WATSONVILLE—At Renaissance High School 56 students graduated this year and took part in an unorthodox drive-through ceremony June 3 to pick up their diplomas. First-year principal Deanna Young said dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, especially as graduation approached, called for tremendous resources at her campus to close out the year.
“It takes a village, and we have an awesome village here,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of outreach by staff and teachers and I cannot say enough about how proud I am of everyone here: We did it.”
Alexia Alaniz is one of the grads.
“I feel excited, but of course I’m a little let down because I was really excited to walk in my graduation,” Alaniz said. “But I’m happy that the community is helping out by making it a little nicer and making it feel special.”
Born in Watsonville, Alaniz, 18, said she transferred to Renaissance in middle of her junior year from Aptos High School.
“I love my school,” she said. “They have given me so many different opportunities. They helped me build a resumé and have done so much for me. Back at another school, they told me I couldn’t make it, that I couldn’t do it, where at Renaissance, they said ‘let’s do this, let’s get it done,’ and now I’m graduating. And it’s a smaller group of kids and I feel like the teachers have a lot more time to focus on one student and especially since they choose advisers. All their advisers are great and that really helped.”
Alaniz said she is an honor student and has been labeled a “super renaissance student.”
She sang as a soprano in the Aptos High School choir, which has helped push her to continue to develop her voice.
Alexia Alaniz. — The Pajaronian
“I switched to alto to expand my voice,” she said. “I was also the president of our choir. Sometimes I sing at home with my mom; she was like my coach.”
Alaniz also earned the “most improved student” and “student of the month” awards.
“My advisor—his name is Mark—he pushed me; he knew I was very nervous,” Alaniz said. “I know there are stereotypes about that school, but I want to shut that down. I realized that I was just way more comfortable in a smaller community and I worked so much better with an advisor. Renaissance is an amazing school.”
She said she briefly considered the medical field at Cabrillo College but then shifted her focus to psychology.
“I’ve been through my own rough patches and personally feel I could help other people in mental health issues even in my community,” she said.
When asked about what advice she has for younger students, Alaniz swiftly answered: “Block out the negativity no matter what anyone says. If they say you can’t do it, I’m proof that you can.”
Ulises Perez, 17, said he has been at Renaissance since the middle of his junior year after switching over from Pajaro Valley High School. He will complete his requirements by August.
“Renaissance has absolutely been good for me,” he said. “I was having a lot of trouble at my previous school, Pajaro Valley High. I was just not connecting and I started falling behind—something was missing. But at Renaissance I felt a lot better; the classes are smaller, the teaching is better and I feel the teachers are a lot more personal: I got to know them better.”
Perez said English teacher Crystal Valencia really stood out.
“She was so cool,” he said. “She’s a genuine person and very kind. You could tell she really cared about her teaching.”
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Perez said English was not his first language and, coming to the U.S. at age 2, he had to start fresh.
“Being a non-native of the English language there were some challenges,” Perez said. “But Ms. Valencia found a way to make it more engaging. I’m just so grateful that I’ve always had finesse for the language, and that sure helps.”
He added that being from Guadalajara—thanks to his mother’s inspiration—he has developed an appreciation of music and the arts.
“Guadalajara has such a rich culture,” he said. “It really was a beautiful place and my family is very proud of that.”
After completing classes at Cesar Chavez Middle School Perez went to PV High and then on to Renaissance.
“It took a while before I started to catch on but then it hit me and things started picking up,” he said.
Perez said he now hopes to move on to Cabrillo College and enter their Culinary Arts program.
“People praise their arts program so I’m excited,” he said. “I also want to look into music there and learn about producing music in the studio.”
Perez said both his parents were hurt at their jobs and that meant having to muscle down at home and be supportive.
“They’re both out of work right now,” he said. “It’s been a really humbling experience, this situation with them both being at home and unable to work. It’s definitely challenging. And then there’s the coronavirus issue; working at home has been very difficult; it can be difficult to concentrate and it takes a lot of discipline.”
