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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2017)
JUNE 9, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 KeizerCommunity KEIZERTIMES.COM Keizer students turn grades, behavior around FEEL GOOD STORY Saluting the people that make us proud of our community capitolauto.com KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley McNary senior Maria Cervantes was awarded a $65,380 per year scholarship to Occidental College in Los Angeles. Cervantes follows Obama’s footsteps By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes When applying for colleges to study political science, Mc- Nary senior Maria Cervantes went big. And that decision is paying off. Cervantes had never heard of Occidental College, located in Los Angeles, before fi nding out one of her role models, for- mer president Barack Obama, had gone there before transfer- ring to Columbia. “I wasn’t going to get into an Ivy League but I wanted a good school so I fi gured if pres- ident Obama went, it probably is a good school for political science,” Cervantes said. Cervantes was leaning to- wards staying close to home and attending Reed College in Portland until she got her ac- ceptance from Occidental and saw the amount of money they were offering. Cervantes is re- ceiving a $65,380 scholarship per year. Tuition at Occidental is $67,800. Cervantes isn’t sure how she received so much scholarship money. The application was just like all the other colleges. For the essay, Cervantes wrote about her parents moving to America from Mexico when she was just a baby. “I think that’s (essay) what probably helped me,” Cervantes said. “My grades are good and all and I did decently on the SATs but I was really surprised when I got the scholarship in- formation.” Cervantes’ interest in poli- tics began in middle school when she started paying more attention to the news. She was also infl uenced by her older brother who graduated from Willamette after McNary. “I saw him going to debate tournaments and meeting the justices from the courts here in Oregon and talking about meeting the mayor,” Cer- vantes said. “It sounded inter- esting and like something that I would want to do. I think working in the cabinet would be really cool someday.” Cervantes has spoken to Occidental administrators over the phone and reached out to current students through social media. She’ll visit the campus for the fi rst time this summer. By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes Elsa Chavez-Chavez’s face lit up as she talked about grad- uating from McNary High School in front of her parents, younger brother and sisters. “Since I’m the oldest one, I wanted to be the fi rst to gradu- ate from high school and get a diploma so my parents could see me,” Chavez-Chavez said. “I just wanted to prove ev- eryone that doubted me that I wasn’t going to graduate and I am now. I’m so excited.” Chavez-Chavez, one of three Keizer students to receive a 2017 Turnaround Achieve- ment Award, wasn’t sure she would graduate on time a year ago. “I was slacking and it was hard to concentrate and then all the family problems go- ing on were super stressful,” Chavez-Chavez said. “My friends all supported me and pushed me. I stayed after school and met with teachers. I don’t miss as much school. Now I have good grades, As and Bs.” Claggett Creek eighth grad- er Betsy Serpas Quintanilla, who went from making mostly Cs to As and Bs, also wanted Chavez-Chavez Warner Quintanilla to be a good infl uence on her younger siblings. “I want to be a model to my little sisters,” Quintanilla said. “They say that the little siblings always follow your footsteps so I want to make sure they do good as well.” Quintanilla has roles models of her own in her mom who took care of the family when her dad left and her older sister, Sarai, who is fi nishing up nurs- ing school in El Salvador. Quintanilla wants to be a lawyer and thought if she was going to go through that much school, she might as well be- gin to enjoy it. Playing soccer and volleyball and running track and fi eld, Quintanilla also needs good grades for athletics. Whiteaker eighth grader Matthew Warner had behavior- al and academic issues, spend- ing most of the seventh grade in the principal’s offi ce while failing many of his classes. After going to counseling during the summer, Warner de- cided to make a change. “I thought I should stop do- ing what I was doing and start actually acting like a grownup,” Warner said. “I stopped fi ght- ing with people and started lis- tening to the teachers.” Warner, who now makes mostly As and Bs, has also found classes he enjoys like computers, shop and foods. “I really didn’t like people and I didn’t like teachers be- cause I didn’t like school at all,” Warner said. “Now I really like school because I have all my friends here and I get to hang out with them more often.” The 23rd Annual Turn- around Achievement Awards were sponsored by Town & Country Lanes. The recipients were honored at a banquet on May 16 at Keizer Civic Center. Submitted Twenty students from each of the middle and high schools in Salem-Keizer were honored at the 2017 Turnaround Achieve- ment Awards on May 16 at the Keizer Civic Center. 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