Today, students from Amador Valley and Foothill high schools end their high school careers as they walk across the stage of the Alameda County Fairgrounds Amphitheater and graduate. Earlier this week, Village High School students made that same jump with a ceremony at the Amador Theater.
Now that high school is over, students are getting ready for the next phase of their lives, eager for a chance to pursue their passions and become adults. Here’s a look at some of the exciting plans Pleasanton students have for the future.
Nimi Mastey
Choosing what college to go to was pretty easy for Foothill student Nimi Mastey. She only applied to one, Stanford, and got in early decision in December, before the other college applications were due.As Foothill’s valedictorian, ending her high school career with a 4.45 grade point average, it’s no wonder the she got into her first choice school. Next year at Stanford University, Mastey will begin her major in biology with hopes of going to medical school after she graduates. Her interest in science and her passion for helping people is what led her to pursuing this career.
“The human body is so amazing,” she said. “There are so many small details, and everything functions so well all the way down to the cell level.”
While science is going to be her focus for awhile, Mastey also has been active in other activities during high school. She was a member of the Foothill tennis team and is active in Tae Kwon Do. Keeping with the theme of helping people, Mastey, along with several other friends, founded the Women’s Health Organization, a club on the Foothill campus aimed at raising awareness about domestic violence issues. She was also a member of Foothill’s “We the People…” competition civics team, which took second place in the state competition.
Looking toward next year, Mastey said she’s excited over working with her professors at Stanford and meeting people from across the world, but admits she’s also a little nervous about living on her own and taking on new, more advanced classes. But, she is surely up for the challenge.
Kyle Adkins
If there’s one thing Kyle Adkins is good at, it’s time management. This Foothill senior managed to earn a cumulative 4.35 GPA, making him one of the school’s salutatorians, served as president of the Veterans History Project, was part of Foothill’s “We the People…” competition civics team, and played on the varsity baseball team for three years.Now that Adkins is graduating, those balancing skills will come in handy as he plans on heading to Boston where he will attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall. He’s planning on majoring in economics and computer science, although he’s also left the door open to the possibility of studying business, too.
“MIT has a reputation for being extremely difficult in terms of the amount of work and tests, and they have a lot of bright kids that go there, but I’m looking forward to the challenge, to proving to myself that I can handle it,” he said.
With Boston being a long way from Pleasanton, Adkins admits he’s going to miss his friends and family, but is looking forward to the freedom college will provide.
“For so long the focus has been on succeeding in high school and working toward the next goal, which was college, and now that I’m heading there I can pursue my interests and go after what I’m interested in.”
Michael Fusco
Foothill senior Michael Fusco always loved to draw, but he didn’t think of art as a possible career until he visited the Getty Museum in Los Angeles two years ago during a summer art program.“I had never visited museums much, but when I went to the Getty, for the first time I looked at the paintings and thought, ‘I can do this, and it’s what I want to do.'”
Since that time, Fusco has focused on painting, taking part in Foothill’s art program and entering contests put on by the school’s art club. Now, his hard work has paid off because in the fall he will be attending Pratt Institute in New York City, one of the country’s top art schools, where he will study painting.
As with any art school, applicants have to submit a portfolio of work, and Fusco personally delivered his when he visited the school. Fusco’s paintings are mostly portraits, figures and other “romantic kinds of things.”
“It’s a lot of traditional stuff that you don’t really see anymore,” he said.
Fusco is heading to the Big Apple with hopes of making a name for himself in the art world. While he’s excited for the opportunities that wait, he admits he’ll probably get homesick, considering New York is so far away. In fact, it is the things he’s most looking forward to–new people, new city, new lifestyle–that he’s also the most nervous about. But nerves won’t stop him from reaching his dream, and someday New Yorkers will see his work hanging in galleries all around the city.
Jessica Mannering
Village senior Jessica Mannering has never turned away from a challenge, which is why she thought she’d fit in well as a U.S. Marine.“I’ve had a lot of challenges in my life, and I’ve faced them all,” she said, referring to her childhood spent mostly in foster homes. In high school, she moved from Amador and Foothill until she was finally placed in Village where she blossomed, taking part in leadership, choir, yearbook, the school newspaper, and the catering program. She hopes to continue to shine in the Marine Corps.
“I wanted to do something that involves the whole picture,” she said. “In Pleasanton, everyone talks about doing something for the community, but I wanted to do something more than that, something for the greater good.”
On August 28, she’ll leave for boot camp at Paris Island, located off the coast of South Carolina. There, she’ll go through basic training and do “excessive amounts of running.” After boot camp, she’ll be shipped off for schooling, although she doesn’t yet know what school or where it will be.
Mannering’s focus will be vehicle maintenance and repair, something she’s been interested in since she was a little girl.
“I’ve always been a fan of muscle cars,” she said. “A lot of my life I’ve been raised by men, so I got influenced that way, and it’s always been an interest.”
She’s also looking forward to travel opportunities and is hoping she’ll get to go to Japan. Up until now, she’s only traveled to Texas to visit her mom, whom she reunited with when she was older. While she is sad to leave her dad–she’s been living with him for the past four years–she is excited about the new opportunities that await her.
“I’m really looking forward to being a Marine and knowing I’ve accomplished what not many people do.”
Stephanie Delawyer
The kitchen is buzzing at Village as the students in the catering class finish their dishes in the “end of the year cook-off.” Stephanie Delawyer, a student in the class, prepares a candied pear that could have been presented as a dessert at any fancy restaurant in San Francisco.“I like working with food,” she said. “It’s really fulfilling for me, and I like watching people be awed by the food.”
That’s why Delawyer is going to Diablo Valley College next year, enrolling in the school’s restaurant and hotel management program — one of the best programs in that field. Delawyer has even gotten a head start by working at the Pleasanton Hotel’s Sunday brunches.
It was through the Village catering class that Delawyer discovered her interest in creating food and, after a chef from DVC gave the class a presentation, she decided to look into the program.
“He was so skilled and had such great energy that I thought I would love to learn from him,” she said.
Although she’s there to cook, Delawyer said she’s looking forward to taking a variety of classes at DVC and exploring other interests like dance, painting and drama, which she also takes now at Village.
“I’m leaving it open right now,” she said of her future. “I’m not sure if I want to go into the restaurant business, but I want to try it out.”
Elise Viebeck
Amador senior Elise Viebeck got her first taste of life in Washington, D.C., last summer by working as a page on the floor of the House of Representatives.“I sat on the House floor and collected comments from the representatives after the debates, which gave me a chance to talk with them,” she said. “It was fantastic.” Being a page also meant Viebeck got to listen to all the debates, and she was even present for discussions on some of the more controversial issues, such as the Patriot Act.
Wanting to continue to work in government and politics, Viebeck will be attending Claremont McKenna College next year in Claremont, Calif., where she will double major in government and international relations.
“For someone who is idealistic, there are so many opportunities to make a difference,” she said.
Viebeck recently went back to Washington as a member of Amador’s “We the People…” competition civics team, which took second place in the national competition.
Viebeck has had some experience with international diplomacy, as well, serving as a student ambassador with the Pleasanton-Tulancingo Sister City Organization, which gave her the chance to live in Tulancingo for a month during the summer.
“In Tulancingo, it was basic face-to-face diplomacy,” she said. “It was total cultural immersion. The entire experience was a highlight.”
Looking to next year, Viebeck is nothing but excited for the all the opportunities on her horizon. Although she’s not entirely certain what she’ll do once she graduates from college, one thing is for certain:
“I’m going to work in D.C. in some aspect of the federal government,” she said. “Whether it happens right away, I’m not sure, and grad school is definitely somewhere in my future, but D.C. is where I’m heading.”
Patrick Glenn
Ever since he was a little kid playing T-Ball in Pleasanton, Amador senior Patrick Glenn loved baseball.“I play because it’s a lot of fun, and I enjoy all the people I meet–players and coaches,” Glenn said. “I always dreamed of taking it to the next level, but I didn’t know if I could do it.”
As it turns out, Glenn can and did do it. He’ll be attending Santa Clara University in the fall on a baseball scholarship, where he will play in an outfield position.
An all-around athlete, Glenn also played varsity football and basketball for Amador, but left the basketball team his senior year so he could focus more on baseball.
“Baseball ended up being what I enjoy the most and what I’m the best at,” he said.
During the summer, Glenn played for off-season teams and traveled to Arizona and Los Angeles, where he got the attention of some college coaches and was eventually offered several scholarships.
“I chose Santa Clara because I want my parents to be able to see me play,” he said.
In addition to playing baseball, he’ll also be majoring in business. Of course, his dream is to play for the major leagues, but he’s also realistic.
“If that was ever to happen, it’d be a dream come true, but there are no guarantees,” he said.
