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	Photo: Craig Merrill

Climb Every Mountain

Alameda's Graduating Seniors Show Their Stuff

    Every year, Alameda Magazine profiles the top students on the Island—some from public schools, some from private or charter schools. Each of these students is doing something amazing: getting top grades, overcoming extreme obstacles of poverty or hardship, making a difference in the universe or to a friend or family member.
    When asked what they envision for their futures, some of these young adults answer that they’re striving to be mayor of Oakland or governor of California. Others say they want to be a horse doctor, a flight attendant, a computer programmer or a paramedic. The graduating class of 2007 holds promises for changing the world, because that is what these kids ache to do when the last school bell rings in June. Whether they are literally scaling peaks or simply holding one person’s hand, these stellar students will fill your heart with pride and joy and awe.

Encinal High School

    Krystle Adesoye Onibokun is another scholar-athlete who never used to think of herself as athletic. She’s surprised to end up as captain and No. 1 tennis player of the girls varsity team. She’s earned an academic letter for math, English, Spanish, science and fine arts; is an AP scholar and is first alto and section leader in the marching band. She recently made a trip to Jamaica where instead/> of finding only cool breezes, nice beaches and warm sun, she also discovered extreme poverty. “I couldn’t imagine people really lived like that. … What really surprised me was even though the people were so poor and had nothing to be thankful for, they were all so kind and polite. This experience really taught me not to take anything that I have for granted and to always give thanks.” Krystle plans to continue her education until she has earned her Ph.D. in math, and wants to work for the National Security Agency as a cryptographer.


    Kai-Xiang Leung took a trip to Washington, D.C. in his junior year, as part of the National Youth Leadership Conference, and learned a great deal about management and leadership there. “After attending NYLC, I find I am able to apply leadership skills in almost every aspect of my life effectively.” He cites his leadership skills in designing and managing the Texas Chainsaw Massacre scene at the Alameda haunted house last Halloween, particularly in “channeling the appropriate amount of enthusiasm to amplify the pleasure level of acting out the murder scene,” he says. However, chainsaws are not the only thing on his mind. Kai-Xiang has a stellar academic record, many honors in leadership and business programs, including DECA (a club promoting marketing and entrepreneurship), student-government leadership roles and much volunteering. He has also studied piano for five years and performed Chinese opera music at a Golden State Warriors game. Although he’s not quite sure what he’ll study, he believes he will be prosperous and wants to be “well-known in my local community as a socially conscious person.”

Aileen Jade Aganus is not just one in a million; she’s one in eight million. That’s because in her spare time, she’s “addicted to an online PC game called World of Warcraft,” she admits. When she’s not battling legions of warriors in the ethernet, Aileen has her hands quite full with the Philippine-American Culture Club, student government, volleyball and softball, JROTC and keeping her grades soaring. She has a thing for biology, too: “I’m not completely sure how far in biology I’d like to get, but at least enough to have just about any answer to all the questions about the human body.” She has goals to never stop learning, to always appreciate what she has and to make her parents proud. With her academic, sports, volunteer and other activities, as well as warring with other worlds, Aileen is certain to achieve that.

Michael Cory Cronenwett has been a scholar-athlete, maintaining a 3.6 GPA while playing football his senior year, and he has been honored throughout his high school football career for his sportsmanlike actions. Michael has also played baseball and run track and worked the scoreboard for EHS basketball. He has been on the honor roll all four years at EHS. He recently became an Eagle Scout and enjoys studying Spanish. Michael looks forward to excelling in college and eventually earning a master’s degree, after a senior year at EHS where he can have fun with his friends and get ready to move on.

St. Joseph Notre Dame High School

Natalya Dominque Caraballo has scored high in her academics and leadership and as an athlete. She’s achieved excellence in her Spanish studies and earned honors from several sources for her excellence in the language. Natalya is a member the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica and a volunteer for several organizations in town. She’s also a young literary star, having had poetry published in SJND’s Prisms magazine and elsewhere. However, it is law and justice that really ignite her spirit. Natalya has volunteered as a youth defense attorney with the McCullum Youth Court and in the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights’ Books Not Bars program. She plans to pursue her love of justice with a degree in sociology, followed by a degree in law. “I want to be a voice for my people and represent those who are facing injustices and oppression in my very own community,” she says. She hopes to “eventually open my own youth court program in the community in which I reside.”

John D. A. Nguyen spent summer 2006 in Colorado Springs at the U.S. Air Force Academy summer program, which required him to push his body physically to the limit. From predawn exercise drills in the cold and damp, crawling through the dirt and racing along at the 7,000-foot elevation, neither his body nor will gave out. He also was challenged in science classes that seemed endless, but at the end of the session, he felt triumphant in both body and mind. “The sacrifice was worth it,” he remembers, especially when his group was recognized for most points accumulated. Back at home, John has kept busy throughout his academic career with leadership, top marks, participation in sports, Boy Scouts, youth ministry at his church, forensics, volunteering and teaching computer graphics, among other activities. As valedictorian of his graduating class, John feels confident that he will “establish myself as a successful entrepreneur and then go into politics to hopefully become a Republican governor of California.”

Laura Ann Granahan tells of one great day with her dad, when they climbed to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. Both of them are runners and took the trail very fast. “I wondered how I was going to make it,” she recalls. When they reached the top and saw the breathtaking views, her dad discovered that they’d made the long hike in just eight hours. “Being able to achieve such a fulfilling and trying feat with my dad was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life,” she says. Her hard work as captain of the varsity cross-country squad, her perseverance in soccer, track and student government and her academic excellence in Spanish and history show that she’s an all-around winner. And she’s not shy about saying that she’s a great cook, too.


Renato Rafael Rocha already has dipped his toe into political waters as part of the Coro Exploring Leadership program. A handful of Bay Area students were selected to participate, and Renato became an intern in then-mayor Jerry Brown’s Oakland office. He learned firsthand about politics, policy and what it takes to do the right thing for the citizens of a community. After the internship, Renato was appointed to the Oakland Youth Advisory Commission by Brown, and then elected government affairs officer of the commission. “[I] now oversee city legislation, advise the city council on youth-related issues [and] help develop budget recommendations,” he says. That’s a high rise for a young man who learned to speak English at age 10 and has held two jobs simultaneously throughout most of his high school career. Academic excellence in all subjects, national honors for his studies, leading the school forensics team and student government have rounded out Renato’s resume. Up next: law school and perhaps the mayor’s office.

Island High School

Angel D. Guerra-Burdick is the Island High School student representative on the Alameda Board of Education. He was once a volunteer in the emergency department at a medical center in Aurora, Colo., where he says the doctors, nurses and paramedics were very supportive and shared what their jobs entailed. “The more I saw, the more I enjoyed myself,” he recalls. “I owe a lot to the people there. … Their experience made me realize what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. It made me see that I want to help people and save lives.” Angel has been working toward high school graduation, aiming towards an associate degree and emergency medical technician certification. He’s already worked as a volunteer firefighter and taken courses at Merritt College toward his EMT courses. “I am working towards becoming a paramedic to gain experience. I will then plan on going to medical school to become a doctor.”

Zoé Sarah Moter was personally transformed over a summer spent with her godmother up in Washington state, in the company of beautiful horses. She took riding lessons and learned how to care for the animals. Zoé soon found herself competing in horse races at the county fair, with a team of girls responsible for keeping the barns clean and other duties. She ended up with ribbons and glory to show for her efforts. “Both my heart and mind were bursting with pride when I heard my name over the speakers,” she recalls. “It was at this moment that I realized I could do just about anything I put my mind to.” Zoé is also active in student leadership and has a GPA of 3.5. She went to Washington, D.C., for the annual Island High School Close Up trip and has volunteered in art classes and at Girls Inc. Zoé also was the caretaker and “right-hand gal” for her father when he was ill with hepatitis. “Today he is completely recovered and healthy,” she says proudly.

Alameda Community Learning Center

Jeanette A. Cazares has traveled the European continent already, taking a two-month journey with her mother in 2004, seeing the sights and meeting everyday people. Jeanette taught herself to speak, read and write Greek, which came in handy on her travels. A budding actor, she has had several roles in Encinal High School stage productions, including Footloose, Cats and Les Miserables, and she has taken acting classes outside of school. She was a stage-crew intern with the Alameda Civic Light Opera for the 2006 summer season and works part time as an Abercrombie & Fitch in-store model. Jeanette’s passion is the planet: She wants “to visit every continent and continue to educate the world about global warming.”

GV Tupasi has had a full high school career, with honors in tennis, academics, debate and volunteer activities. He surprised himself with an affinity for the Special Olympics; even though he didn’t feel he was giving enough to the participants, they surprised him with the coach of the year award. “Receiving the award [made] me realize that what I had been doing in Special Olympics was enough; all my time and actions spent with the Special Olympians means a lot to them.” GV is fluent in Spanish, one of four languages he speaks and understands. He plans to get his bachelor’s degree in nursing, and further, “to make change in society, to be happy with what I [am] doing, travel around the world, never stop learning [and] smile more.”