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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Visit with the President!



I was one of the 3 students selected to travel with the President of the University to Dallas. President Powers visited 3 high schools in the Dallas area, and one of those happened to be my old high school! I was super excited! I almost missed my flight because I was suppose to arrived at 6:30am and I woke up that day at 6:03am so you can imagine how fast I had to get dressed. We traveled in a private airplane =) It was such a neat experience to go back to my high school and motivate students about going to college. It's not every day the President of a university goes to your high school to talk to you about college. Awesome job Powers!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Remembering Summer 2009

I was going through pictures from summer 2009. I wanted to share some highlights from this awesome summer. It was full of activities. From education forums about college, the DREAM Act, State Convention to National Convention, to even showing support of Iran. This summer was dedicated to the community =) I hope you enjoy it! I realized I wasn't in many of the pictures, and that's because I was the one taking them lol

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

deBerry.


"Mr. deBerry passed away."

I remember crying the day I found out. Mr. deBerry passed away. He was by far one of the most influential teachers that I've came across. He not only taught us about government, but he also though us about life and challenged us to think outside the classroom walls. He never gave up on his students. Even for the dumbest kid in the class, he would find a way to motivate them and tell them he believed in them. I remember he came to one of my cross country meets. I came in 13 place( Top 10 qualified for regionals) and told me how proud he was =) My best friend Becky thought I had a serious crush on him, but honestly I didn't lol. I just really LOVED Mr. deBerry. He will never be forgotten.

Novermeber 11, 2007

Hi Carla,
It's great to hear from you. I really miss you. You will always be one of my favorite students ever. Don't worry about the Dream Act. Everyone with any brains knows that it is the right thing to do. The only reason it didn't pass is because it is an election year for enough senators who are being pressured by idiots from their states that they have to vote against it even though they believe it is the right thing to do. It will pass in some form in the next few years. I hope you'll come by and say hi when you're on break. Not to pry, but you can't do what she's doing Carla. This is the time of life where decisions are crucial. If your situation is purely financial, how much help do you need? If you want to stay at UT, maybe I can help. But be honest because I don't have a bottomless pit of money. Anyway, I'm glad you're keeping an eye on Geo. Tell him I said hi and that I hope he's doing well. As for my AP class, I don't have them until January 21. I can't wait to get out of here. Anyway, e-mail me when you get a chance and let me know how things are going. Let me know if I can help.
Mr. deBerry


February 21, 2008

Hi Carla,
Sorry for the delay in responding. My spam filter sent your email to the bulk folder. I don't know why. I've fixed it though and it's great to hear from you. It's terrific that you are getting involved in causes you care about. I care about them too and your passion makes your old teacher feel good. When you say ULI are you referring to the Urban Land Institute? (an excellent organization). Carla I'm thrilled that you have been promoted to a position that will enable you to impact the important work that LULAC does. This is where it gets hard. You're in a position to do a lot of good and you need to be informed. You need to make sure that you really understand the issues you are dealing with. Once you get into positions of importance, you never know who you will be talking to at any given moment. If you know what you are talking about, you can really do some good and create more opportunities for yourself. Otherwise you might get into a situation where you have a chance to make a good impression and if you don't know what you're talking about, they (whoever) will see you as just another freshman who is passionate but clueless. Don't be that person. This is life in microcosm. If you know what you're doing, good things happen. If not, they don't. Look beyond the events you are involved with and see if there are any positive results. That's what I do as a teacher. No matter how well I present material, if students don't learn then I have failed. Don't fall into the trap of believing that making a good presentation is enough. You're interested in winning in an arena in which effort means nothing. It's all about results...period. Failure is normal. How you respond to failure is the measure of the person. If at any point things go badly, have an explanation and a solution and don't look back. Learn from mistakes and move on. That's how it works. Carla, you are a leader. In your particular fight, demographics and momentum are on your side. I'm behind you 100%. I think you're fantastic and like I said before, if you need any financial support at any point, please tell me. Keep up the good work and let me know how things are going.
Mr. deBerry


I miss you.