Aspire Public Schools is a K-12 school system focused on improving public education by preparing underserved students for college, training highly effective teachers and sharing innovative best practices.
We are thrilled to introduce our 2023 Don Shalvey: Changing the Odds Award Winners!
Created in 2009 to honor Aspire’s founder, Don Shalvey, the award recognizes alumni who are the first in their families to graduate from college, tenacious in pursuit of their post-secondary goals, and who demonstrate Aspire’s Core Value of Community Partnership by giving back. Each year, one winner is selected from each of Aspire’s three regions.
This year’s award recipients are Dariana Lopez, Belen Naranjo, and Eunique Tucker! Read on to learn more about these outstanding, service-oriented alumni, all of whom are pursuing careers in helping professions.
Dariana Lopez
Dariana is part of Aspire Ollin University Preparatory Academy‘s graduating class of 2018. After graduating high school, she attended California State University Los Angeles, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in rehabilitation services in 2022. She has always had a passion for helping others and giving back to her community, so while in college, she started volunteering at Ollin. Her dream has always been to be an academic counselor and help students fulfill their educational goals. She then eventually became an employee at Ollin. She was honored to inspire and work with students who come from communities like herself and provide opportunities to help them succeed, which she did by working alongside academic counselors as an assistant. Now, she is excited to move forward to obtain her master’s degree of science in school counseling at California State University Northridge, to pursue an ultimate goal of becoming a school counselor.
Belen Naranjo
After graduating from Aspire Benjamin Holt College Preparatory Academy in 2019, Belen went to California State University Northridge where she entered as a criminology major. Thanks to the curriculum at Ben Holt, she already had most of her general education credit completed and began college with sophomore standing. She is grateful for her time at Aspire as she felt better prepared than those around her to be in the college setting. After her first few months, she decided to pursue studying child and adolescent development with applied developmental sciences, receiving her bachelor’s in May 2022. She is now preparing to attend Sacramento State in fall 2023, where she looks forward to obtaining a master’s in social work in order to give back to the community.
Eunique Tucker
After Eunique graduated from Aspire Richmond California College Preparatory Academy in 2015, she attended UC Davis where she received her bachelor’s in psychology. She then took a gap year and worked in Applied Behavior Analytics and the California Highway Patrol. In 2020, she began her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Loma Linda University. She is very proud to say that she has persisted to the end of her third year. She is currently completing practicum hours working with teens at Jurupa Hills High School and serving the San Bernardino County community at the SBH Resiliency Clinic. During her time at Loma Linda, she has also had the chance to work in vaccine advocacy through a couple of churches in the community with the goal of increasing vaccine rates within the Black community, as well as giving presentations about mental health to the families of J.O. Ford Elementary in Richmond, CA.
Aspire Public Schools is thrilled to announce our 2023 Shining Stars!
Anchored in Aspire’s Core Value of Agency + Self-determination, this award is given to one senior from each of our secondary schools. Winners demonstrate tenacity in pursuit of their post-secondary goals, and are heavily involved in their school and wider communities. Thank you to our generous supporters Richard and Theresa Crocker, who have made this award possible since 2015!
Congratulations to these incredible seniors, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish! Check out the highlight video below and read on to learn more about these students, reflections on their time at Aspire, and their future plans.
His favorite memory at Aspire:Going around school and being recognized by almost everyone and being able to start new conversations with anybody, forming new friendships.
His advice to younger students:Live life in the moment because time goes by, and by the time you know it, high school is over and so are prom, hanging out with friends, and the simple high school experience you can not get back.
In his post-secondary life, Bryan is most excited about… following my dream career and living the college lifestyle.
Jared Lazo Jared came to Aspire Langston Hughes Academy as a 6th grader. After graduation, he is excited to study music.
His favorite memory at Aspire:Visiting various colleges for a field trip this year. It was a bittersweet moment hearing my peers laughing and joking on the bus for what will be one of our last memories in which we are all together in one space.
His advice to younger students: Just enjoy yourself. Talk to new people, listen to new music, eat new foods, learn new skills, immerse yourself in meaningful hobbies and experiences, and prioritize your relationships and well-being. Of course, work as hard as you can, but don’t be hard on yourself because your life hasn’t even begun yet.
In his post-secondary life, Jared is most excited that…college will provide me with the environment and resources to explore my interests and connect with those who share these interests. As a music producer and pianist, I can’t wait to meet other musicians. Perhaps I can join a band and jam with them, or perhaps I will create a collaborative album with a close friend.
Her favorite memory at Aspire:I’ve always regarded my school as a colorful, creative, and close-knit community. This can be proven when you first step inside, and you can find social justice portraits in every corner and feel the warm, friendly welcome of our school staff and students. Despite how small our school is, we are big on a sense of belonging. And my favorite memory of hosting the API town hall in May of 2021 with my Asian Pacific Islander Student Union represents that. During my junior year, my friends, AAPISU, and I worked together to bring our school a town hall dedicated to Asian hxstory. We put together decorations, activities, games, fun educational lessons, and more. Leading up to that point, we also enjoyed spending time with each other and held a cultural potluck where we brought and shared food from within each of our cultures. Overall, in that time of year, I had a fun time organizing the event and seeing how much everyone values diversity.
Her advice to younger students:Honestly, just make the most out of your years at school. This means enjoying it as much as possible. Although it is heavily emphasized to work diligently for post-secondary education like college, your whole world shouldn’t strictly revolve around it. It’s not ideal if it means jeopardizing your mental health and even your relationships. You still have a lot ahead of you. Use the time that you have to find what you are passionate about and maintain that instead of stressing or dictating what could happen in the future. Find balance between your work ethic and happiness to live life to the fullest.
Jamielle is excited about her post-secondary life because…I’ve recently been watching “day in the life” vlogs of a college student. The “college core” aesthetic seems so cute that I am looking forward to it–like making breakfast for myself, studying in a library with an iPad and an Apple Pencil, or walking around campus with friends 🙂
Her favorite memory at Aspire:When I was elected to be student body president. Knowing that the entire student body trusted me with this position felt like an honor for me.
Her advice to younger students:Do not make choices based on what other people think. Do what is best for you and never give up regardless of the circumstances.
In her post-secondary life, Alondra is most excited about…discovering more about myself and meeting new people outside of just my high school.
Matthew Marquez Matthew has been with Aspire since the 3rd grade. After graduating from Aspire Pacific Academy, he will attend UC Irvine to study business administration and finance.
His favorite memory at Aspire:Math field days. I only attended twice at my time at Aspire but the competition with other students and being able to come out on top individually was a great accomplishment for me. Other than that, graduating from both elementary and middle school leading up to my graduation of high school is something very special to me to be able to achieve as well.
His advice to younger students: Push yourselves and get into uncomfortable positions because the more you are challenged the better you feel when you accomplish your challenge. Do not slack off at school. Middle school is as important as high school as it prepares you for high school and all high school years are very important as they determine the available options for post high school.
In his post-secondary life, Matthew is most excited about… living and experiencing what a university life is all about. All that and learning new things from new people and learning what my future career will be through the next four or more years of my life. I am very excited to move forward in life as an adult.
Her favorite memory at Aspire:Being able to help at the senior signing ceremony last year. It was just such an amazing experience being a part of the journey of the seniors from that year and seeing them decide the next part of their life. Helping set up in general was also so much fun.
Her advice to younger students:It is okay to take a step back and take care of yourself. Enjoy the ride of being a high school student.
In her post-secondary life, Dinora is most excited about…doing internships that are related to my career choice.
His favorite memory at Aspire:11th grade Halloween Carnival. It was so much fun and it was the first event coming back from Quarantine so I was super happy to see everyone having fun in one place again.
His advice to younger students: Have fun by yourself. Go visit a museum, eat at that new sushi place, just spend time with yourself once in a while. It can be really relaxing.
In his post-secondary life, Matthew is most excited about… meeting new people from places around the United States or the world.
Lindsey Nguyen Lindsey came to Aspire Benjamin Holt College Preparatory Academy in 6th grade. After graduation, she plans to attend San Jose State University to major in mathematics or math education in hopes of becoming a secondary math teacher.
Her favorite memory at Aspire: All of my favorite moments from my time at Aspire stem from community and connection with both students and staff. One that sticks out to me the most is Homecoming week my Junior year. This was my first time experiencing Homecoming from the Student Council point of view, fresh out of the pandemic. Homecoming week was the first event thrown by Student Council that was back in person. It was new to all of us and we were just running on pure excitement to be together again. The whole week of float building and parade preparation showed me how the class of 2023 came together as a community with open-mindedness and trust. Going into something so blindly with trial and error helped us all bond and grow together through the experience. After the whole event I felt so much closer to my class and that I think was the moment that we became a family. With such success, it kept our motivation to create new events which in turn created lasting memories.
Her advice to younger students: As a Connect Crew Leader, the number one advice that I give to the younger students is to make an effort to build relationships with your teachers and the adults on campus. My greatest accomplishments in high school wouldn’t have been made possible without the support of the adults around me. Not just teachers, but also counselors, campus staff, and the office ladies. Building good relationships can not only make you feel more motivated and excited to come to school, but also help you feel more comfortable to reach out and ask for help if you need it. It eliminates the feelings of fear and judgment for seeking help. It also just makes school more fun and exciting! I genuinely love seeing my teachers, counselors, and staff at school everyday and I truly treasure my time with them. I am forever grateful for their support!
In her post-secondary life, Lindsey is most excited about… networking and expanding my connections in college. Being at a smaller school has provided me with a tight, family-like community, and so I am curious to see what student life is like at a much bigger scale. I am also looking forward to expanding as a person and seeing who I grow to be based on my experiences.
Andrea Paz Andrea has been an Aspire student since the second grade! After graduating from Aspire Alexander Twilight Secondary Academy, she will attend UC Davis to study political science in hopes of becoming a lawyer.
Her favorite memory at Aspire:It’s not a specific memory but all the connections I have built with my teachers. The connections I have with my teachers are something that I will cherish for a long time because they have supported, guided me, and given me resources that otherwise I would have had a hard time getting.
Her advice to younger students: If I could give a piece of advice to younger students it would be to keep moving forward and keep your goals in mind and the reasons why you are doing what you are doing. If I were to give a piece of advice to my younger self I would say to keep moving forward because it gets better.
In her post-secondary life, Andrea is most excited about… being able to pursue my career, meet other people who share my interests, and gain more independence to branch out of my comfort zone.
The Aspire Foundation has created a new scholarship called Aspire2Alder to help hourly Aspire teammates who are enrolled in the Alder Teacher Residency Program and working toward their teaching credentials. This builds on our long-standing relationship with the Aspire-incubated Alder Graduate School of Education. We’d like to congratulate Julie Rojas and Yvette Pacheco for enrolling in the Alder Residency Program and becoming the first Aspire teammates to be awarded this unique scholarship!
We wish Julie and Yvette continued success in their academic endeavors! Learn more about them and their goals below.
Julie Rojas
Julie Rojas has been a part of the Aspire community for many years, graduating from Aspire Ollin University Preparatory Academy, and returning to her alma mater as an After School Educator. Julie received her bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University and is now pursuing her master’s degree in education through Alder GSE.
“It is a great honor to be a recipient of the Aspire2Alder Award! Being a part of the Aspire community has been very rewarding to my educational and professional journey,” she shared.
Today, she works with 5th-grade students at Aspire Inskeep Academy and plans to continue teaching this grade level in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys going outdoors, spending time with her family, and going to local coffee shops.
Yvette Pacheco
Yvette shared she’s happy and proud to be working in Huntington Park at Aspire Titan Academy, where she was previously an Instructional Assistant and is now a resident 5th-grade teacher. She also expressed enthusiasm for the teacher residency program saying, “I am thrilled to be a part of Alder and continue my journey as an educator! I am constantly learning how to be a better teacher for the students I work with. I am excited to learn more, and I hope to keep working in the community that I grew up in as an elementary school teacher.”
During her time off, she enjoys traveling and eating at new restaurants as well as spending time with her friends and family.
If you’re interested in pursuing teacher residency programs like our teammates Julie and Yvette, visit the Alder GSE page today!
The Aspire Shining Stars award recognizes outstanding seniors across our high schools in the Central Valley, Bay Area, and Los Angeles regions.
We are happy to announce that each award winner will receive a scholarship award to put towards their post-secondary education. This scholarship was made possible through the generosity of Richard and Theresa Crocker, to whom we are very thankful!
Our 2022 Shining Stars have demonstrated the Aspire vision of College for Certain. Learn more about their current goals and aspirations below.
To our 2022 Aspire Shining Stars, congratulations on all of your high school achievements and we wish you all the best in your post-secondary success ahead!
Yvette Pacheco