Lansing Civic Events Blog
2017 Senior Recognition Ceremony
Chicano Latino Advisory Committee
May 10, 2017
By Chuck Krafft
Last month, I was privileged
to attend a Hispanic Chamber Member Mixer where Lansing Mayoral Candidate Andy
Schor gave a presentation. John Castillo
and Jose Yanez let me know that there would be a special graduation ceremony
for the Hispanic graduates of Sexton, Everett and Eastern.
They told me that this is one
of the many things that the Lansing Hispanic Community leadership does do
encourage Hispanic students to overcome some of the obstacles many of the incur
on the way to graduation.
They held the ceremony at
Lansing Pattengill Middle School’s auditorium.
After everyone was seated,
the graduates from all three schools marched in as “Pomp and Circumstance” was
played.
Master of Ceremonies John
Castillo called the meeting to order and Amanda Cena did a traditional, strong
and confident rendition of the National Anthem!
Dr. Clyde Carnegie did the
invocation. Then a video that featured
interviews with many of the graduates briefly telling highlights of their high
school careers.
Dr. Nino Rodriguez and
Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul welcomed the students to the ceremony.
Dr. Rodriguez told the
graduates, “This is YOUR celebration!”
He made a point of letting us know that parents are the best educators
and wished the students the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Ms. Canul welcomed everyone
in Spanish and then in English. She told
of her childhood living in Latin America and becoming fluent in Portuguese and
Spanish as well as English. She moved to
America and experienced what it was like to not fit in with many of the people
who had only experienced life in America.
This allows her to understand the extra challenges faced by those who
are not part of the majority ethnicity.
She told us of how she
started to fit in better in college and of how a protest in the Frandor Kroger
parking lot made her understand the importance of Cesar Chavez and his
contributions to the Hispanic Community.
She challenged students to improve and educate themselves as much as
possible so that they can work to improve life for all Hispanic people.
Taylor Taylor, a fine local
singer/songwriter/guitarist who I have met a numerous jam sessions (I sing and
play keyboards) sang a song about overcoming boredom, obstacles and fears to
get through a challenging time of your life.
She related this to the challenges of getting through the school
curriculum.
John Castillo pointed out several
advantages in being bilingual and introduced the Keynote Speaker, Mauricio
Pincheira, the Director of Manufacturing Support in North America for General
Motors.
Mr. Pincheira gave a
confident, well-organized presentation that would have made any Toastmaster proud. He congratulated the students and told a bit
about his personal story.
He was born in Chile, but his
family emigrated to California when he was two.
When he started high school, his family moved to Indiana and he had to
deal with a huge culture shock. He
graduated from high school and went through a mechanical engineering course at
Purdue. The course was very difficult
and he was not always sure he would get through it, but he persevered and made
it!
He told the graduates that
they will need to continue their hard work if they want to be successful and
help the Hispanic Community. He pointed
out how rapidly the Hispanic Population is growing and the importance of their
becoming successful in our society.
He showed a video by Dr. Juan
Andrade, a pioneer in bilingual education, that emphasized the importance of
Hispanic people embracing education.
When the video was over, Mr.
Pincheira gave several tips that are needed to become a successful adult. These included remembering your family,
working hard, standing out (as opposed to not being open to others) and
learning to communicate so that you can pull others in the Hispanic Community
up as you work to advance yourself.
He really emphasized the
importance of learning to be a good public speaker so you can help to organize
and inform others in your community. He
said if he was 18 again, he would aim as high as possible (shoot for the moon)
- - if you are not successful, you will still be in the stars.
Finally, he pointed out the
importance of persistence and organization by using the adage, “Luck is when
preparation meets opportunity.”
Thanks to Mr. Pincheira for a
truly inspiration Keynote Speech that was the exact message needed for this
occasion!
The Chicano Latino Advisory Committee
then distributed scholarship awards to seven top scholars:
Ana Marie Chavez
Alejandro Salais
Xitlali Garcia-Pilar
Daylen Hernandez-Suarez
Ana Lopez
Maria Jose Martinez
Nelson Noa Ferra
Taylor Taylor teamed up with
Mikeyy Austin to do a song called “Elevator” that was an interesting mix of
Taylor’s music and Mikeyy’s rapping about the hard times people in minority
communities face making their way through life.
Dr. George Pena thanked a
number of people on the board who helped organize the event. He singled out Sein Benavidez for all his
work in making the event happen.
After Pastor Victor Trevino
gave a benediction, John Castillo concluded the ceremony.
I would like to specially
thank John Castillo, Jose Yanez and Sein Benavidez for making sure I knew of
the ceremony. This was a momentous event
to reward this year’s Hispanic Graduates!!
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