On June 4, El Monte Union recognized more than 1,800 members of the Class of 2020 during Car Parade celebrations, during which seniors – clad in caps and gowns and other graduation regalia – received their diplomas with family members cheering from their vehicles. Each school also live-streamed virtual celebrations as a tribute to the six graduating classes.
Mountain View High School senior Cindy Lee, this year’s top valedictorian for the Class of 2020, has been named a 2020 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Scholar, one of only 300 students across the nation to receive the full-tuition scholarship. Lee will attend her dream university, UC Irvine, where she will major in data science and pursue a graduate degree.
The El Monte Promise Foundation, in collaboration with El Monte Union High School District, has launched a donation campaign to raise $10,000 for graduation banners and signs recognizing El Monte Union’s Class of 2020. EMPF and EMUHSD are working in partnership with local cities – including Rosemead, El Monte and South El Monte – to support the display of banners throughout the El Monte Union community that will recognize approximately 1,800 individual graduates from six high schools. The deadline to donate is Wednesday, June 10.
The El Monte Promise Foundation in collaboration with El Monte Union High School District has launched a donation campaign to raise $10,000 for graduation banners and signs recognizing El Monte Union’s Class of 2020. EMPF and EMUHSD are working in partnership with local cities – including Rosemead, El Monte and South El Monte – to support the display of banners throughout our communities that will recognize approximately 1,800 individual graduates from Mountain View, Arroyo, Rosemead, El Monte, South El Monte, and Fernando R. Ledesma high schools.
Rosemead High School senior Tristan Tanchanco sees his life as a series of challenges he’s had to overcome, whether it was learning English, editing the school newspaper, mastering the guitar or understanding the intricacies of molecular biology and biochemistry. Tanchanco’s outgoing personality and ability to weather those and other challenges have earned him a full-tuition Posse Foundation scholarship to Middlebury College, a private Vermont liberal arts and research university known as a “Little Ivy.” Tanchanco will pursue a medical degree and a career as a pediatrician.
This week, El Monte Union’s five comprehensive high schools have been distributing caps and gowns, sashes, medals, awards and personalized Class of 2020 yard signs to seniors during Senior Pick-Up events. Mountain View High School held mini parades as administrators, teachers and staff personally delivered over 275 yard signs over two days to students. South El Monte High School will hold a Cap and Gown Tailgate from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, where teachers will be parked with decorated cars to send off seniors as they pick up their senior items from the school.
El Monte High School seniors Juan Saucedo and Kermina Samaan took different paths to the United States, learn a second language and acclimate to a new home. The challenges both faced bolstered their drive to graduate high school and attend a four-year university. Saucedo, who arrived from Mexico in 2017, and Samaan, who arrived from Egypt in 2015, advanced quickly through El Monte High’s English language development (ELD) program, doubling up on English classes and taking summer school classes to complete their college entrance requirements. After challenging themselves to accelerate their education, Saucedo has been accepted to UC Riverside, where he will pursue mathematics, and Samaan was accepted to Cal State Los Angeles, where she will major in chemistry.
Arroyo High School senior student Kelli Doan learned the basics of cooking while helping her mother prep a week’s worth of family meals on Sundays. When Doan discovered she could expand her skills by taking culinary arts classes at Arroyo, she eagerly enrolled. She never dreamed it would lead her down the road to becoming a master chef. Doan was recently awarded a $125,000 scholarship through the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America New York campus, where she will pursue a bachelor’s degree in culinary science.
Arroyo High School Principal Angelita Gonzales, who has been the top administrator at the school since 2013 and an educator at El Monte Union for over 35 years, will retire in June. Gonzales, who was first hired as an English language development teacher at Rosemead High in 1984, has worked at every El Monte Union school throughout her career and held several roles, including counselor, bilingual resource teacher, migrant education coordinator, compensatory education coordinator and assistant principal.
Arroyo High School senior Yvette Hernandez has been recognized as a 2020 Dell Scholar by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. She is one of just 500 students across the country to be selected for the coveted $20,000 scholarship. Hernandez, a first-generation college-goer with a 3.84 GPA, is one of just 260 Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students to receive the Dell Scholarship. Hernandez credits AVID for providing the support and resources to help her navigate the scholarship application process.
