“Wherever my classmates go, they will not forget where they came from”

Lee Vining High School’s 2022 grads reflect on the past; lean forward to the future

Published in The Mammoth Times on 6-9-22

On Friday, June 10, the twelve seniors who make up Lee Vining High School’s graduating class of 2022 will walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. They will walk there carrying places, families, and their own futures with them.

As a member of the LVHS class of 2019, this year’s graduating seniors were the freshmen who watched me and my five classmates receive our diplomas three years ago. Since then, our town and our lives have been drastically altered by a global pandemic; the class of 2022 has almost never known a high school year without the impacts of Covid-19, as the pandemic began in their sophomore year of high school. But in speaking with these twelve graduates, I’ve come to see how the qualities of resilience and perseverance are knit into these students’ stories.

We talked about their dreams for the future, many of which center around helping others: as a doctor, as a climate scientist, as a game designer, as a nurse, as someone who, if they “make it,” will come back to town to build quality affordable housing, among many other dreams. The majority will go on to college; students from this class will be attending Claremont McKenna College, Fresno City College, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cerro Coso Community College, and Williams College, among others.  

Lee Vining High School’s graduating class has changed in size and composition over the years; but those who will graduate this Friday are Jessica Calderon, Beverly Altamirano, Fernando Garcia, Cohen McCoy, Julian Baltazar, Edder Lara, Ellery McQuilkin, Sergio Santillan, Gunnar Ackley, Joseline Calderon, Jennifer Gomez, and Jose Garay. The class is 75 percent Latino and 25 percent Caucasian; part of Lee Vining High School’s 43 total students, who are taught by five teachers.

Of those moving on to some form of education after high school, all but one student will be the first generation of their family to do so.

On Community:

As many students from the class put it, the simple fact that there are so few students in the school oftentimes necessitates forming close ties across difference. “It’s a strong connection,” said Edder Lara, who plans to move to North Carolina to pursue a job in real estate. As Jennifer Gomez, who will attend Cerro Coso Community College and transfer to the University of Nevada Reno, put it, “We’ve seen each other grow up.”

“[We] have basically lived with each other for thirteen years. So we didn’t just become students in the classroom, we became more like family,” said Sergio Santillan, who will be attending Claremont McKenna College next fall to study biology on the pre-med track. “Everyone has a different personality, so we meet different worlds. It’s not like you only meet one group of friends that are similar to each other, you get to know twelve unique people with different characteristics. Instead of just focusing on one world, on one culture, you can experience many cultures in a small classroom.”

With graduation on the horizon, many of these seniors described having to imagine life without their classmates for the first time. “I’m going to feel a little empty,” said Julian Baltazar, who plans to move to Los Angeles and learn about economics. “Like dude, I’m not going to have them with me anymore.” Gunnar Ackley, who plans to attend Rio Hondo College, and Cohen McCoy, who will be moving to Seattle to learn about game design, both said that this realization had pushed them to appreciate their school community more in the final weeks of the year.

Jose Garay, who plans to study automotive and diesel technology, thought back on thirteen years of life. “We’ve been together since elementary or Kindergarten,” he said. “Not seeing them is going to be weird.”

Fernando Garcia, who will attend the University of Southern California  and learn about psychology and neuroscience, said that school-wide trips, such as the annual Yosemite camping trip that the whole school attends, are part of what forms this community. “I think that’s where the whole school bonded with each other… once you go to the Yosemite trip, everyone starts to talk to each other, and I feel like that’s where the bonds come in,” he said.

Beverly Altamirano, who is attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to study animal science this coming fall, said that sports and classes also strengthen those ties. “I really have to say that my AP Calculus class was one of my favorite classes. Mr. Sindel is just so passionate about teaching and he makes teaching really fun. Having a small group, and having that passion for math, I loved that class,” she said.

Garcia recounted one instance of this connection when he took part in an Explore USC event this spring, where Altamirano and Santillan registered and attended as his parents. “It was funny because they were hyping it up like, ‘I’m about to go make friends with parents right now,’” he said.

Making Sense of Paradox: A strong and consistent theme for the graduates was the tension between the issues unique to living and growing up in a very small school and community — how bonds can become constricting, and the strength of ties can also leave people misunderstood.

“It’s like a love-hate relationship with this place,” said Altamirano. “Living in a small town, it has good and bad things. Everyone knows everyone, so that’s a good thing, because you have a lot of support. But at the same time, it can be bad,” she said.

For these reasons, she reflected that one of the things she is most excited for in college is “starting in a new place where no one knows you. It’s a clean slate.”

Ellery McQuilkin, who will be attending Williams College this fall to study geoscience and women’s and gender studies, also spoke on the hardship that the dynamics of a small community can create. “Those connections you have with people are really profound and powerful, but at the same time, just because those connections form when you’re at such a young age, I do think that they can have the influence where they sort of make people feel trapped into a role that they don’t feel like is realistic anymore as they grow up,” she said.

Many spoke to this feeling of contradiction: love and appreciation for their class, teachers, and tightly-knit community, while at the same time yearning to gain agency in defining themselves and expand their horizons.

“I think it’s time for a new start. I’ll definitely miss Lee Vining, but I’m ready to go off and start somewhere new,” said Altamirano. “I’m excited to get out of this little town,” said Jessica Calderon, who will be starting a Licensed Vocational Nurses program in the fall.

McQuilkin said that hardship and love for this place has helped her think about paradox. “I think that it is true that the connections in Lee Vining are both the best and the hardest part. There’s strength, but that means that it sort of traps you. But it’s also the strength of that, that helps you grow,” she said.

Santillan spoke on the tension between staying and leaving that becomes more profound with graduation coming up so soon. “You don’t want to leave this unique place. But at the same time, you need to go somewhere else, to grow. Even though it hurts to go, you have to go, or have to experience it at least. You have to try,” he said.

One way it seems that these seniors reckon with the paradox they speak of is imagining the ways they will bring what they have learned here — through love, through hardship — out into the world with them. As Santillan put it, “this place is going to be with my heart.” At the same time, many reflected on the work they hope to do to continue to help and uplift this community, and make it a more just and equitable place.

Garay reflected on the high school’s motto, “Pride, Respect, Hustle,” and how it has shaped his perspective. “Pride, you take it with you in everything that you do. Respect, respect everybody, in sports, and respect yourself, too, do the work and be confident. Hustle is just to do things with passion… that’s the meaning that I’ve taken over the years, and I hope that I can take it in my life too,” he said.

As Calderon reflected, “we’ve all grown up really close together to the point where we know a little bit more about how the world works… that’s how I’ve learned to be respectful.”

“What gives me hope for the future? I always feel so inspired when I look around and see that perseverance, and when I see that people here have really big dreams…. My class has a lot of people with really big dreams,” said McQuilkin.

Santillan described how he thinks he and his classmates might experience navigating the gap between Lee Vining and their new, future homes. “I feel like you’re going to dream about this place when you’re sleeping. When you have a big test or something, and you go to sleep worrying about it… you’re also going to remember what you went through in this place,” he said. “You’re going to feel the support of this community, and the support even of the wildlife, the animals, the trees, and the plants, with you.”

On learning – in and out of the classroom: The community support extends to the school’s teachers and staff as well.

“I will remember the teachers that taught me everything,” said Joseline Calderon, who plans to attend Fresno City College and major in art.

“[I’m going to miss] the teachers, and the interactions with them,” said Garcia, who said that one of his favorite memories was creating puns with the names of teachers for playing Kahoot for class. “Since this is a small school, it’s way easier to have contact with them and get that help you need, compared to other schools that [have] hundreds of kids in each class, you don’t get that attention. That’s definitely what I’m going to miss.”

Thinking on what lessons she learned in Lee Vining that she might carry into the future with her, Gomez said that “for me, personally, it is to not give up. All of the teachers motivated me to not give up, so I feel like that’s something that I’ve learned now. In college, now, I feel like I can try my hardest.”

Altamirano spoke on this connection: “The teachers have definitely made an impact in my life,” she said. “They all care for the students a lot.”

Santillan also reflected on this notion. “Before [high school], I couldn’t fully speak English fluently because I was so shy. And now with the speech contest, and other stuff, I basically got out of my comfort zone, joining the mock trial team and everything. This high school changed that for me, [pushing me] out of that comfort zone, and helping me reach close to my full potential,” he said. “I think that this high school helped me realize that my future… is behind books.”

That’s part of why Santillan described that his own emotions about graduation have a lot to do with his family. “My family also made me realize that the pain that my father and mother had to  [feel] — like leaving their father and mother behind in Mexico, for basically all their life — I realized that, and that’s why I think I improved a lot during my other years of high school. That’s how my family feels now, that their sacrifices just became worth it.”

Others spoke on the wider school community that makes these connections possible. “Waving to Mr. Narciso or Mr. Francisco as they drive by in the school bus is how I start my day. It’s an example that shows just how a part of each other’s lives we all are,” said McQuilkin.

She said that all these thoughts reflect academic value. “The teachers at our school have used the smallness in the best way possible. I think they’ve used that to really have the opportunity to connect with the students,” she said. “I’m a very curious person, and I want to know more about the world. I feel like Lee Vining is a place that has helped foster that, and encourages that in its students. And I think that in general, it has created an environment where people really care about learning… I think it’s a very special thing that academics are also something that people really take pride in.”