Posted inEducation

Custodian means to care

Julissa B. by Julissa B.

Conversations with her are not formal or stuffy, and it’s like having a casual conversation with your favorite tia. Petra “Petty” Medina is one of the custodians at Jimmy Carter Early College High school. The short-lived encounters in the hallway or cafeteria are an opportunity to listen to someone who makes the conversation interesting; it’s completely different when talking to her than with any other administrator or staff member.
Medina is interesting and funny without even knowing. Her outgoing personality makes students and staff like her; her passion for the work she does is what makes her special. Medina employs your typical South Texas mannerisms and character; she takes charge of the conversation and makes sure that you are having a good time and, above all, feel comfortable. It’s the same with her work.
Medina said that she is doing well this year, and she thanks God because she loves her work a lot. And that is why she tries to do it the best she can.
Although she loves her work, retiring is something Medina has thought about. “As long as I can still walk around and do things well, I will keep at it and dance because I love to go dancing,” Medina said.
For Medina, working at a school is like having access to being reenergized because young people give adults the energy to keep going, which is why she enjoys it.
“My worst experience was working with people that don’t understand the job, and they make you pass through rough times.”
Is complicated for Medina to work with a coworker that is problematic, and Petty is not all about causing problems. It was hard for her to overcome the situation she was in, but with patience and ignorance, Petty was able to be calm and continue doing what she loves.

Posted inEducation

Juana Maria Perez

Araely Ruiz by Araely Ruiz

You can still find her in the classroom today even as she works past what she calls Chemobrain. Juana Perez is a two-time breast cancer survivor whose ordeal has forever changed her experience and mindset. Before her diagnosis, Perez considered herself fast-paced and didn’t fully engage with the present tense. She was constantly moving forward and worrying about what was to come when her job. However, when Perez was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was forced on medical leave.

The first time Perez was diagnosed, she took it relatively lightly, and she mainly focused on the positive and wanted to get better: which she knew she would. The second time though, that was a tough battle to fight.

“The second time around really opened my eyes.” After beating cancer the first time, she was convinced she wouldn’t get cancer again. But once she found out she had a 35% chance of survival, she lost hope.

“I didn’t want to fight; I didn’t have the energy or the willpower.” Perez struggled and was emotional to the point where she didn’t look forward to anything until she realized she had found a reason to fight: her girls.

“Waking up and hearing my girls in the kitchen making breakfast is my happy life.” Perez finally realized she had something worth fighting for; she decided to snap out of her depressive state and began to fight, although the chances of surviving that type of breast cancer were a lot lower.

“I believe everything happens for a reason; my faith allowed me to keep hope.” Perez believes that although sometimes we are blinded by these blessings, God will always put us on the right track. “Traffic is bad sometimes, but maybe there’s an accident or something that God is preventing me from experiencing.”

Once Perez snapped out of her depressive state, she began to fight cancer to her fullest and eventually beat triple-negative breast cancer with the support of her family. “From this fast-paced individual to a calm and in the moment person, my past has impacted my mindset for the better.”

Posted inStudent Life, Student Profile, Education, Community

Junior Explores Explorer Program

Adilene V. by Adilene V.

Junior class president Winston Garza participates in a police explorer program with the La Joya ISD police department. The program is offered to students between the ages of 14 and 21, and it teaches them basic information about the law and law enforcement.
“I want to be in law enforcement after high school and college,” Garza said, “so what better way than experience what law enforcement officers on a daily basis right there with them?”
The program does fit in with Garza’s school/work schedule. Although one of the cons that come with it is still how long some of the meetings could take. Which still “isn’t that much [time].”
“I think it very much will be valuable in the future. Say I apply for a job at a local agency; I’ll have some knowledge other cadets might not have. It helps. It’s also shown me there’s time for fun and time for work.”
With a month-long summer academy, participants receive training in traffic stops, felony traffic stops, writing citations, etc.
Last November and December, the police department worked on both a Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas drive.
“I would say the best thing were the ride alongs. I would say, however, 2nd place would be the events with the community, seeing the smiles on kids and families [faces]”, Garza continued,
The Police Explorer Program is a part of Learning for Life, a subsidiary of the Boys Scouts of America. To qualify, applicants must have graduated from 8th grade and must be between 14 and 21.
“If the field of law enforcement is something you want to do in the future, I encourage it. And, I hope you find as much joy, entertainment, privilege, knowledge, and honor in it as I do.”

Posted inStudent Profile, Education, UIL, Community

RedWolves Advice: Dealing with academic stress

Adilene V. by Adilene V.

As the spring semester starts slow and shaky, the lure of mid-year exams and finals are still on people’s minds, not even to mention the added stress of other academic responsibilities. Whether that be UIL or just applying to different colleges and scholarships.
Junior class parliamentarian Dominique Brown is no stranger to this type of stress. Since around the second grade, she has been in UIL, only joining because coaches needed more people to participate in the spelling event. She decided to try out ready writing and journalism when she entered high school.
“I’d say I’m pretty decent at it. There are things I can still improve on, but I still end up receiving 1st through 3rd place most of the time.” Brown said.
She says that while she will have to worry about writing college essays eventually, her experience from the events will help her format the papers properly. Writing those essays would become less complicated because she has already learned to make her writing fit well with each other.
UIL meets naturally highly stressful. You have to sit in the same room with all the people who you’ll have to compete with. “The room is dead silent, so it’s you with all your thoughts, and it gets a little suffocating.”
To deal with this feeling, Brown says she’ll usually zone out and think about different books she has read in the past, thinking about whether she could use any of them as an example in her ready writing competition. During her journalism events, she’ll spend a little time staring at one specific word or sentence to see how she could change it to fit better with what she’s writing. But most importantly, she breathes calmly for a few minutes and then continues.
“I do feel like if I don’t do as good as I normally do, then I’ll disappoint myself,” Brown continued. “I tend to compare myself to past me and to others around me, so whenever I think I don’t do as good as how I’ve done before, I shut down and ‘face’ the truth. But then the results come back, and it’s not as bad as I made it out to be.”
To encourage others not to give in to this mindset, she says she’d tell others that their mistakes will not be the end of the world.
“They tried their best, and at the end of the day, their coaches are still proud of them for trying. It doesn’t determine whether or not you’re a failure.”

Posted inEducation, Opinion, Community

Opinion: Why banning books (mostly) makes no sense

Adilene V. by Adilene V.

Across different states, lawmakers, school districts, and even parents fight to get books pulled from public libraries and schools. Books being removed range from slavery and discrimination to the average teen coming-of-age novels.
There is a list of 850 books that lawmakers believe should be challenged in Texas alone. Why? The books are known for depicting anti-racism themes or LBGTQ+ characters. And, according to some, they are actively “poisoning young minds.”
Ironically, ‘Fahrenheit 451’ was banned from different schools in 2006. The book takes place in 2050 in a dystopian society where books are banned and burned. Fahrenheit 451 challenged it because it included vulgar language that some people may find offensive: one of the final books burned in the Bible.
Parents don’t seem to want their young, impressionable children reading anything that contains harsh language, violence, or anything that can be labeled as propaganda.
For example, ‘Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness’ is removed because it promotes racial justice and the children’s Black Lives Matter movement. Parents within the Eanes Independent School District in Austin, Texas, say that children’s books shouldn’t be promoting those types of ideologies. Other parents from the same district suggested replacing the non-fiction book ‘How to be an Anti-Racist’ with the Bible for the same reason.
Of course, these bans have been decades in the making. In the 1990s, a New York chancellor was essentially forced to remove the book ‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ from the school curriculum. This book was challenged because of its themes of homosexuality and anti-family, and the book would successfully become the most challenged in 1993.
Books about sexual health and puberty have also been removed, such as ‘It’s Perfectly Normal,’ has also been removed. The book is aimed at middle school students, and a mother in Haltom City, Texas, says that the material discussed isn’t appropriate for middle schoolers.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, though, some of these books do include not at all age-appropriate material. During a church group meeting, ‘Lawn Boy’ describes different sexual scenes between fourth-graders and a friendly reminder that fourth graders are nine years old.
‘Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts)’ is about a high schooler who runs a blog dedicated to sexual advice. Author Lev AC Rosen says that the book shows a much bigger narrative to empower queer teens.
He does make a point but, a book like that shouldn’t be widely available for children not in the demographic: high school students, 16-18-year-olds.
That type of content is, hate it or not, much too graphic for a middle schooler.
A young adult has access to those books, but that doesn’t mean that middle or elementary schools should have them shelved if the demographic doesn’t attend them. A middle schooler should not access a book with explicit material they aren’t emotionally mature enough for.
There is a big difference between banning a book because it’s labeled as propaganda and banning a book simply not appropriate for specific age groups. One limits the acceleration of information, and the other does something to protect children. People can make as many arguments as possible, but it will not change how only one makes sense.
School children shouldn’t be exposed to sexually explicit content in schools, but they should be exposed to newer and different political ideas, even if they can be seen as indoctrination.

Posted inEducation

Three Carter students earned awards and distinctions as part of the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

by Ivan Silva

Three Carter students earned awards and distinctions as part of the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Mariana Castillo is being recognized by the Region-at-Large program of the 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, for her submission titled “The “Best” Of Both Worlds “ in the category of Journalism and Caasi Vasquez for her photography submission “Reality Shift.”

            Castillo and Vasquez earned a Gold Key award that automatically advances to the national level competition, judged in New York. The national medalist will be announced on March 23.

            A Gold Key award has been evaluated for originality, technical skill, and the emergence of personal vision or voice. According to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards website, they have recognized and celebrated artists since 1923.

            Additionally, Jesus Menchaca and Jacqueline Gonzalez have earned a Silver Key Award in writing and Photography.

As mentors and teachers, these students’ efforts have been supported by Ms. Thania Robles, Ms. Nilda Valle, and Mr. Iván Silva, staff members at Jimmy Carter Early College High School. The goal at Carter is to develop our student’s abilities both in and outside of the classroom so that they can be the next generation of leaders and mentors.

“The Alliance’s mission is to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent and present their remarkable work to the world through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The Awards give students opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarships,” per the organization’s mission.

Last year about 230,000 students made submissions in 28 different categories of art and writing.

Posted inEducation

Carter students recognized by College Board

by Ivan Silva

The College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) recognized Frida Beltran, Jade Cruz, and Evelyn Trevino.
NHRP was started in 1985 to help identify Hispanic high school students.
“[NRHRP] creates pathways to college for underrepresented students by not only awarding them academic honors but in turn connecting them with universities across the country, ” according to the College Board.
A student must be at least one-fourth Hispanic and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher to qualify for the program. Additionally, students must also be permanent residents of the US or any territories. Approximately 7,000 students are recognized annually.
While it does not come with any monetary awards, students can hear from colleges interested in hearing from Hispanic students. Although this recognition does not offer financial support, some universities offer scholarships to National Hispanic Scholars. These universities include the University of Arizona and the University of Kentucky.
Frida Beltran says that she was happy even to qualify. She believes this will eventually help her in the long run since most colleges do think highly of these achievements.
“My parents were excited when I received it, and so were my teachers,” Beltran said.
Trevino received an email encouraging her to apply for the recognition during her sophomore year. With the support of both of her parents, she applied for the program. In August of 2021, she received an acceptance letter from NHRP.
“I felt like [it was] my most important high school accomplishment yet, for it was a sign that all my hard work was paying off, ” Trevino said.
The NHRP offers an opportunity for national Hispanic scholars to gain higher education. The program caters to the Hispanic community and their needs by providing a better representation of minorities at different colleges and universities in the United States.