well going to parties, the park, the mall, and things like that. But they are always there for me, telling me I could do better in life. I always tried my best in order to do grades even though I had a lot of responsibility to do at home. That’s something that kind of made my grade go down. I was a really busy person when my mom had to go to work or when she was really busy. In 10 years many thing can happen. I got married when I was 23 years old, and I had my twins nine months later after I got married. I work as a photographer with the police, taking pictures of evidence. My husband works with the police as creating new weapons for them. Our life is full of action. My parents are from Mexico, and they own lands over there. Because of the reason that time goes by fast, my parents wanted to leave all those lands to someone who they trust, that person ended up being me. Even though I already own a big house over there my goal is to create another house for my parents for them to live on. One major achievement that brought to my success was becoming a professional Photographer working for the police. I became an important person for the investigation. I found evidence that had to be reveille by picture as well other things. Doing my job was something that I was proud of doing. As easy it may look like it’s really not that easy at first. There was something I had to get better in order to pass my test My major challenge was to pass the exams in order to become part of the police investigation. I had to know what the difference between evidences. These things may not look important enough for us but for the police it is. Every detail we found no matter even if it’s small it important for them to have. That’s why I had to get better at finding many clues even the really small ones I overcame this challenge by putting a lot of attention during class in college, and practicing really hard on my work. I had to remember what my teacher told me’’ put attention to what’s around you and don’t miss any evidence that you might find. That’s how a person takes a good crime seen picture”. An advice that I can give you is to never give up. If you want to do something in life then you should try your best and work really hard. Things may look hard at first but who said life was easy. That’s why if we want things to be done we have to do it by our self; no one can do it for you. Just never give up.
Hi. My name is Douglas Wong; I am a sophomore in HSTAT. I remember sitting down where you’re at, and writing this speech. I was 16, and an average student who always tried my hardest to succeed. I would have hard times and I slacked in classes like math and English by not listening or talking and fooling around when I was not suppose to. I was a shy and quiet kid in the beginning of the school year, but later on I was not. Everyday after school I would go to the park and play basketball or just chill with my friends and go home feeling tired and just knock out on my bed. Then in the morning I would have no time to do my homework and go to school mad because I didn’t do any homework. Now that I’m older I know what’s right and what’s wrong. What you do and how you do now will reflect on how you will do in the future. Everything you’re doing I did, so don’t feel bad about yourself.
Now its 2019 and I am 25 years old living in Brooklyn New York with my wife, daughter, and son. I am a professional chef that travels all around the world to cook amazing dishes for famous people. I’m also a teacher that teachers student who want to learn about cooking. I always wanted to become a chef. I remember when I was little I would always go next to my mom when she cooks dinner and then look at what she was doing. I thought it was cool to learn it and now that I’m a professional chef it makes me feel good to see my student smile and have fun cooking. As a chef making food, I would reminisce about me and my mom in the kitchen having fun cooking.
One achievement was graduating high school with all my credits. One obstacle was getting use to college and how they work there, learning new and harder curriculums But this would make me a better person in life. This is a very hard obstacle for me because I’m a slow learner and in college you don’t get second chances. The teachers only teach you the lesson once, so you going to have to learn it the first time. I overcame this obstacle by practicing homework’s and tests/ quizzes in the study hall with my friends and
One of my greatest successes is getting enough money to open up a school and to teach students who want to learn how to become a chef and cook .It made me more famous and made me really happy. Teaching student how to cook made me very astounded by how much work and effort they put into cooking food. It puts a smile on my face because they enjoy it.
The best advice I can give you is to always, always stay strong and never give up. Always remember what you are doing now is going to reflect on upon you and your future.
Hey. My name is Analy Campos. In the year 2009 I was a 16 year old sophomore. I was in the same position you are now. I was always a good, average, well behaved student. The first day I was in Ms. Karvunis class I wasn’t so excited because I didn’t want to have two English classes. I noticed that it was helping me a lot with my writing.
I had many friends who invited me to parties. I never said no but I never said yes either. It was always maybe. At times I did go to parties and danced with guys I didn’t know and at times even drank. However, I knew how to control myself to not get drunk. Even though I went to parties I always did my homework. It was also hard for me to concentrate because I had a boyfriend and we were having a few problems. However, while doing all of this I was still able to keep an 80 average and above. At times I would get mad at my mom because she always wanted to be in my business and I never wanted to tell her anything that would go on in school. Even though I continued doing the same things, I still graduated high school.
The year is now 2018 and I am 25 years old and I live in Manhattan, New York. My life has changed a lot. I am married and have two kids, a boy and a girl. My son is four years old and my daughter is one year old. I eventually ended up getting married to my high school boyfriend. Even though we have problems at times, we always find a way to work things out. When I first started college I did really well. After the first year I started to miss out on classes because of my kids. My babysitter had moved to Florida so I had trouble finding a new babysitter. After two months I had found a babysitter. I really liked her because her culture traditions were the same as my families and mines. She treated my kids with love and respect. I got back on task in college and graduated three years later. I became a famous successful fashion designer. I work in a very famous and important company. At times the company would have difficulties with the money, which also affected me. I learned how to balance my money, so I can maintain my family with my husband’s help.
One major obstacle that I had to over come was to stay focused. I always had difficulties staying focused. What distracted me the most was talking to my friends, I liked when Ms. Karvunis would move me to work with people that I don’t usually talk to. Little by little and year by year, I learned to stay focus during class and to do my homework. I overcame this obstacle by not talking to my closest friends. I really appreciated the things that Ms. Karvunis did for me because she kept me on task. I later on noticed that everything my mom did for me was for I can be successful in the future. I than noticed that when my mom used to say “good job but you can always do better” it was always to push me a little harder for I can get better grades. These obstacles stopped me from learning for a while, but I was still able to succeed through high school.
One piece of advice that I would give you guys is to work hard and not get pressured into doing things that will affect your future. The most important thing to do for you to pass and graduate high school with good grades is to do all your homework, pass your tests and have a positive attitude. With a positive attitude you can get very far and be successful in life.
Thank you for taking your time to read my speech. I hope that I have convinced you to do well in school, and work hard to succeed what you want to be in the future. If I did it I’m sure that you can definitely succeed your goals. I wish you all good luck through the rest of your high school years.
Hi. My name is Susan Bautista. In 2009, I was a sophomore student at High School of Telecommunication. I was a good student in all my classes, never goofed around, and always took my job as a student seriously. As a sophomore I learned that the older you get, life gets harder and harder. For some reason I became very shy in all my classes and started to realize how bad of a writer I was in my English class. That’s why I had Ms. Karvunis as a teacher to help me make life just a little bit easy. The thing is, I never expected to go to college. To me college was a waste of time and I thought I didn’t need it. The only goal I had was to finish my high school years and get a simple easy job. Besides not going to college, I had other things that I wanted to accomplish. Things like being an important wealthy woman and doing something that would make my name well known. That was my biggest dream ever since I was a little girl. I guess everyone has there own fantasy, but some think it will never be accomplished. That was me.
Now in 2019, I live in Brooklyn, New York and I am a famous psychiatrist. I love my job. Ever since I was in high school I loved the fact that I was able to help people with any problems they had. I am happily married and have four kids. I have my own psychiatrist place where I have a lot of clients who come to me with there problems. Before I was able to achieve who I am today, I had to go through a lot of obstacles which was money. At first I had no intention of going to college, but later throughout the years the economic system got worse and there were no more local jobs. I had no choice but to go to college. The thing was that because the economy was so bad, I had no money to get into college.
The way I overcame my obstacle was by winning the lottery to help me pay for my college tuition. One day I was at the park sitting down at the bench thinking how I was going to get into college. At the bench, I saw a piece of paper and I opened it. It was a lottery ticket. I put the lottery ticket in my pocket and went home. Later that day I was home alone watching TV, when a spokes person was announcing the numbers of the week’s lottery. At that moment, I remembered that I had found a lottery ticket at the park, and I instantly took the lottery ticket out of my pocket. I was so shocked when I saw that the lottery ticket that I had found, had matched the numbers of the week’s lottery. I couldn’t believe I had won a million dollars. So now I had money to go into the one of the best colleges, and I did. I guess if I had not found that lottery ticket, I would be living on the streets by now. Lucky, I had that lottery ticket to solve my obstacle of going into college. Now I am who I am, I am a famous psychiatrist and I am glad that I did end up going into college.
My advice to you guys is that it is very important to go to college so that you could be someone in life. College opens more doors of opportunities in life. College is sort of like a game where you go through a lot of hard choices that leads you to your future. Also when you feel that you want to give up on your dream, don’t because we are all born to accomplish a mission and that is to follow our dreams. Always keep in mind “If you never make a mistake, that’s because you never tried anything new”.
Hi. My name is Brianna Carioti. I am happy to be here with all of you students. In 2009 I was a sophomore in High school of Telecommunications. It was a busy year for me because of all the regents I had to take and homework that was assigned everyday. Luckily I pulled through and did what I had to do. I always was the type of person who had a lot of things on their mind and always worried about completing my homework. I tried not to stress so much and just did my best. I always participated in class, completed my school work, and handed in my homework. Teachers respected me for that, which made my grades improve and get in the honor role. I was very lucky to have Ms.Karvunis as writing teacher; she always gave me advice on how to improve my writing and taught me how to write proper essays. It really helped me later on in junior year when I had to take the English regents.
Today, in the year of 2019, I have become a successful writer. I am a famous author and published six of my stories. I just started two months ago and already my stories have become a New York Times favorite. It has always been a goal of mine to have a story nominated as a New York Times favorite. It was not easy though, in order to have a book nominated as a New York Times favorite the book must be descriptive and have interesting topics and characters. Also it is up to the people who read the book, the more people read it, the more popular the book becomes. Writing has always been an interest of mine, even as a kid. I always wrote stories when ever I had an idea.
Being a famous author is not just my dream job, but an achievement that was accomplished as well. I always wanted my stories to be discovered, not just by my family, but the world. Luckily, that goal was accomplished and made me become the writer I always wanted to be. Another achievement of mine was one of my stories becoming a New York Times favorite and best seller. That was just a boost for me because that is what made me famous.
Even though I achieved many goals there were obstacles that I could not avoid. For example, college, it was a struggle for me. From all the stress that was put against me to the work that needed to be done. Another obstacle I faced was finding someone to hire me. It took me at least a month to find a company to work for. I was stressed out most of the time, but kept reminding myself to comb down and take care of one thing at a time. These obstacles were a struggle, but I pulled through and got what I wanted. I graduated from college by passing all my classes. A month later I went to a job interview with a writing company and was hired immediately. Now I got the dream job I always wanted and still have a bright future to look forward to.
For those of you who want to have a successful life, do all of your school work and show some effort in your work. Do not slack off because then you will be left back in high school and struggle through your life. Also, stay organized and have a plan for your future, accomplish those goals that you have for yourself. Thank you for listening.
Hi. My name is Shantel Guzman. I remember being in class like all of you are today. When I was in Telecommunication I remember doing my work, well most of the time. I didn’t like all of my classes like biology and English, I never really use to pay attention in them. When it came to school work I tried my best to do well, but it didn’t always work. School was hard at times. It would drive me crazy. Most of the time I would draw all over my binder to take me away from it all. There would be graffiti on every page including my boyfriends name (Nick).
In school not everything was so easy to ignore. At times Nick and I would have horrible arguments and I had no other option but to try to ignore him and do my school work. Ignoring him was very difficult. I think it just made things worse so I would end up cutting school to hang out with him to make it better. That only made things worse for me. In school I wouldn’t know what to do in my classes. I would just feel worse about what I was doing and it only made me feel like cutting again.
At the end I graduated on time. I realized that an education was what I needed to move forward so I did my work and made sure that I passed on time with good grades. Lucky me (I was so happy). Right after that I headed straight off to college, in hoping to become an artist of some sort. In college I studied art because it was the only thing that took me away from it all. I had all sort of problems going on in school, with some of my classes and of course with my boyfriend Nick.
After some time I couldn’t stand how much we were arguing that I just decided to drop out of college during my second year and decided to pay attention to only us. We spent a lot of time together but it always wasn’t good. One day we got into an argument that really got out of control. He ended up hitting me and I did the same we. Fought and argued to the point that the only thing that mattered to us was just beating up the other. After some time me and Nick worked on making our relationship work. We did a good job on just making it work.
When I was sure that he and I were not going to have any problems, I went back to school to finish my four years of college. I finally finished. I became a tattoo artist. I love being a tattoo artist. It’s the best. Doing tattoos on people makes me feel so good. Because people love my work, they’re all like walking canvases with my art work on it.
After a couple of years, I was still working as a tattoo artist. I even got to open a couple of my own tattoo shops. Nick helps with it all. With out him I don’t think I could have gotten this far even through all the drama we’ve faced through out the years. I can’t help but to love him the way I do. Now Nick and I have three beautiful children Cameron, Shawn and Shane. Nick helps a lot with them he often even does more then me.
Being in HSTAT taught me so much how to deal with others including my self and how to get what you want. I did my work as best as I could and graduated and learned that life isn’t always easy, you need to work hard to get what you want. Graduating feels great; to know that you finished school and that you’re not like the rest is the best. I never wanted to turn out like the low lives from my neighborhood who only drink and smoke they’re not getting any where. To work in a job like McDonalds you need a high school diploma and to not have one really just makes you a no body.
The only advice I have for you all today is to stay in school do good and graduate. Get your diploma and become someone in life. To get it, it might be hard but to not have a diploma and try to get a good job like the one you could have if you had a diploma, is even harder. When you have a diploma life is easier work might be hard but the pay will be worth it all. An education is something very important that everyone should have, other people don’t have the same chances we do, so for us not to work for what we want is just a waist.
I can’t believe that I am back in Telecommunications after ten years. A lot of memories come back to my mind the second I stepped in here. I was like most of you sitting down sometimes shy, or sometimes I was just too lazy or couldn’t concentrate to do my work. I remember that at your age I had no idea of what I wanted for my future. All I did was be with my family, friends, and go to parties every weekend.
During my sophomore year there a time when I was going through difficult times in my family and had to deal with them by going to court every week, doing all possible things so that my dad would not get separated from us. All I cared was about my dad and the least important thing to me was school. It took about one and year and a half to fight for my dad, all the time I ignored school. Once I realized that I was failing and graduate high school. I thought so much about my dad that I once said to myself “My dad does not want me failing, so I got to do everything in order for me to pass, not just for him but for myself too”.
Finally I decided to put myself together, do any kind of extra credit to pass and do all my work. For me it was very stressing because I had a lot of school work, and at the same time I had to do a lot of things for my mother, who worked everyday for four children. I am the oldest one so I had to take care of my brothers and sister. Help them with their school work, clean and cook.
After a lot of work in high school I finally graduated and after what had happen to my dad and three years without him I decided to study laws. Laws might seem boring to all of you, but I did it to understand them better and then later on become a lawyer which I am now. It took me five years to study laws and four years to become a lawyer; I have saved a lot of children from getting separated from their parents because I was once a child that got her dad taken away.
During those years of college I got married and now I have a two year old girl that I love so much. The first thing that I, my husband and daughter did after becoming a lawyer was to go to Mexico to visit my father that since my sophomore year didn’t see. My parents feel so proud of me and they always knew and tell me that what I ever I want I would get it as long as I never give up and have in my mind “I will do it”. I achieved to make myself and also my parents proud of me. Sometimes something has to happen for yourself to realize how important school is. Putting myself down was not going to get me anywhere. I give thanks to my mother who was always there for me and always understood me. My best advice for all of you sophomores is just do what you got to do and never leave it for another day because sometimes it will be too late. Never put yourself down, always be strong no matter what happens, have in your mind “I WILL DO IT!”
Hi. My name is Aide Ramirez. I remember being in Ms.Karvunis, class either talking to my neighbor or doing my work. I wasn’t the smartest or dumbest student in her class I guess I was an average student. I didn’t get good grades myself; I know I could have gotten way better grades in my years in HSTAT. I was just too lazy and left all my work till the last minute. Ms.Karvunis made my writing skills even better. I always had problems in writing my essays; I didn’t know how to start writing or what I needed. Ms.Karvunis was always there to help me out even if I was wrong in the way I used to write, she will correct me until I got it write, we always learn from our mistakes. Yes I did have failing grades in my report card in which made me disappointed because I could have passed all my classes and not make my transcript look bad. When I in your same positions I loved to hang out with my friends like Lupita she was like my best friend number two. When ever I needed help or advice she would always be there to help me out. I remember having fun with Shantel, David who was like my brother, Douglas, Jose, Beth, Destiny, and Angel. I was pretty loud which meant more talkative. I was way different then freshmen year.
The year is now 2019 and I’m 26 years old and I’m living in Florida. So much has happened ever since graduating High School, like family issues, moving away, money and also college. I’m currently in my last year of medical school and proud to say that I’m the only one in my family that has gotten this far in life. I’m focusing being a pediatrician its focus on children’s health. During my years of medical school I found my boyfriend in which later on our school years we married. We are currently living at Florida, you may be asking if we have any children…well no we don’t at the moment but yes we are planning to later on. We both are just focusing in accomplishing our careers.
One major achievement that brought to my success was graduating High School on time and with all my friends. Graduating High School was a big thing especially to get my diploma in which is a very important thing in life. I was proud of myself because since I wasn’t doing good in my sophomore year for a moment I thought I wasn’t going to accomplish this. This is what now led me into my college and medical years in school.
One major challenge I overcame was money . Money was a big issue in my life. I almost didn’t go to college. My parents couldn’t help me out because they were living in New York and they had there own issues themselves. I didn’t want to bother them or especially worry them even more.
I over came this obstacle by asking for college tuition. It helped me a lot because I accomplished my goal of going to college. Little by little I had to pay it off but it was worth it because with out this I wouldn’t be in the point of accomplishing my goal and becoming some one professional in life. Thanks to the college tuition I went to college and almost done accomplishing my career.
My advice to you is to focus in school and to get an education. Don’t give up even though its gets hard in life just try your best to accomplish your goals. Don’t let anything get in your way. School comes second other then your family and education is what you need in your everyday life in order to be some one successful.
Hi my name is Alex Chavez. I am happy to be here with all of you today. In the 2009 I also attended HSTAT. As a sophomore in this high school I liked coming to school. I had good relationships with my teachers. My grades were not so good. I had hard times handing in my homework and studying for exams. As a sophomore I would get into trouble with teachers, there would be times in which I would be sent to the dean’s office for misbehaving. There were times in which I would get kick out of class. I remember in my freshmen year of High School that I was suspended for fighting. This fight happen three days before school ended. I was not allowed to see my friends or come to school till September. Okay now back to the homework problems, I would not get my homework done because I would hang outside too much and come home tired. This action would affect me but at the same time I would get my act together and try to make up all the homework I’ve missed. I know most of you students have or think about a girlfriend or boyfriend. I went through the same situation at your age too, but don’t let that distract you from getting your work done. For me it was much simple to stay in task because my girlfriend was a great student and she would help me with my homework or even stay on top of me with my homework and grades. I thank her for that because it if wasn’t for her I would have not brought my grades up. I also know at this age you guys hate having homework over the weekend, hey I did too. I loved going to the movies, hanging out with the cousins and friends, and partying on Fridays and Saturdays especially with all freedom my mom gave me. At the same time you still need to get your homework done. I always believed that school was my number one priority. I want you to feel the same way about it. If you put school first in your priorities there is no doubt that you will live a happy and successful in life. As of right now I work as an architect. I live in lower east side Manhattan. I have two daughters, Lisa three years old and Kimberly two years old and one son Jayden that’s four years old, I am also happily married with my wife. I am a proud father of three wonderful children. Even though they can be a bit annoying sometimes, I still love coming home from work and seeing how my kids react when I open the door. I also love how they instantly jump on top of me as I open the door. I am happy to supply them with there needs and to see them grow up strong and healthy. My accomplishment as an architect is the Liberty Towers in New York City. I loved this project and working on it. It took a long time but everyday working on this project was worth it. Growing up in New York City I loved looking up to the Twin Towers as I walk with my mom in Manhattan. Looking up to the twin towers soon ended. Nine-Eleven was a horrible day for everyone in the world and especially New Yorkers. Many families, friend, and beloved ones were lost. While constructing this skyscraper in the same place where people died and where the twin towers stood, I had times in which I thought of giving up on this project. I would get nightmares every night. My nightmares I’d have would be about dead people, and people crying for help. In one of my nightmares I would dream about a young girl jumping off the twin towers and crying out blood. I constructed this skyscraper to symbolize and honor those who died on nine-eleven and those who provided help in rescuing the need. This achievement of mine brought me to my success today. The major challenge that I overcame to my success was finishing college and paying off my dues. NYU College was really hard for me, at one point in which I wanted to drop out and forgetting about everything. I began to experiment with weed, heroine and cocaine; my life was really going down hill. After a long talk with my mom and Ms. Karvunis and 6 months of Rehab I decided to stay in school and graduated. I thank these two wonderful people today; with out them I would not be the person who I am today. College was a big obstacle for me and my life. I had to work really hard to graduate. As of today I’ve been sober for 6 years. I bit of advice I give to all you teens is that when times get tough never give up, try to make things work. Have some one to talk to and don’t be scared to let every thought out. Having some one to turn to when you are down or confused can really help you to overcome, and eliminate negative thoughts and actions. Thank you all for the time you’ve given me today and take everything I said to consideration. Live life and be happy. STAY IN SCHOOL AND GRADUATE!
Hi my name is Keveen Goris. In 2009 I was a sophomore in high school telecommunications. I was an average student and only worried about passing which wasn’t a good thing. When I joined Ms Karvunis's class I started off good then became lazy and missed class. As a sophomore all the teachers never got tired of telling me that attendance can be a downfall towards my high school diploma. In the beginning I didn’t listen which resulted in failing a couple classes. I was forced to make up a lot of work to be able to pass and get my credits. I was very into baseball and was looking forward to attend college for it. My High school goal was to graduate and become a detective if baseball didn’t work out. I was pretty sure my baseball career was over because of the fact that I only played my freshmen year in school which gave me no chance to get scouted. Now its 2019 and I am currently a New York detective. I am proud of finishing college. It was not an easy task getting through college with all the parties and ladies in my way. Being a detective is not an easy job with all these criminals in the streets. Unlike the rest of detectives I am not too harsh and let people slide. I let people slide because I understand that humans always make mistakes and growing up in Sunset Park I’ve made mistakes myself. For example once I saw on the news that a cop gave a pregnant lady a ticket for sitting on the subway stairs which I found very odd and unethical. People in my neighborhood know me as the friendlier cool cop. One thing that not a lot of people know about me is that during college I was selling and using ecstasy pills. I was introduced to the drugs by my roommate who later became my business partner. Because of all the parties, selling pills was very easy money which got me addicted to drug dealing. There was one time where my partner and I were selling pills to a party girl and the campus cop caught us. As soon as I saw him walk upon us I know we were and trouble and started to get nervous. I was surprised when he told us that he was going to let us slide. He told us that if he saw us selling anything at all we well get kicked out of college, There and then I knew change had to be done and my future was on the line. After I got caught I joined different clubs and stopped going to parties. It was not easy avoiding my friends and the beautiful ladies. All the teachers were always giving me compliments on how I was improving and was a step closer to passing their classes. During the process of improvements I was called a lot of different names such as wimp, chump, nerd, and even lost a couple friends. I didn’t really care what they had to say because I entered the school on my own and will exit the school on my own. Overall I made a good decision doing what I did and ended up graduating college and becoming a detective. My biggest success for me was being the first to finish college in my family and the first to become a detective. I grew up not liking cops but then grew older and matured. I went through a lot of ups and downs to become a detective and don’t regret nothing in the past. Although becoming a detective was sort of a back up plan I am very happy with how everything turned out and so is my family. Some advice I can give to you all is, No matter how deep of a hole you find yourself in never give up on your goals. Also to block out anyone or anything that is stopping or making it difficult to achieve your goal because your future is way too important to let one person mess it up. I hope all of you learn from my experience and succeed in life.
Hi. My name is David Cruz. I am very excited to be here and talk to all of you kids here. I remember when I was a sophomore here at HSTAT. Many memories and flashbacks popped into my head when I walked into the classroom and saw all my teachers. In 2009 I wasn’t the best kid that got 90’s and 100’s, I was more in the 80’s 70’s and 60’s from my average. I was a very nice and good kid that’s what all my teachers said, I never got in to fight or any trouble. The only problem I had in school was doing homework and coming to class on time. When it came down to homework I was the worst because I never did homework only once in a while. That’s why I failed so many times and many classes. I also failed my classes because I was being lazy I didn’t care about school. I wanted to have fun with my life. But then I realized that if you have fun now and not go to school you will not have a good life. If you do all your work now then you will have all the time you want to have fun. My friends, family, and teachers told me to do my work and homework, not to mess up my life. After a while I realized that they were right. I started to do my homework, and also I started coming to school on time so didn’t get detention. My grades didn’t go from 65 to 80 but they went up and I made improvements. This helped me be where I am today.
Now its 2019 and I am back here at HSTAT I have accomplished so many things in these ten years after being a sophomore. Right now I have a girlfriend not married yet 1 kid named Aiden and I live at long island as a doctor and I took a day off to have a talk with you kids. My life now in 2019 has changed so much and it’s for changing my acts. Also my determination for getting good grades and passing my classes, graduating high school and college helped a lot to get me where I wanted 2 be a doctor. I live in Miami, Florida with my soon to be wife and my son Aiden. We came to visit to my beautiful hometown of Brooklyn and came here to HSTAT to talk to you kids or teens. my life right now has been going great, I have a good paying job and a good family but I had many obstacles to go threw to get where I am right now.
i had many accomplishments but my greatest success was becoming a doctor i all ways wanted to be a doctor because that has been one of my life long dreams since I was a kid. I would always tell my cousins that I would be a doctor when I was old. Now my dream has become a reality. When I was a little kid I thought being a doctor was easy because when I would go to the doctor for a check up they would just check my ears, heart, lungs, nose, and my head to see if I had a fever. And then they would tell me what was wrong and gave me medicine and a sticker and I was out. But it’s harder then it looks but its still a good job and pays good money to keep me living. Accomplishing this great achievement in my life I had to go threw many obstacles it wasn’t easy. but it all paid off because now I go the job I want and I am helping people every day get better from there illnesses.
One of my major obstacles in life growing up was school. Like I explained it before school wasn’t my favorite place to go. My grades were like a rollercoaster because they went up and down. In junior high school is where my grades started to go down in the end of 8th grade. My grades were in a good pace and then I would get some 80s some 70s and some 65s. Then there was a point where I almost failed all my classes. My teachers would tell me how bad I was doing. Soon I realized that I needed to get my act together I didn’t want to be a repeated sophomore. So I stared doing all my homework and coming to school on time. Doing this I ended up graduating on time with the class of 2011. and I went to college and study to become a doctor. in college I started doing the same thing but I realized faster then the first time what I was doing wrong after years in college I became a doctor. So my obstacle was going to school and doing my homework. I overcame my obstacle by taking the advice from my friend, family, and teachers. They told me that if I do good now life in the future would be a piece of cake. So I stopped slacking and tried to do what I could to pass.
Kids I’m supposed to give you one piece of advice but I’m going to give you more than that I am going to give you a lot of advice that was given to me because if it helped me then wit will help you to. First if you’re doing horrible that doesn’t me you cant change things around you can always find a way to change it. Also don’t put school aside because school is the foundation of your life because you need school to have a good career and to be someone in the future. So always do the best you can to do good in school and turn things around if your doing bad because nothing is impossible, if I could do it then so can you. Don’t just dream make it a reality, be cool stay in school.
Hello my name is Jose Jimenez. In the year 2009 I was a sophomore in HSTAT I was your age 16 years old. I was in the same grade that you are now sophomore year. I remember I use to have good grades but then I started to have bad grades because I was late to my classes, I was lazy to do work, and didn’t do any homework at all. I was too lazy to do homework because it took away my time. I preferred to be in the park hanging out with the homies looking for trouble or playing sports. Also I didn’t care about school because I was in love with a senior girl that I met in the school library. Because I was more concentrated on the girl than school I fail my classes was bad in school also because I got involved in gangs. We use to fight with other gangs. We didn’t get along and disliked each other. We started fighting and I ended up getting suspended for days. I missed school. I had to stay in m y house sleeping during the school day and would have to come to detention from 3PM to 5pm.I also got suspended because I disrespected my teachers like I cursed at them so I got into trouble for misbehaving. All of these were bad influences then one day my cousin spoke to me and asked me why I was in gangs? I tell him to defend our Raza (pride) he tell me you got no idea what does Raza means it means our people working, studying, sacryfying, surviving themselves that’s Raza not murdering, fighting, creating violence. So when he tell me this I decide to take a look at myself and it make me discovered myself. I realized that being involved in gangs is not ok because you know what? It destroys your life. You start having problems at home, at school, anywhere. Also if the cops get you it destroys your record. You go to jail for the things that you did. I discovered that dressing like a cholo (baggy jeans, long shirts, jerseys); also wearing beads around my neck, wearing red all day was not worth it. You don’t get anybody respect. You could get someone respect by doing good, you deserve it like that if you dress normally and act in a respectful way. You also know how to treat people well. If you one of these types of people you have to change in order to proceed-get out from gangs don’t create violence on the neighborhood-all of this stuff has to stop. I tried to act like a gangster in front of everyone thinking people would like me like that. Not they disliked you. At the beginning they laugh for all the stupid things you do but at the end who gets in trouble? You ended up getting in trouble and the ones that laugh they go happy home but you end up paying the consequences. But all of this crap is not going to stop me from going, I started to try hard. I began to do my work, my homework, and started to come early to my classes. This change really help me succeed I started to have good grades, keep myself out of trouble and people liked me like that better. You should do the same.
The year is now 2019. I ‘am 26years old. I ‘am a police officer in Los Angeles, California after studying and training for 4 years hard in college. I fulfilled my dream that I always wanted when I became a police officer. The reason I became a police officer because I wanted to stop all of the violence in the neighborhood of Los Angeles specially gangs. The gang I want to stop most is the most violent gang the ms.13 I going to make sure I put them behind the bars and make them pay the consequences because I went through gangs. They only destroy your life they create violence, and damage the neighborhood. All of these have to stop and I ‘am not afraid to stop this because I have trained well in college and in the police academy. I have very good family-5 girls Ashley, Michelle, Belinda, Lorena, and Leslie and 5 boys Jose, Juan, Michael, Bryan, and Angel. Nice right? I love my children. I have a precious wife that loves me she doesn’t break hearts and faces like other woman; she helps me a lot and I love her until death no matter what happens in our relationship we still going to be together forever. I met her in the school library of HSTAT while doing my research project on the Presidential Election.
My achievement was that I stop a little of gang violence. I arrest gang members and put them behind the bars to pay the price, to know how it feels when you destroy the outside. Now they have to feel the inside. I also gave Gang Members Classes so they could learn what gang violence brings, so they could also learned how it damages your life and how it destroys the neighborhood. Because these happened in my life because of gangs I was getting into trouble in school. I teach them a lot and I hope they learn the lesson-if not they then pay the price.
One major challenge and success in my life was that I made it through college thanks to god and my family- the ones that I loved the most in my life. I was getting tired of reading books and writing a lot. I wanted to drop out of high school and not go to college. However with the help of God and my family they helped me go Trough College and make me fulfill the dream that I wanted to be a police officer and fight to solve gang violence. I just want to say thank you my lord for dying on the cross and saving my soul.
I became an obstacle because I had to train very hard everyday to be on the police force. I had to make exercises so I could become strong. I had to study a lot about weapons and regulations on becoming a cop. I had to push myself to work hard.
Some advice that I give you is to stay in school. Study and always try hard even though you think you can’t proceed because of too much work. You could proceed like I did. You could do it. Stay in school; work harder in order for you to become that person you always wanted to be. Go to college and become the dream you want to be make your family happy. Be a leader not a follower. Thank you for reading this and I hope you learn something from it and I wish you a good future in life, good luck.
Lupita Faustino
ReplyDeleteMay 8,2009
(This story in 50% true and 50% fake but it’s the things I want to accomplish when I grow up. And it’s true I have learned something things during the years I’ve been in High School]
Hi, My name is Lupita Faustino. I was once a student in High School of Telecommunications Arts and Technology in 2009 and eventually I graduated from High School in the year 2011.It feels good to graduate on time and with you’re close friends. I know you wouldn’t like it if you stayed behind and saw your friends graduate before you. During my four years of High School I learned from my mistakes and yes I did repeat some of my mistakes but that’s what got me to who I am now.
You’re probably wondering what I was like when it was 2009. I wasn’t no angel but I wasn’t a devil either. I just never did my work and disrespected my teachers. 2009 was a hard year for me. I failed most of my classes, when they were really easy to pass, but the laziness was my major problem. In my years of High School I did have advice from other students and friends. I did get carried away by some of the other people but I had good friends who made me stay on task. My years in high school had ups and downs. One thing that affected me the most was that. My mother passed away when I was in freshmen year, the first two weeks.
Now I’m here to tell you class of 2019, what you should do and not do. I know some of you have a hard time getting used to the whole High School thing. If you really look at it it’s the same thing you have learned over the past years just a little harder. Right now you’re all sophomore and 10% of you are on the wrong path already. Freshmen year was different. It was easy when you do your homework, projects, and class work. About 15% of you disrespect your teachers, which could cause you a bad grade so think twice before you say something.
When I was a sophomore I had this little brother who was a pain in my behind. He was a 50 average student. Of course my father was never happy with his grades, but he did his best to make him do better. Now he is 24 years old and still lives with my father. I don’t think you want to live under your parent’s roof at tat age. Maybe but you did some mistakes in your life and it is not too late to fix them. Just change your bad ways to good ways.
This advice is for the GIRLS, most of you have boyfriends right?. My advice to you is don’t really pay attention to them. They distract you from school work. Trust me most of my close friends experienced that and it brought nothing but trouble. Now to the BOYS don’t get caught up in fashion, the latest sneakers or whatever. What will make your parents more sad than seeing you not graduate?
Now I’m 25 years old, pretty old huh?. Age doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I have a good job now. You’re probably all wondering what I did after I finished High School. Of course I went to college! Right now I’m single and I’m not really looking for someone. I’m more focused in my career and trying to raise my younger sister who is 12 years old. She is the last thing my mother left before she passed away. It was a big change in my life and my family’s life. I have two brothers who never helped out around the house. They helped me become more mature and made me respect myself more as a woman. I started to have more respect on myself because I was the only one who did everything around the house. I cleaned, cooked and sometimes even take care of my sister when I had vacation. But that changed I couldn’t take it anymore and I spoke to them and they respect my decision. This was for them to help me in whatever they could help me in. So they did and things got better.
I finished college. It took me a long tome but I finally finished. Now I work with little kids in an elementary school. I had to go to six years of college. This wasn’t easy when you have a single parent and you have to work most of the time. There was a while when I lost contact with my close friends because I was focused more on working then hanging out wit my friends. However I’m happy I did whatever I had to do to accomplish my dream and moms dream to finish High School and College. I’m the only one who went to College out of my whole family.
My job makes me happy. Even if I have to stay up late, it makes me happy and makes the kids happy. I work with children of the ages three – four. I stay up all night just so my students could learn and be someone in life. I’m sorry if I bored you but I hope you learned something from this and always keep in mid life is short and make sure that you make your parents proud.
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ReplyDeleteDana Melendez
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My name is Dana Melendez. I am 23 years old. In 2009 I was a student at the High School of Telecommunications Art and Technology. As my time as a student I learned a lot of new things. Going to Telecommunications gave me a different yet positive outlook on life. Going to this school helped me gain and improve on skills I would need for my job.
It’s now the year 2019 I am a poet. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if I didn’t stay in school and work hard. The hardest thing for me to accomplish when it came to school was the Algebra Regent. I failed that regent two times. The reason why I failed was because I thought math was confusing and boring so I didn’t try my hardest to pass the test. If I would have paid better attention in class and studied for the regent like everybody else I would have passed it the first time I took it. Soon after thinking back on the things I have done in math class I realized that my methods weren’t helping me do well enough on the Algebra Regent to pass. I tried a different method which was looking over my notes to help me solve complex problems. This taught me that in order to achieve your goal you must work hard for it.
During my High School years my main problem was stress. Stress can affect anyone’s ability to do good work. Try not to over work yourself or under work yourself up to the point where you start to freak out. I had to overcome many obstacles like regents, making more friends, and becoming a poet. Becoming a poet really stressed me out because I would have to come up with a lot of poems in order to publish a book. Even though that stressed me out I still worked hard and achieved my goal. I have already published a book of poems called Poems Are My Life. Buy the book if you would like to read some of my work. There were so many things I wanted to do but I had already set my mind on becoming a poet. The reason why I wanted to become a poet was because it was my number one passion next to drawing cartoons. The only way I was able to become a poet was because I worked hard in school and I kept working towards my goal. This reminds me of the time when I was a sophomore. When I was a sophomore I realized that if I truly wanted to pass the Regents I would have to work hard, study for tests and try to achieve a love for math. (If you don’t like math you won’t try to do well in math.) Doing these things helped me to prepare for the Regent.
Balance is always key when it comes to stress. You have to work hard but not too hard. If you work too hard you begin to freak out or if you don’t work hard enough you still begin to freak out. That’s why it’s always good to balance out the amount of work you set yourself up for. You would want to do good work and feel good about it.
The way I was able to become a poet was because I worked hard in school and kept working towards my goal. Before you can get a really good job or your so called “dream job” you must do good in school and graduate college. Going to school improves or creates needed skills for a job. Hard work comes with rewards which may be a good job. I had times in my life where I felt like dropping out of school but I didn’t. The reason why I didn’t drop out of school was because I wanted my friends, family and myself to feel proud of my accomplishments. If I would have dropped out of school I wouldn’t be where I am now. I’m glad I stayed in school.
Just remember to stay in school because it will give you the tools you need to get a job You can’t have a good job if you don’t work hard for it. If you graduate college you will feel proud of yourself and so will others. Also others may look as you as a role model which is always a good thing.
(This is my revised speech so the one I sent before this one was a mistake.)
Destiny Cedeno
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Hi, my name is Destiny Cedeno. It’s an honor to be back at HSTAT with all of you students today. When I was in HSTAT I used to be typical teen who always tried her best at every thing she did. I was an average student who was sometimes lazy to do her work but at the end always accomplished it. I was not so smart and not so dumb. I always was afraid to ask questions but then until the end of the year I started to realize there is no such thing as a stupid question. As I grew older I realized what I could have fixed up and should have fixed up in school. Now that I’m older, I’m more mature now and I know from my rights and my wrongs. I’m here today to tell you that everything you do now in school reflects on what will happen throughout your future. I’m also here to let you know that everything you have been through or is going threw now; well I’ve pretty much been through it as well. You should know you’re not alone!
Now it’s the year 2019 and I’m happily married with one child. Her name is Faith and is 1 year old. We have a small family; for now; and we live in Manhattan in a condominium. I’m a dance teacher in Manhattan. I teach kids from ages 4 & up. I put up this organization because I rather see children and young adults as yourself be occupied and not wondering around in the streets getting in to any danger. I also started this because ever since I was younger I used to be a dancer. I started dancing when I was 4 years old. I remember from dancing in my bedroom with my good friends Andrea, Beth, Shantel and Lupita to dancing up on stage with my dancing group urban motions. The college I had attended to was SUNY in purchase N.Y. This college helped me become what I am today.
One major achievement I had achieved was graduating high school. One obstacle was graduating college. When I was in high school there was times where I thought I was going to give up. But, then I just thought to myself “All this hard work and struggle is going to lead up to something good.” This was an obstacle because college was a very big struggle for me. It was very tough but I had to do what was best for me and only me. I knew that all that hard work and struggle would pay of later on in my life.
The best advice I can give you would have to be do what’s right for you and only you because at the end the only thing that matters is you and what you accomplished. You should also listen to what your heart says and not what your friends say. Be a leader and not a follower. Then you will see what it will lead you to!
Amy Zeng
ReplyDeleteHi. My name is Amy Zeng. This is the year of 2019. I have graduated high school in the year of 2011. I went to the High School of Telecommunications of Arts and Technology. High School is always full of drama and issues. In my English class in 2008, we I was always a very quiet person and would like to go on my own pace whenever I am in that class. For some reason, I could never catch up in English class. My English class teacher was a woman named Ms. Munnell. She is a good teacher but she needs to make sure that her students understand the material while teaching it.
Now, in the year of 2019, I am a very successful lawyer and live with a husband and two kids. It took me a long way to get to where I am now, but it is all worth it. It is quite difficult to get where I am before and what I’ve become now. I didn’t think that I get a chance to even be a lawyer because of my high school grades.
One major achievement that has brought to my success would be my high school diploma. My high school diploma has helped me a lot. My diploma has got me several jobs and got me closer to my future career too. I am thankful that I got a high school diploma. Without the diploma, I would be working in McDonalds and taking orders every single day. I am happy that I managed to receive a diploma. That was my major achievement.
One major challenge that I overcame to achieve my success was that I was missing two credits for gym. For senior year, you must have at least 44 credits. I only had 42 credits in total. I didn’t know what to do at all. I needed to get the other 2 credits before I graduate high school. I have no choice. I needed to find a solution really fast.
I needed to find a solution. My solution was to attend P.M. school. P.M. school is extra time in school to make up for the credits that you happen to be missing. I was only missing two credits. I would have to take gym for about two terms. My solution was easy. I went to gym everyday after school and received my two credits in order to graduate.
My advice to you is to make sure you stay on track in school. School may be boring, but it can change who you are in the future. School is an important thing in your life. You spend more time in school than at home. You should do well in school just to show your parents that you can be responsible and you can earn their trust to you.
Hi. My name is Bethzaida Lopez. My friends and family call me Beth for short. I attended the High School of Telecommunication in 2009. I love to listen to music because it makes me concentrate when I do my work or when I’m sad or also mad. Music is basically life. I also love to hang out with my friends and family. I would always be with the best people (Shayna, Destiny, Nena, Angel, Berto, Shanty and the best love Joshua) these people are the best to be with and also fun. When I m bored I will either be on the phone or on my computer. I love watching movies with my family. By my four years in high school, I had learned a lot. I had tried to do all my work on time, made sure I did all my homework’s and even class work. Sometimes I was too lazy to do anything. At first I was doing well but then I started slacking. I noticed I was slacking and started doing better. School was not really easy because you could get three projects due maybe the same day but I had made sure I did them. What was good about high school was that I had people who helped me and also was on top of me to make sure I was doing my work which I did the same for them also. It is also good to have someone who cares for you and helps you out but make sure you do the same for them.
ReplyDeleteMy goals for the future were to finish high school and to get an advanced diploma and go to college to become a teacher. I also wanted to have my own house, be independent and help my parents. I wanted to be a good mother just like my mother was to me. I wanted to have a good life.
Now in 2019, I am 25 years old, married to my high school sweetheart and have two great, lovable kids. My daughter is five and my son is two. I am still in college taking classes so I can be a good educated teacher. I am an 8th grade writing teacher in J.H.S. I love being a writing teacher because I want the kids to express themselves in writing. I love to read what the kids tell me in writing. I don’t have a big house like I wanted but I got a house. I love to spend time with my husband and kids. They are the best thing ever.
The achievement I had done that got me to where I am now was finishing high school and getting all my credits. I made sure I did all my work in high school and even homework’s. For doing well in high school and getting all my credits it got me to where I am now.
One obstacle I had was that I was going to school and taking care of my kids at the same time. I was late on some of my work but made sure it was handed in. It was difficult for me because I was a very busy person working, going to school and taking care of my kids when my husband worked.
I overcame this obstacle by having my loved one help me like my husband and my parents. They would help me by watching my kids for me while I would do my school work and go to school.
One bit of advice I would give you is to be a leader. Don’t follow your friends a lot. Don’t listen to nobody. The only people you should listen to are your parents, there are the only ones that will be there for you and help you. Follow what you want. Believe in yourself.
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ReplyDeleteHi. My name is Ashley Cruz and 10 years ago I’ve been in Mrs. Karvunis English class. As a student I’ve always worked hard and got good grades. I was also a person with an attitude and got mad easily. My personality in 2009 was just me and it was kind of rude at times with others. I did not understand when I had an attitude it, would make people think that I was not the kind of person they wanted to be around. I had a friend named Milagros and she always supported me even though I was wrong. She would give me advice telling me the right things to do. Till this day we remain friends.
ReplyDeleteNow that I’m much older I’ve let some of my attitude go because, it doesn’t do anything for me. Now that I’m 26 years old I’m much wiser and calm. I live in my beautiful dream home with my two girls that always drive me crazy. Becoming older made me act older and understand right from wrong. It has also made me become a better person in life. Becoming older means a lot more responsibilities and harder obstacles to overcome. As I’ve grown I understood why having an attitude with people is wrong because, they begin to think that I’m a girl with problems which wasn’t true.
One major achievement that I’ve made in my life was finishing eight years of college and reaching for my PHD. All I need is about a year or two more of college and I’ve finally made it to one of my main goals. Completing this many years of college sounds crazy but, I did it because, I knew I could. When I started to understand the work I finally got the hang of it and, knew what I had to continue to do in order to complete these challenges. Medical school is difficult and, you have to be serious with what you really want to do. Another achievement I’ve overcame was making it this far and never giving up on it.
I’ve had many obstacles in my life but, a major obstacle for me was cutting down on hanging out with my friends and other fun activities for a long time. In order to reach your goal you must make sacrifices to succeed. Another problem for me was trying to pay for college on my own in the begging but, then my parents didn’t want me struggling so much so they decided to give me whatever I needed to take the classes I needed. I also had to work for eight hours a day and my other time was taking classes then getting home exhausted trying to make some times for my daughters. There were times where I’ve felt so overwhelmed my parents where always there to calm me down by making me laugh about how I act.
There were things I’ve done to overcome my obstacle, taking counseling to calm me down. I would also talk to my best friend and drive her crazy. I would ask her what I should do, she would tell me that I’m almost there and it’s too late to turn around. Dealing with these obstacles was a major challenge for me but, I’m just happy that I did it and its over with.
To the fellow students that are in high school and who are about to give up don’t because without a high school diploma you can’t get a very good job with a very good pay. But if you have a high school diploma you can get a great job that would make you feel good about yourself. When you have a high school diploma people take you serious and you leave a good impression behind. Don’t give up now, you came too far to give up now. When you graduate it’s the best feeling because, you know that you finished all everything you needed to do in order to make to where you are.
Hi. My name is Milagros Salazar I was once a student at this High School H.S.T.A.T in the year of 2009. I am glad to be here today to share who I was in the year f 2009 and who I am today 2019. In 2009 I was a sophomore just like you guys are right now. I might know how most of you guys might feel. With homework’s, tests, projects, quizzes seems like never ending. When I was a sophomore I was a hard working student that didn’t get in trouble and always listen to my teachers and attended to school everyday. I was always did my homework and tried my best in the projects that were given to be and always tried to find the bright side of it which was hard because I wanted to go out side with my friends because I took very long doing my projects so I could get the grade I wanted. As a student I would push my self in doing things as in school work I would tell my self if I wanted to become something in life I have to get my work and stop benign lazy. I pushed my self in order for me to graduate on time and go off to college so I could get it all over with. My goal as a sophomore was to finish High School with good grades, go to college and become a veterinarian but to get this far I have to do everything that is asked.
ReplyDeleteI am now 25 years old I have a nice apartment for myself. All of the hared work I did work out it all pays off later in life right now you may not think so but it really does . I finish all of my studies and now I am a veterinarian working and getting paid very well. If I didn’t finish High School nor college I would be needing help from my parents and searching for a good job which is really hard to find. Since I finish college I don’t need anymore help from my parents anymore instead now I could help them out. I believe in life everyone has to work hard in order to get what they want in any case. Along the way I had some obstacle and achievement.
A obstacle I had along the way was that I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish college because I had to work to pay for my books and many bills that include my apartment .I was coming home late from work and couldn’t find the time to study because I was to tried to do anything. My parents noticed what was happen and offer me to come back to the house to live with them because they had a lot of space since my sister has moved to, to go to college, but I didn’t want to move back so my parents deicide to help me out with my bills so I could send less time working and find more time to study so I could finish college. Thanks to my parents I was able to finish studying.
A major achievement thanks to my parents was to finish my studies and become in who I am today. This was a job that I always wanted and now that I am I feel very proud. Thanks to my achievement I don’t need my parents help. I feel glad that I push myself in life and now I could help my parents out now that they are old .They help me when I need it the most and now it is my turn to help them out in anything they need because for them a had a career .
Last but not least I will like to give you all an advice to never give up and try to push yourself and it will all work out for you in the further.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePaul Birkelund
ReplyDeleteApril/23/09
Period: 4
Writing
(This is fake so don’t take it seriously)
Hi. My name is Paul Birkelund. I remember sitting in those seats ten years ago in 2009. I am a very successful person in 2019. I help a lot of people and I have experienced many things like climbing Mount Everest and went to the moon. When I was in school in Ms. Karvunis’s writing class, I was very quiet and shy and did not have a very bright future a head of me. I was always lost and was given many projects from Ms. Karvunis. I did not think I was going to graduate on time but I did and was proud.
After high school I joined the Army. The training was difficult and dangerous but I stayed. Then on Wednesday, January, 4, 2012 Russia and Japan formed an alliance and threatened America with an atom missile. It became World War 3. I was sent to war four months after the threats. They sent me to Tibet in search of the missile. It was very frightening but I got through it. It was not all bad. I did climbed Everest like I mention before and stopped the missile launch from the top of Mount Everest. When I returned I was awarded a medal of honor.
Afterwards I was told to be chosen to be for Secret Service. I had an assignment to protect President Obama from a giant asteroid that would land directly in Washington. I was sent to the moon to set up a laser that will break the asteroid into little pieces and will burn up in the atmosphere. Something went wrong, the laser was jammed and my partner saw a meter storm. My partner was hit by one shattering his helmet and died because of the lack of oxygen. I dived in a crater with the laser as then as I saw the giant asteroid pass by; I manually activated the laser and shoot the asteroid. I stayed in the crater until the meters passed by. I was low on oxygen so I ran to the spaceship and went right back home.
When I returned I quit because of the fear of not seeing my wife and kids if something was to happen to me. Afterwards I became a carpenter that lives in a multimillion dollar home that was paid for from the government in Dominican Republic and raised my four kids and my dog.
So what I tell you kids to follow your heart and don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something. I was told I was not going to graduate on time but I did and became a very successful person owning numerous homes and cars.
Hi. My name is Anthony Calixto. I am happy to be here with you today. In the year of 2009, I was a sophomore student who had goals of achievement and success. Although I had goals, I was never able to achieve them because of my lack in responsibility and participation. As a sophomore, I was a very neat, quiet and organized student who always did his homework, which is how I maintained my 70 average. Learning to be responsible and prepared taught me a lot. My future was not a big concern for me so I never took the time to think about it.
ReplyDeleteIt’s the year of 2019, and I successfully completed four years of college at NYU. I’m currently a professional web designer. There were many obstacles and achievements that I had to face in life but thanks to my faith and confidence, I made it through. These are obstacles and achievements that you should watch out for because they can really affect you. Finally, my responsibility has rewarded me major in my life and I’m living the life that I always wanted. My major regret is doing bad in High School because I realized that it really affected me and my future but I’m glad that I’ve got a second chance to improve. I’m getting good salary and supporting me and my family isn’t a problem. I currently live in Florida with my family. We own a two family house in Miami. As long as you live up to your dreams and be responsible and prepared throughout your life and try your hardest, you could have the same life as me.
One of the biggest achievements I overcame in my life was being accepted into college. All my life, I thought that I would never get into college. In 2009, it was the middle of sophomore year and I knew it was time to step up and improve and do what was best for me. Homework became a daily exercise for me as I was always practicing for tests and essays. I became one of the smartest kids in the whole sophomore grade and I was doing my best to raise eyebrows for college observers. The day finally came for mail and I rushed home and noticed that one of the best colleges in New York, NYU, had accepted me. I felt so relieved and so achieved and I realized that I finally overcame one of the biggest achievements in my life.
One of the biggest obstacles I overcame in my life was cutting. In the beginning of the school year, my classes were never important to me and I had always cut them to go to lunch and hang out with my friends instead. My report card was extremely low and I started thinking to myself like “Is this the future you want for yourself?” All my friends were looking at me in shame and I said “Cutting is normal for High School students” They said “Yeah, until you over do it and become addicted, it’s a step closer to dropping out.” I knew it was time to stop cutting classes just to hang out with my friends and time to make improvements. I made a promise to myself that I would never cut for the rest of the sophomore year.
Overcoming this obstacle wasn’t easy but I knew I couldn’t keep making myself suffer over my friends. I had to start thinking about doing the right thing instead of following others footsteps. It was the beginning of the new marking period and I knew my time to change was now. I started going to school and its been two months since I’ve cut and school was interesting, so I successfully came back to school without cutting and I thought to myself, I should have been done this a long time ago because its worth it.
There is so much advice that can be given to you, but I’m going to give you the type of advice that made me successful. Remember to always be responsible, its one of the best pieces of advice you can get. Without responsibility you are pretty much a failure in life. Do not get lazy because it will affect you major. Also be prepared for anything. This piece of advice is helpful because it helped me in life and without it I’d be nothing. So remember to follow this piece of advice and I guarantee you achievement and success in your future. You should never give up in school because it’s just like giving up in life.
Angel Cruz
ReplyDeleteMay 6, 2009
Hi. My name is Angel Cruz. I am excited to be back in HSTAT. Back in my sophomore year I was the kind of kid that always did his work. I would sometimes slack off. I was a 15 year old boy who really didn’t know much. I had a lot of personal things going on from the ending of 2008 and half the year of 2009.My life was distracted by many things but some how I managed to do well in school. My goals weren’t set yet. I had one thing on my mind and that was to finish my education. I knew I wanted to be successful in life. I had many dreams. I was a good student who tried to do the best. I know I wasn’t the perfect kid out there but I tried to be on top of everything in class. 2009 seems like a long time but I remember it as if it was yesterday. Ms. Karvunis as my English teacher made it very challenging in class. Sometimes I would get stressed out I would think of my personal problems while I was in school which was a bad idea because it would affect my work. Sometimes I wouldn’t want to do my work but at the end I would suck it all up and did what I was told. Thanks to Ms. Karvunis I learned how to be a better writer. I gained a lot of writing skills, writing skills that would help me in college and further in life.
I’m 26 years of age and I work for myself and not for anybody else. I feel that working by for myself can test me in many ways not only mentally but physically as well. I am entrepreneur, meaning I create my own business and work for myself. Basically what entrepreneur means to me is “ordinary people creating extraordinary lives”. Over the past few years I have made great new friends and even stay in touch with the old. Today I live in a penthouse in Manhattan. In my spare time I help my cousin go to different schools within New York to help make students understand and learn about Aids. We do this because we once had a friend who was tested positive for Aids. When she first found out she had Aids she thought her life was over. She would never come out, stopped talking to everyone she knew, and always cried. I would always tell her that life is too short to enjoy it. Many months later I got a phone call saying that she had past away from Aids. I didn’t know what to do at that point I had mixed, confused feelings about the situation. So I and my cousin created a program called “protect you”.
We talk to students and make sure that they always choose the right decision and if you are sexually active make sure you protect yourselves. We want students to know that not everything is sweet in this world, that you cannot get everything you want in life; life is about having ups and downs and learning from those mistakes. We want them to know by protecting yourself you are making yourself safer. I like being an entrepreneur but I love bring a spokesman for Aids and dedicating this job for my friend.
My major achievement that brought me to my success was going to school and putting my problems outside, and to stop hanging out with the wrong crowd. I always followed my dream, and now that my dream is my reality I’m happy because all that hard worked paid off.
One major challenge that made me stronger and made me who I am today is overcoming my problems and going to school. In the year 2009 was very stressful for me. But now that I’m older I realized that I’m stronger and that everything happens for a reason.
By overcoming my challenge I had cut off people in my life that was close to me but it was the best for me. I kept going to school every single day even if I didn’t feel like it. I knew it would pay off when I got older. I learned to be a leader and not a follower. By overcoming this challenge I learned a lot from myself that I can achieve. I’m not happy that I went through those experiences but it taught me a lesson. A lesson that I would never forget.
A little advice I would give to you is to always follow your dreams and your heart. Be who you want to be and don’t listen to anybody else.
Maritza Mendez
ReplyDeleteHi. My name is Maritza Mendez and I’m 26 years old. When I use to go to HSTAT, I use to do really good in freshmen year. As well the other 3 years in school. This school helped me to do better in my writing and how to open my self more. I had really good friends who where there for me, we always use to hang out together. As well going to parties, the park, the mall, and things like that. But they are always there for me, telling me I could do better in life. I always tried my best in order to do grades even though I had a lot of responsibility to do at home. That’s something that kind of made my grade go down. I was a really busy person when my mom had to go to work or when she was really busy.
In 10 years many thing can happen. I got married when I was 23 years old, and
I had my twins nine months later after I got married. I work as a photographer with the police, taking pictures of evidence. My husband works with the police as creating new weapons for them. Our life is full of action. My parents are from Mexico, and they own lands over there. Because of the reason that time goes by fast, my parents wanted to leave all those lands to someone who they trust, that person ended up being me. Even though I already own a big house over there my goal is to create another house for my parents for them to live on.
One major achievement that brought to my success was becoming a professional
Photographer working for the police. I became an important person for the investigation. I found evidence that had to be reveille by picture as well other things. Doing my job was something that I was proud of doing. As easy it may look like it’s really not that easy at first. There was something I had to get better in order to pass my test
My major challenge was to pass the exams in order to become part of the police investigation. I had to know what the difference between evidences. These things may not look important enough for us but for the police it is. Every detail we found no matter even if it’s small it important for them to have. That’s why I had to get better at finding many clues even the really small ones
I overcame this challenge by putting a lot of attention during class in college, and practicing really hard on my work. I had to remember what my teacher told me’’ put attention to what’s around you and don’t miss any evidence that you might find. That’s how a person takes a good crime seen picture”.
An advice that I can give you is to never give up. If you want to do something in life then you should try your best and work really hard. Things may look hard at first but who said life was easy. That’s why if we want things to be done we have to do it by our self; no one can do it for you. Just never give up.
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ReplyDeleteHi. My name is Douglas Wong; I am a sophomore in HSTAT. I remember sitting down where you’re at, and writing this speech. I was 16, and an average student who always tried my hardest to succeed. I would have hard times and I slacked in classes like math and English by not listening or talking and fooling around when I was not suppose to. I was a shy and quiet kid in the beginning of the school year, but later on I was not. Everyday after school I would go to the park and play basketball or just chill with my friends and go home feeling tired and just knock out on my bed. Then in the morning I would have no time to do my homework and go to school mad because I didn’t do any homework. Now that I’m older I know what’s right and what’s wrong. What you do and how you do now will reflect on how you will do in the future. Everything you’re doing I did, so don’t feel bad about yourself.
ReplyDeleteNow its 2019 and I am 25 years old living in Brooklyn New York with my wife, daughter, and son. I am a professional chef that travels all around the world to cook amazing dishes for famous people. I’m also a teacher that teachers student who want to learn about cooking. I always wanted to become a chef. I remember when I was little I would always go next to my mom when she cooks dinner and then look at what she was doing. I thought it was cool to learn it and now that I’m a professional chef it makes me feel good to see my student smile and have fun cooking. As a chef making food, I would reminisce about me and my mom in the kitchen having fun cooking.
One achievement was graduating high school with all my credits. One obstacle was getting use to college and how they work there, learning new and harder curriculums But this would make me a better person in life. This is a very hard obstacle for me because I’m a slow learner and in college you don’t get second chances. The teachers only teach you the lesson once, so you going to have to learn it the first time. I overcame this obstacle by practicing homework’s and tests/ quizzes in the study hall with my friends and
One of my greatest successes is getting enough money to open up a school and to teach students who want to learn how to become a chef and cook .It made me more famous and made me really happy. Teaching student how to cook made me very astounded by how much work and effort they put into cooking food. It puts a smile on my face because they enjoy it.
The best advice I can give you is to always, always stay strong and never give up. Always remember what you are doing now is going to reflect on upon you and your future.
Speech
ReplyDeleteHey. My name is Analy Campos. In the year 2009 I was a 16 year old sophomore. I was in the same position you are now. I was always a good, average, well behaved student. The first day I was in Ms. Karvunis class I wasn’t so excited because I didn’t want to have two English classes. I noticed that it was helping me a lot with my writing.
I had many friends who invited me to parties. I never said no but I never said yes either. It was always maybe. At times I did go to parties and danced with guys I didn’t know and at times even drank. However, I knew how to control myself to not get drunk. Even though I went to parties I always did my homework. It was also hard for me to concentrate because I had a boyfriend and we were having a few problems. However, while doing all of this I was still able to keep an 80 average and above. At times I would get mad at my mom because she always wanted to be in my business and I never wanted to tell her anything that would go on in school. Even though I continued doing the same things, I still graduated high school.
The year is now 2018 and I am 25 years old and I live in Manhattan, New York. My life has changed a lot. I am married and have two kids, a boy and a girl. My son is four years old and my daughter is one year old. I eventually ended up getting married to my high school boyfriend. Even though we have problems at times, we always find a way to work things out. When I first started college I did really well. After the first year I started to miss out on classes because of my kids. My babysitter had moved to Florida so I had trouble finding a new babysitter. After two months I had found a babysitter. I really liked her because her culture traditions were the same as my families and mines. She treated my kids with love and respect. I got back on task in college and graduated three years later. I became a famous successful fashion designer. I work in a very famous and important company. At times the company would have difficulties with the money, which also affected me. I learned how to balance my money, so I can maintain my family with my husband’s help.
One major obstacle that I had to over come was to stay focused. I always had difficulties staying focused. What distracted me the most was talking to my friends, I liked when Ms. Karvunis would move me to work with people that I don’t usually talk to. Little by little and year by year, I learned to stay focus during class and to do my homework. I overcame this obstacle by not talking to my closest friends. I really appreciated the things that Ms. Karvunis did for me because she kept me on task. I later on noticed that everything my mom did for me was for I can be successful in the future. I than noticed that when my mom used to say “good job but you can always do better” it was always to push me a little harder for I can get better grades. These obstacles stopped me from learning for a while, but I was still able to succeed through high school.
One piece of advice that I would give you guys is to work hard and not get pressured into doing things that will affect your future. The most important thing to do for you to pass and graduate high school with good grades is to do all your homework, pass your tests and have a positive attitude. With a positive attitude you can get very far and be successful in life.
Thank you for taking your time to read my speech. I hope that I have convinced you to do well in school, and work hard to succeed what you want to be in the future. If I did it I’m sure that you can definitely succeed your goals. I wish you all good luck through the rest of your high school years.
Susan Bautista
ReplyDeleteHi. My name is Susan Bautista. In 2009, I was a sophomore student at High School of Telecommunication. I was a good student in all my classes, never goofed around, and always took my job as a student seriously. As a sophomore I learned that the older you get, life gets harder and harder. For some reason I became very shy in all my classes and started to realize how bad of a writer I was in my English class. That’s why I had Ms. Karvunis as a teacher to help me make life just a little bit easy. The thing is, I never expected to go to college. To me college was a waste of time and I thought I didn’t need it. The only goal I had was to finish my high school years and get a simple easy job. Besides not going to college, I had other things that I wanted to accomplish. Things like being an important wealthy woman and doing something that would make my name well known. That was my biggest dream ever since I was a little girl. I guess everyone has there own fantasy, but some think it will never be accomplished. That was me.
Now in 2019, I live in Brooklyn, New York and I am a famous psychiatrist. I love my job. Ever since I was in high school I loved the fact that I was able to help people with any problems they had. I am happily married and have four kids. I have my own psychiatrist place where I have a lot of clients who come to me with there problems. Before I was able to achieve who I am today, I had to go through a lot of obstacles which was money. At first I had no intention of going to college, but later throughout the years the economic system got worse and there were no more local jobs. I had no choice but to go to college. The thing was that because the economy was so bad, I had no money to get into college.
The way I overcame my obstacle was by winning the lottery to help me pay for my college tuition. One day I was at the park sitting down at the bench thinking how I was going to get into college. At the bench, I saw a piece of paper and I opened it. It was a lottery ticket. I put the lottery ticket in my pocket and went home. Later that day I was home alone watching TV, when a spokes person was announcing the numbers of the week’s lottery. At that moment, I remembered that I had found a lottery ticket at the park, and I instantly took the lottery ticket out of my pocket. I was so shocked when I saw that the lottery ticket that I had found, had matched the numbers of the week’s lottery. I couldn’t believe I had won a million dollars. So now I had money to go into the one of the best colleges, and I did. I guess if I had not found that lottery ticket, I would be living on the streets by now. Lucky, I had that lottery ticket to solve my obstacle of going into college. Now I am who I am, I am a famous psychiatrist and I am glad that I did end up going into college.
My advice to you guys is that it is very important to go to college so that you could be someone in life. College opens more doors of opportunities in life. College is sort of like a game where you go through a lot of hard choices that leads you to your future. Also when you feel that you want to give up on your dream, don’t because we are all born to accomplish a mission and that is to follow our dreams. Always keep in mind “If you never make a mistake, that’s because you never tried anything new”.
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ReplyDeleteHi. My name is Brianna Carioti. I am happy to be here with all of you students. In 2009 I was a sophomore in High school of Telecommunications.
ReplyDeleteIt was a busy year for me because of all the regents I had to take and homework that was assigned everyday. Luckily I pulled through and did what I had to do. I always was the type of person who had a lot of things on their mind and always worried about completing my homework. I tried not to stress so much and just did my best. I always participated in class, completed my school work, and handed in my homework. Teachers respected me for that, which made my grades improve and get in the honor role. I was very lucky to have Ms.Karvunis as writing teacher; she always gave me advice on how to improve my writing and taught me how to write proper essays. It really helped me later on in junior year when I had to take the English regents.
Today, in the year of 2019, I have become a successful writer. I am a famous author and published six of my stories. I just started two months ago and already my stories have become a New York Times favorite. It has always been a goal of mine to have a story nominated as a New York Times favorite. It was not easy though, in order to have a book nominated as a New York Times favorite the book must be descriptive and have interesting topics and characters. Also it is up to the people who read the book, the more people read it, the more popular the book becomes. Writing has always been an interest of mine, even as a kid. I always wrote stories when ever I had an idea.
Being a famous author is not just my dream job, but an achievement that was accomplished as well. I always wanted my stories to be discovered, not just by my family, but the world. Luckily, that goal was accomplished and made me become the writer I always wanted to be. Another achievement of mine was one of my stories becoming a New York Times favorite and best seller. That was just a boost for me because that is what made me famous.
Even though I achieved many goals there were obstacles that I could not avoid. For example, college, it was a struggle for me. From all the stress that was put against me to the work that needed to be done. Another obstacle I faced was finding someone to hire me. It took me at least a month to find a company to work for. I was stressed out most of the time, but kept reminding myself to comb down and take care of one thing at a time.
These obstacles were a struggle, but I pulled through and got what I wanted. I graduated from college by passing all my classes. A month later I went to a job interview with a writing company and was hired immediately. Now I got the dream job I always wanted and still have a bright future to look forward to.
For those of you who want to have a successful life, do all of your school work and show some effort in your work. Do not slack off because then you will be left back in high school and struggle through your life. Also, stay organized and have a plan for your future, accomplish those goals that you have for yourself. Thank you for listening.
Shatel Guzman 5/6/09
ReplyDeleteMs.Karvunis Writing
Hi. My name is Shantel Guzman. I remember being in class like all of you are today. When I was in Telecommunication I remember doing my work, well most of the time. I didn’t like all of my classes like biology and English, I never really use to pay attention in them. When it came to school work I tried my best to do well, but it didn’t always work. School was hard at times. It would drive me crazy. Most of the time I would draw all over my binder to take me away from it all. There would be graffiti on every page including my boyfriends name (Nick).
In school not everything was so easy to ignore. At times Nick and I would have horrible arguments and I had no other option but to try to ignore him and do my school work. Ignoring him was very difficult. I think it just made things worse so I would end up cutting school to hang out with him to make it better. That only made things worse for me. In school I wouldn’t know what to do in my classes. I would just feel worse about what I was doing and it only made me feel like cutting again.
At the end I graduated on time. I realized that an education was what I needed to move forward so I did my work and made sure that I passed on time with good grades. Lucky me (I was so happy). Right after that I headed straight off to college, in hoping to become an artist of some sort. In college I studied art because it was the only thing that took me away from it all. I had all sort of problems going on in school, with some of my classes and of course with my boyfriend Nick.
After some time I couldn’t stand how much we were arguing that I just decided to drop out of college during my second year and decided to pay attention to only us. We spent a lot of time together but it always wasn’t good. One day we got into an argument that really got out of control. He ended up hitting me and I did the same we. Fought and argued to the point that the only thing that mattered to us was just beating up the other. After some time me and Nick worked on making our relationship work. We did a good job on just making it work.
When I was sure that he and I were not going to have any problems, I went back to school to finish my four years of college. I finally finished. I became a tattoo artist. I love being a tattoo artist. It’s the best. Doing tattoos on people makes me feel so good. Because people love my work, they’re all like walking canvases with my art work on it.
After a couple of years, I was still working as a tattoo artist. I even got to open a couple of my own tattoo shops. Nick helps with it all. With out him I don’t think I could have gotten this far even through all the drama we’ve faced through out the years. I can’t help but to love him the way I do. Now Nick and I have three beautiful children Cameron, Shawn and Shane. Nick helps a lot with them he often even does more then me.
Being in HSTAT taught me so much how to deal with others including my self and how to get what you want. I did my work as best as I could and graduated and learned that life isn’t always easy, you need to work hard to get what you want. Graduating feels great; to know that you finished school and that you’re not like the rest is the best. I never wanted to turn out like the low lives from my neighborhood who only drink and smoke they’re not getting any where. To work in a job like McDonalds you need a high school diploma and to not have one really just makes you a no body.
The only advice I have for you all today is to stay in school do good and graduate. Get your diploma and become someone in life. To get it, it might be hard but to not have a diploma and try to get a good job like the one you could have if you had a diploma, is even harder. When you have a diploma life is easier work might be hard but the pay will be worth it all. An education is something very important that everyone should have, other people don’t have the same chances we do, so for us not to work for what we want is just a waist.
Estefany Luna
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe that I am back in Telecommunications after ten years. A lot of memories come back to my mind the second I stepped in here. I was like most of you sitting down sometimes shy, or sometimes I was just too lazy or couldn’t concentrate to do my work. I remember that at your age I had no idea of what I wanted for my future. All I did was be with my family, friends, and go to parties every weekend.
During my sophomore year there a time when I was going through difficult times in my family and had to deal with them by going to court every week, doing all possible things so that my dad would not get separated from us. All I cared was about my dad and the least important thing to me was school. It took about one and year and a half to fight for my dad, all the time I ignored school. Once I realized that I was failing and graduate high school. I thought so much about my dad that I once said to myself “My dad does not want me failing, so I got to do everything in order for me to pass, not just for him but for myself too”.
Finally I decided to put myself together, do any kind of extra credit to pass and do all my work. For me it was very stressing because I had a lot of school work, and at the same time I had to do a lot of things for my mother, who worked everyday for four children. I am the oldest one so I had to take care of my brothers and sister. Help them with their school work, clean and cook.
After a lot of work in high school I finally graduated and after what had happen to my dad and three years without him I decided to study laws. Laws might seem boring to all of you, but I did it to understand them better and then later on become a lawyer which I am now. It took me five years to study laws and four years to become a lawyer; I have saved a lot of children from getting separated from their parents because I was once a child that got her dad taken away.
During those years of college I got married and now I have a two year old girl that I love so much. The first thing that I, my husband and daughter did after becoming a lawyer was to go to Mexico to visit my father that since my sophomore year didn’t see. My parents feel so proud of me and they always knew and tell me that what I ever I want I would get it as long as I never give up and have in my mind “I will do it”. I achieved to make myself and also my parents proud of me. Sometimes something has to happen for yourself to realize how important school is. Putting myself down was not going to get me anywhere. I give thanks to my mother who was always there for me and always understood me. My best advice for all of you sophomores is just do what you got to do and never leave it for another day because sometimes it will be too late. Never put yourself down, always be strong no matter what happens, have in your mind “I WILL DO IT!”
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ReplyDeleteHi. My name is Aide Ramirez. I remember being in Ms.Karvunis, class either talking to my neighbor or doing my work. I wasn’t the smartest or dumbest student in her class I guess I was an average student. I didn’t get good grades myself; I know I could have gotten way better grades in my years in HSTAT. I was just too lazy and left all my work till the last minute. Ms.Karvunis made my writing skills even better. I always had problems in writing my essays; I didn’t know how to start writing or what I needed. Ms.Karvunis was always there to help me out even if I was wrong in the way I used to write, she will correct me until I got it write, we always learn from our mistakes.
ReplyDeleteYes I did have failing grades in my report card in which made me disappointed because I could have passed all my classes and not make my transcript look bad. When I in your same positions I loved to hang out with my friends like Lupita she was like my best friend number two. When ever I needed help or advice she would always be there to help me out. I remember having fun with Shantel, David who was like my brother, Douglas, Jose, Beth, Destiny, and Angel. I was pretty loud which meant more talkative. I was way different then freshmen year.
The year is now 2019 and I’m 26 years old and I’m living in Florida. So much has happened ever since graduating High School, like family issues, moving away, money and also college. I’m currently in my last year of medical school and proud to say that I’m the only one in my family that has gotten this far in life. I’m focusing being a pediatrician its focus on children’s health. During my years of medical school I found my boyfriend in which later on our school years we married. We are currently living at Florida, you may be asking if we have any children…well no we don’t at the moment but yes we are planning to later on. We both are just focusing in accomplishing our careers.
One major achievement that brought to my success was graduating High School on time and with all my friends. Graduating High School was a big thing especially to get my diploma in which is a very important thing in life. I was proud of myself because since I wasn’t doing good in my sophomore year for a moment I thought I wasn’t going to accomplish this. This is what now led me into my college and medical years in school.
One major challenge I overcame was money . Money was a big issue in my life. I almost didn’t go to college. My parents couldn’t help me out because they were living in New York and they had there own issues themselves. I didn’t want to bother them or especially worry them even more.
I over came this obstacle by asking for college tuition. It helped me a lot because I accomplished my goal of going to college. Little by little I had to pay it off but it was worth it because with out this I wouldn’t be in the point of accomplishing my goal and becoming some one professional in life. Thanks to the college tuition I went to college and almost done accomplishing my career.
My advice to you is to focus in school and to get an education. Don’t give up even though its gets hard in life just try your best to accomplish your goals. Don’t let anything get in your way. School comes second other then your family and education is what you need in your everyday life in order to be some one successful.
Alex Chavez
ReplyDeletePeriod 4 – Writing
April 23, 2009
Hi my name is Alex Chavez. I am happy to be here with all of you today. In the 2009 I also attended HSTAT. As a sophomore in this high school I liked coming to school. I had good relationships with my teachers. My grades were not so good. I had hard times handing in my homework and studying for exams. As a sophomore I would get into trouble with teachers, there would be times in which I would be sent to the dean’s office for misbehaving. There were times in which I would get kick out of class. I remember in my freshmen year of High School that I was suspended for fighting. This fight happen three days before school ended. I was not allowed to see my friends or come to school till September. Okay now back to the homework problems, I would not get my homework done because I would hang outside too much and come home tired. This action would affect me but at the same time I would get my act together and try to make up all the homework I’ve missed. I know most of you students have or think about a girlfriend or boyfriend. I went through the same situation at your age too, but don’t let that distract you from getting your work done. For me it was much simple to stay in task because my girlfriend was a great student and she would help me with my homework or even stay on top of me with my homework and grades. I thank her for that because it if wasn’t for her I would have not brought my grades up. I also know at this age you guys hate having homework over the weekend, hey I did too. I loved going to the movies, hanging out with the cousins and friends, and partying on Fridays and Saturdays especially with all freedom my mom gave me. At the same time you still need to get your homework done. I always believed that school was my number one priority. I want you to feel the same way about it. If you put school first in your priorities there is no doubt that you will live a happy and successful in life.
As of right now I work as an architect. I live in lower east side Manhattan. I have two daughters, Lisa three years old and Kimberly two years old and one son Jayden that’s four years old, I am also happily married with my wife. I am a proud father of three wonderful children. Even though they can be a bit annoying sometimes, I still love coming home from work and seeing how my kids react when I open the door. I also love how they instantly jump on top of me as I open the door. I am happy to supply them with there needs and to see them grow up strong and healthy.
My accomplishment as an architect is the Liberty Towers in New York City. I loved this project and working on it. It took a long time but everyday working on this project was worth it. Growing up in New York City I loved looking up to the Twin Towers as I walk with my mom in Manhattan. Looking up to the twin towers soon ended. Nine-Eleven was a horrible day for everyone in the world and especially New Yorkers. Many families, friend, and beloved ones were lost.
While constructing this skyscraper in the same place where people died and where the twin towers stood, I had times in which I thought of giving up on this project. I would get nightmares every night. My nightmares I’d have would be about dead people, and people crying for help. In one of my nightmares I would dream about a young girl jumping off the twin towers and crying out blood.
I constructed this skyscraper to symbolize and honor those who died on nine-eleven and those who provided help in rescuing the need. This achievement of mine brought me to my success today.
The major challenge that I overcame to my success was finishing college and paying off my dues. NYU College was really hard for me, at one point in which I wanted to drop out and forgetting about everything. I began to experiment with weed, heroine and cocaine; my life was really going down hill. After a long talk with my mom and Ms. Karvunis and 6 months of Rehab I decided to stay in school and graduated. I thank these two wonderful people today; with out them I would not be the person who I am today. College was a big obstacle for me and my life. I had to work really hard to graduate. As of today I’ve been sober for 6 years.
I bit of advice I give to all you teens is that when times get tough never give up, try to make things work. Have some one to talk to and don’t be scared to let every thought out. Having some one to turn to when you are down or confused can really help you to overcome, and eliminate negative thoughts and actions.
Thank you all for the time you’ve given me today and take everything I said to consideration. Live life and be happy. STAY IN SCHOOL AND GRADUATE!
Hi my name is Keveen Goris. In 2009 I was a sophomore in high school telecommunications. I was an average student and only worried about passing which wasn’t a good thing. When I joined Ms Karvunis's class I started off good then became lazy and missed class. As a sophomore all the teachers never got tired of telling me that attendance can be a downfall towards my high school diploma. In the beginning I didn’t listen which resulted in failing a couple classes. I was forced to make up a lot of work to be able to pass and get my credits. I was very into baseball and was looking forward to attend college for it. My High school goal was to graduate and become a detective if baseball didn’t work out. I was pretty sure my baseball career was over because of the fact that I only played my freshmen year in school which gave me no chance to get scouted.
ReplyDeleteNow its 2019 and I am currently a New York detective. I am proud of finishing college. It was not an easy task getting through college with all the parties and ladies in my way. Being a detective is not an easy job with all these criminals in the streets. Unlike the rest of detectives I am not too harsh and let people slide. I let people slide because I understand that humans always make mistakes and growing up in Sunset Park I’ve made mistakes myself. For example once I saw on the news that a cop gave a pregnant lady a ticket for sitting on the subway stairs which I found very odd and unethical. People in my neighborhood know me as the friendlier cool cop.
One thing that not a lot of people know about me is that during college I was selling and using ecstasy pills. I was introduced to the drugs by my roommate who later became my business partner. Because of all the parties, selling pills was very easy money which got me addicted to drug dealing. There was one time where my partner and I were selling pills to a party girl and the campus cop caught us. As soon as I saw him walk upon us I know we were and trouble and started to get nervous. I was surprised when he told us that he was going to let us slide. He told us that if he saw us selling anything at all we well get kicked out of college, There and then I knew change had to be done and my future was on the line.
After I got caught I joined different clubs and stopped going to parties. It was not easy avoiding my friends and the beautiful ladies. All the teachers were always giving me compliments on how I was improving and was a step closer to passing their classes. During the process of improvements I was called a lot of different names such as wimp, chump, nerd, and even lost a couple friends. I didn’t really care what they had to say because I entered the school on my own and will exit the school on my own. Overall I made a good decision doing what I did and ended up graduating college and becoming a detective.
My biggest success for me was being the first to finish college in my family and the first to become a detective. I grew up not liking cops but then grew older and matured. I went through a lot of ups and downs to become a detective and don’t regret nothing in the past. Although becoming a detective was sort of a back up plan I am very happy with how everything turned out and so is my family.
Some advice I can give to you all is, No matter how deep of a hole you find yourself in never give up on your goals. Also to block out anyone or anything that is stopping or making it difficult to achieve your goal because your future is way too important to let one person mess it up. I hope all of you learn from my experience and succeed in life.
David Cruz
ReplyDeleteWriting period 4
5/7/09
2019 Speech
Hi. My name is David Cruz. I am very excited to be here and talk to all of you kids here. I remember when I was a sophomore here at HSTAT. Many memories and flashbacks popped into my head when I walked into the classroom and saw all my teachers. In 2009 I wasn’t the best kid that got 90’s and 100’s, I was more in the 80’s 70’s and 60’s from my average. I was a very nice and good kid that’s what all my teachers said, I never got in to fight or any trouble. The only problem I had in school was doing homework and coming to class on time. When it came down to homework I was the worst because I never did homework only once in a while. That’s why I failed so many times and many classes. I also failed my classes because I was being lazy I didn’t care about school. I wanted to have fun with my life. But then I realized that if you have fun now and not go to school you will not have a good life. If you do all your work now then you will have all the time you want to have fun. My friends, family, and teachers told me to do my work and homework, not to mess up my life. After a while I realized that they were right. I started to do my homework, and also I started coming to school on time so didn’t get detention. My grades didn’t go from 65 to 80 but they went up and I made improvements. This helped me be where I am today.
Now its 2019 and I am back here at HSTAT I have accomplished so many things in these ten years after being a sophomore. Right now I have a girlfriend not married yet 1 kid named Aiden and I live at long island as a doctor and I took a day off to have a talk with you kids. My life now in 2019 has changed so much and it’s for changing my acts. Also my determination for getting good grades and passing my classes, graduating high school and college helped a lot to get me where I wanted 2 be a doctor. I live in Miami, Florida with my soon to be wife and my son Aiden. We came to visit to my beautiful hometown of Brooklyn and came here to HSTAT to talk to you kids or teens. my life right now has been going great, I have a good paying job and a good family but I had many obstacles to go threw to get where I am right now.
i had many accomplishments but my greatest success was becoming a doctor i all ways wanted to be a doctor because that has been one of my life long dreams since I was a kid. I would always tell my cousins that I would be a doctor when I was old. Now my dream has become a reality. When I was a little kid I thought being a doctor was easy because when I would go to the doctor for a check up they would just check my ears, heart, lungs, nose, and my head to see if I had a fever. And then they would tell me what was wrong and gave me medicine and a sticker and I was out. But it’s harder then it looks but its still a good job and pays good money to keep me living. Accomplishing this great achievement in my life I had to go threw many obstacles it wasn’t easy. but it all paid off because now I go the job I want and I am helping people every day get better from there illnesses.
One of my major obstacles in life growing up was school. Like I explained it before school wasn’t my favorite place to go. My grades were like a rollercoaster because they went up and down. In junior high school is where my grades started to go down in the end of 8th grade. My grades were in a good pace and then I would get some 80s some 70s and some 65s. Then there was a point where I almost failed all my classes. My teachers would tell me how bad I was doing. Soon I realized that I needed to get my act together I didn’t want to be a repeated sophomore. So I stared doing all my homework and coming to school on time. Doing this I ended up graduating on time with the class of 2011. and I went to college and study to become a doctor. in college I started doing the same thing but I realized faster then the first time what I was doing wrong after years in college I became a doctor. So my obstacle was going to school and doing my homework. I overcame my obstacle by taking the advice from my friend, family, and teachers. They told me that if I do good now life in the future would be a piece of cake. So I stopped slacking and tried to do what I could to pass.
Kids I’m supposed to give you one piece of advice but I’m going to give you more than that I am going to give you a lot of advice that was given to me because if it helped me then wit will help you to. First if you’re doing horrible that doesn’t me you cant change things around you can always find a way to change it. Also don’t put school aside because school is the foundation of your life because you need school to have a good career and to be someone in the future. So always do the best you can to do good in school and turn things around if your doing bad because nothing is impossible, if I could do it then so can you. Don’t just dream make it a reality, be cool stay in school.
Jose Jimenez
ReplyDeletePeriod-4
Writing class
Hello my name is Jose Jimenez. In the year 2009 I was a sophomore in HSTAT I was your age 16 years old. I was in the same grade that you are now sophomore year. I remember I use to have good grades but then I started to have bad grades because I was late to my classes, I was lazy to do work, and didn’t do any homework at all. I was too lazy to do homework because it took away my time. I preferred to be in the park hanging out with the homies looking for trouble or playing sports. Also I didn’t care about school because I was in love with a senior girl that I met in the school library. Because I was more concentrated on the girl than school I fail my classes was bad in school also because I got involved in gangs. We use to fight with other gangs. We didn’t get along and disliked each other. We started fighting and I ended up getting suspended for days. I missed school. I had to stay in m y house sleeping during the school day and would have to come to detention from 3PM to 5pm.I also got suspended because I disrespected my teachers like I cursed at them so I got into trouble for misbehaving. All of these were bad influences then one day my cousin spoke to me and asked me why I was in gangs? I tell him to defend our Raza (pride) he tell me you got no idea what does Raza means it means our people working, studying, sacryfying, surviving themselves that’s Raza not murdering, fighting, creating violence. So when he tell me this I decide to take a look at myself and it make me discovered myself. I realized that being involved in gangs is not ok because you know what? It destroys your life. You start having problems at home, at school, anywhere. Also if the cops get you it destroys your record. You go to jail for the things that you did. I discovered that dressing like a cholo (baggy jeans, long shirts, jerseys); also wearing beads around my neck, wearing red all day was not worth it. You don’t get anybody respect. You could get someone respect by doing good, you deserve it like that if you dress normally and act in a respectful way. You also know how to treat people well. If you one of these types of people you have to change in order to proceed-get out from gangs don’t create violence on the neighborhood-all of this stuff has to stop. I tried to act like a gangster in front of everyone thinking people would like me like that. Not they disliked you. At the beginning they laugh for all the stupid things you do but at the end who gets in trouble? You ended up getting in trouble and the ones that laugh they go happy home but you end up paying the consequences. But all of this crap is not going to stop me from going, I started to try hard. I began to do my work, my homework, and started to come early to my classes. This change really help me succeed I started to have good grades, keep myself out of trouble and people liked me like that better. You should do the same.
The year is now 2019. I ‘am 26years old. I ‘am a police officer in Los Angeles, California after studying and training for 4 years hard in college. I fulfilled my dream that I always wanted when I became a police officer. The reason I became a police officer because I wanted to stop all of the violence in the neighborhood of Los Angeles specially gangs. The gang I want to stop most is the most violent gang the ms.13 I going to make sure I put them behind the bars and make them pay the consequences because I went through gangs. They only destroy your life they create violence, and damage the neighborhood. All of these have to stop and I ‘am not afraid to stop this because I have trained well in college and in the police academy. I have very good family-5 girls Ashley, Michelle, Belinda, Lorena, and Leslie and 5 boys Jose, Juan, Michael, Bryan, and Angel. Nice right? I love my children. I have a precious wife that loves me she doesn’t break hearts and faces like other woman; she helps me a lot and I love her until death no matter what happens in our relationship we still going to be together forever. I met her in the school library of HSTAT while doing my research project on the Presidential Election.
My achievement was that I stop a little of gang violence. I arrest gang members and put them behind the bars to pay the price, to know how it feels when you destroy the outside. Now they have to feel the inside. I also gave Gang Members Classes so they could learn what gang violence brings, so they could also learned how it damages your life and how it destroys the neighborhood. Because these happened in my life because of gangs I was getting into trouble in school. I teach them a lot and I hope they learn the lesson-if not they then pay the price.
One major challenge and success in my life was that I made it through college thanks to god and my family- the ones that I loved the most in my life. I was getting tired of reading books and writing a lot. I wanted to drop out of high school and not go to college. However with the help of God and my family they helped me go Trough College and make me fulfill the dream that I wanted to be a police officer and fight to solve gang violence. I just want to say thank you my lord for dying on the cross and saving my soul.
I became an obstacle because I had to train very hard everyday to be on the police force. I had to make exercises so I could become strong. I had to study a lot about weapons and regulations on becoming a cop. I had to push myself to work hard.
Some advice that I give you is to stay in school. Study and always try hard even though you think you can’t proceed because of too much work. You could proceed like I did. You could do it. Stay in school; work harder in order for you to become that person you always wanted to be. Go to college and become the dream you want to be make your family happy. Be a leader not a follower. Thank you for reading this and I hope you learn something from it and I wish you a good future in life, good luck.