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With local high schools holding their commencement ceremonies this week, the Voice wanted to hear from graduating seniors about what their high school experience has been like.
Below is a Q&A interview with Mountain View High School senior Monse Hernández Estévez, who reflected on her experience at the school. Answers have been edited for style and clarity.
What is your favorite memory from high school?
My favorite memory from high school is always going to be the planning of Multilingual Learner picnics at the school. I am an ambassador, and we plan picnics for the English Language Development students in our school where we have food from different cultures, fun activities and things like that. As an immigrant myself, I just love seeing people from different countries being happy here! It’s really hard to adapt after moving, but we are still positive! We still try to see the good sides of it and we are still happy.
What’s a word that describes your senior year?
A word that describes my year would be resilience. I have faced a lot of walls this year when it comes to college and other personal situations, but the important part is that I always kept going. I always knew it was not the end of the world.
What song defines your senior year?
I think a song that would describe my senior year would be “Cara de Velocidad” by Serú Girán. Although it is not a well-known song in this country, I still think it represents this year amazingly well. It starts with a soft piano that connects to the downsides of my year, yet the fun part begins when the other instruments join and you can feel in the music that the musicians are having fun! It’s like this year, because even though there have been sad, disappointing parts of it, there have been way more happy moments that have definitely contributed to my character!
Which class do you think prepared you most for life after high school?
The class that prepared me the most for life after high school has definitely been economics. My teacher, Ms. Theriault, has supported every single student in the class along the way, and although hearing about taxes, GDP, fiscal and monetary policies is not always easy, she has made it an amazing experience. The class taught me a lot about personal finances and planning for the future, which is valuable. I have even talked to my parents about it and they are glad they teach us this in high school, especially since that is something they learned way later in life.
Finish this sentence: “In 10 years I’m going to be…”
In ten years I am going to hopefully be working in a film studio. I definitely want to major in film and my dream has always been to work in a film studio. Hopefully when I am out of college, maybe getting a master’s degree, I will at the same time be working on some cool horror film with neat special effects. That would be so cool.
What’s the top piece of advice that you would give to incoming high schoolers?
The top piece of advice I’d give high schoolers would be to accept that as long as you work towards your goal, you will be okay. I know people might think that these words can be unrealistic, but I think it depends on your perspective. As long as you are passionate about your path, as long as you are the one choosing it, you will end up in a good place. Even if you get rejected from all the schools you applied to! Community colleges around the area are some of the best ones. Keep working hard, and don’t forget to have a life outside of school, too!
What are you most proud of accomplishing or overcoming in high school?
I am the most proud of the change I have encouraged at the school. I helped other immigrant students overcome the challenges of moving to a new country, was the MC of two Latino events this year, kept the MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) club going with my team… and so much more! I am proud of myself for being involved in my school but even prouder because those events represent my culture and make it so that Latino voices are heard.
Check out this year’s list of Mountain View High School graduates and read our article about the graduation ceremony.
For all of our graduation coverage, go to our central graduation page.
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Great interview