A group of junior and senior level students at Valley High School are currently embarking on a journey – before they even graduate. Thanks to a collaboration between the Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE) and Valley High School, these students are being exposed to a myriad of career opportunities. Two times a week – after school, these students have committed themselves to attending a GearUP session in the school library. The hour-long sessions explores a wide variety of career options post-high school graduation. The Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) has maintained a “mantra” of delivering students that are both college or career ready. The GearUP program clearly represents the opportunity to educate some of its students about career possibilities.
Thanks to the invitation by Valley High School Counselor, Liz Buckley, we were able to observe a recent session on Thursday. The subject for this day was a career in the hospitality/food service industry. The guest speaker was the current General Manager at the Hyatt House property in Pleasanton, Ms. Marlene Fahrenkrog.
Marlene candidly shared her personal story. By her own admission, she was not a superlative high school student and had to work into the summer to complete her high school diploma. She attended college, but did not ultimately finish her degree. In the meantime, she moved to Northern California and started a family. While she had not fully formulated her career desires, she attained employment with the Marriott hotel chain and worked at the front desk. She immediately knew that this role would meet her passion of helping people. This led to many other opportunities within the hospitality industry – including roles in the sales segment. Ultimately, this has led into her current role as the General Manager of the Hyatt House property in the Hacienda Business Park in Pleasanton. It is a career that has spanned 23 years.
Life at MIT – Dublin High’s Kimberli Zhong Rides Robotics to Boston’s Tech Paradise
by Kimberli Khong (Dublin High School Class of 2014 and MIT Class of 2018)
Kimberli Zhong
Though the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had always seemed like a perfect fit for me, I almost didn’t go there. A few days before the deadline, I filled out the enrollment confirmation form for a sunnier California school. But on the verge of clicking “Submit,” I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would be missing out.
I had first experienced MIT’s unique culture back in April, when I’d visited for Campus Preview Weekend. The four-day event consisted of 600+ student-run activities, including things like “Midnight Ultimate Frisbee,” “Blanket Fort Engineering,” and countless liquid nitrogen ice cream offerings and fraternity steak dinners—being there was truly like drinking from a firehose. Despite the intensity, MIT wasn’t arrogant or antisocial. I made close friends before I had even decided to “comMIT”, wandering around campus and playing Tetris on the Green Building at ungodly hours of the night. CPW showed me that though I could have received an excellent education from many other schools, it was only at MIT that I felt both comfortable and challenged.
So I hit the back button and flew back to Cambridge in the fall. I haven’t regretted the decision so far (but that may change now that my semester on Pass/No Record is over).
Life at MIT has been exhilarating. Students here love numbers, so I’ll list some: in my first few months here, I’ve stayed awake to see five sunrises, been to four other states, watched 22 Jump Street three times, experienced two days of Boston snow, and witnessed the construction of one roller coaster. I’ve met hundreds of new people, helped organize a thousand-student hackathon, and gained over ten thousand Snapchat points. MIT is full of people who love doing things and making stuff, and I’ve quickly become infected with their excitement.
Getting In to Law School: Dublin High School’s Kirsten Johansson University of Texas Law School
by Kirsten Johansson
(Dublin High School Class of 2011, Southern Methodist University Class of 2014 and University of Texas School of Law student)
Late night studying
Ever since high school, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. For a while I didn’t know what type of law I wanted to practice, although I was drawn to criminal law from the crime TV shows I loved. Around my junior year in Dublin High School, I become very interested in environmental law and I have continued down this path ever since. My law school experience has consisted of two parts – getting in and my experience as an actual law student.
Getting In
The first part of making my dreams of going to law school a reality sounded simply enough; I had to get in. When I was choosing a college, I chose the one that gave me the most opportunities for extracurricular activities and an excellent pre-law program. For me, this college was Southern Methodist University in Dallas. I learned later on that having a “pre-law” program is far from necessary for law school, but having this program made me feel more comfortable.
When choosing a major, most pre-law students decide to pursue a political science degree. If you love political science, I think this is a good option, but overall I think having a broader range of knowledge is useful when applying. I was interested in the environment, and so I double majored in Environmental Studies and Public Policy. This exposed me to both the politics and the science behind environmental law, which I have found very useful. My biggest recommendation to anyone, but especially those planning to go to graduate school, is to take classes you like. Keeping your GPA up is one of the single most important determining factors for getting into law school, and I found I always did better in classes I enjoyed.
Principal Claire Mognaga
Students across Dublin return to classes today as the Dublin Unified School District kicks off the remainder of the 2014-15 school calendar. Today also brings a changing of the guard at Frederiksen Elementary School as Claire Mognaga will official serve as its new principal. She will be succeeding Holly Scroggins, who will be the founding principal at Amador Elementary School – near the Positano community in 2015. In 1940, the epic tome “You Can’t Go Home Again” was published based upon the writings of Thomas Wolfe. However, in our discussion with Ms. Mognaga, we discovered that you can indeed come home again.
While born in California, Claire spent most of her formative years in Sparks, NV. After spending one year at the University of Nevada, Reno, she transferred to the University of California, Davis. This was an opportunity to enroll in the UC system and to solidify her professional arc. While initially undeclared, she gravitated towards the discipline of Human Development. Her previous interests in gymnastics and a course in Autism Development cemented her desire to move into the teaching profession. Subsequently, she attained a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from California State University, Hayward. Ms. Mognaga began her teaching career in 1994 in the Newark Unified School District and then came to Dublin in 2001 at Fred.
Read more…
OneDublin.org 2014 Year in review
It’s been an exciting year at OneDublin.org celebrating education excellence, and we already have several articles lined up for 2015! If you haven’t done so already, subscribe via email to OneDublin.org to receive notifications of new articles. It’s free and will only add a couple of emails a week to your inbox! (The subscribe option is on our home page, OneDublin.org, on the right side at the top of the page). You can also follow us on Facebook or Google+.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 200,000 times in 2014. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 9 days for that many people to see it.
Studying Abroad in Italy: Dublin High School Alum Rebecca Bomfim’s Florence Adventure
Rebecca in Rome
We first wrote about Dublin High School Class of 2012 alum and Cal Lutheran University student Rebecca Bomfim last year (read more…), as part of OneDublin.org’s popular Life in College series. Fast forwards to 2014 and Rebecca has completed a semester abroad in Florence, Italy where she attended Richmond University as part of Cal Lutheran’s Study Abroad Program. For college students and their parents with questions about studying abroad, read on.
OneDublin.org: Before talking about your time in Florence, what was your motivation to incorporate a semester abroad into your college experience?
Rebecca Bomfim: “Studying abroad is really common at Cal Lutheran, a lot of students do it, and I felt it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I wasn’t sure if I’d have the same opportunity after graduation, there are so many ‘what if’s’, so I decided to travel while I was still in school.”
OneDublin.org: How did Cal Lutheran make it easier to arrange a semester abroad?
Bomfim: “Cal Lutheran has a Study Abroad Center staffed with advisors who go over all aspects of the process. If you’re not sure where you want to go they provide booklets and talk about different programs. Every advisor in the Study Abroad center has had direct experience with the program. You apply through Cal Lutheran first, and then you apply to individual programs. The advisors help you with every step along the way.”
OneDublin.org: With the many options available how did you settle on Florence?
Bomfim: “Italy was my first choice from the beginning, I just wasn’t sure where in Italy at first. As I started researching further options specific to my major it came down to Rome or Florence. I wasn’t interested in Rome because I’d heard it’s a big, busy city, whereas I heard amazing things about Florence, that it was a much smaller city with a great culture.”
OneDublin.org: Are you able to stay on track to graduate in four years even with a semester abroad?
Matthew Dierking
At times, sometimes overlooked, a Principal’s Secretary is vital to the everyday operations of a successful school site. In this specific case, it helped to yield a fascinating opportunity to witness the return of a Valley High School graduate. And, it speaks to the willingness of a Certificated Staff member to invite a student back into his former classroom. Earlier this summer, OneDublin.org profiled Mr. Matthew Dierking, as he concludes his studies at Las Positas College. As a veteran of both the U.S. Army and Navy, he is seeking to accomplish his goal of attaining an undergraduate degree – and perhaps more. After many personal and professional life experiences, he returned to the Valley High School campus to simply retrieve his transcripts. This chance meeting led to this profile.
By his own admission, Matthew had made some “dumb” choices while enrolled within the Dublin Unified School District. As a student at Dublin High School, these mistakes led him to be transferred to Valley High School to complete his high school diploma. In hindsight, it was the best possible destination for him. Subsequently, he completed two successful tours in the military – including time spent in Iraq driving a truck across this country. Upon his return, he refocused all of his energies in order to accomplish his academic goals. It began at Las Positas College. During this time, he has also committed numerous volunteer hours to the Veterans Resource Center. His objective has been to assist fellow Veterans to navigate the federal support system – the same system that has helped him to reach this point.
Based upon an invitation by VHS, we are pleased to share Mr. Kierking’s successful return to Valley High School and to share what he experienced with current students.
OneDublin.org: You were very candid about your life experiences – both as a student and in the military. What messages were you trying to convey to the students?
Dublin High School Alum Camille Chabot
DUBLIN, CA — Dublin High School Class of 2013 alum and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo sophomore Camille Chabot is no stranger to our readers. She’s written about her experiences as a Dublin High School cheerleader and as a member of the McGrath School of Irish Dance, and more recently was interviewed about her first year of college (as part of our Life in College Series).
Camille’s story took a life-changing turn late this summer when, after months of uncertainty, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma (also known as Hodgkin’s disease). Since sharing her story publicly there has been an outpouring of community support symbolized by #camillestrong in hundreds of social media posts from around the world, coverage in the San Jose Mercury News and more recently on CBS SF Bay Area News. Vito’s Express, supporters and friends of the Chabot family will be hosting a fundraiser in support of the Camille Strong Foundation on Friday December 12 at Vito’s Pizza Express in Dublin. The Chabot Family also has a fundraiser page setup to support medical expenses on GoFundMe.
Camille graciously agreed to share her story with OneDublin.org while recovering from her fifth round of chemotherapy. She hopes her story helps other teens facing similar cancer battles. Her positive attitude and infectious smile, despite everything she has experienced in recent months, is inspiring.
OneDublin.org: When did you first get an inkling that something wasn’t right?
Meet Amador Elementary School’s First Principal Holly Scroggins – Managing Growth and High Expectations
Amador Principal Holly Scroggins
DUBLIN, CA — Dublin’s newest elementary school, Amador Elementary School, is set to open for the 2015-16 school year with a new principal. Before sharing our interview with Principal Holly Scroggins, let’s take a look back at her first tour of principal duty with the Dublin Unified School District.
The year was 2007. Among the existing elementary schools in the DUSD, Frederiksen Elementary School had just completed a very tough year. In the wake of its long tenured Principal taking a position to mentor new school administrators in Sacramento, the site went through not one, but two Principals in a single academic year. The site was in flux, parents were confused and staff morale was very low. It was a scenario that could potentially spiral out of control. In fairness, Fred’s Academic Performance Index (API) for baseline in 2007 was 839 – an acceptable level above the state mandated number of 800. However, this site was a Title I school and also supported a somewhat transient student population that poured in from Camp Parks RFTA. In essence, Frederiksen represented one of the most challenging elementary schools to manage in the district. All throughout this time, brand new communities were being constructed in the previously untouched Eastern Dublin region. However, by 2013, the API Growth Rate achieved at Fred climbed to 904 in the last year that API scores were published by the CA Department of Education.
The District responded to the unsettled matter by constructing a task force that included school community involvement in order to identify a leader that could help to right the ship. Emerging from this process was an experienced classroom teacher and administrator in Ms. Holly Scroggins. Holly came to DUSD from the New Haven School District (South Hayward and Union City) after completing a Masters Degree from California State University, East Bay. She is credentialed in Reading/Language Arts, Administrative Services and has served as a Science Specialist. These accomplishments occurred over a span of 22 years.
For the past eight years, Ms. Scroggins has helped to reshape the landscape at Frederiksen. Site stability was restored. Part of this was incorporating the District’s desire to inject collaboration into the annual calendar, incorporating the principles of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and the new adoption of Common Core Standards. Further, she wanted to introduce the concept of “looping” which would prepare certificated staff to effectively manage students up and down from multiple grade levels. From a parental perspective, the PFC and the SSC organizations were reinvigorated and responded to an environment that welcomed family input. As a site that was constructed in the mid 1960’s, it has also received the benefits from the community supported Measure C which gave the school a much needed facelift/re-engineering over the past five years.
Life at St. Mary’s College of California: Megan Zummo on Balancing Lacrosse and Academics
Dublin High School Class of 2013 graduate and St. Mary’s College of California sophomore Megan Zummo’s story is the latest entry in OneDublin.org’s popular Life in College Series. Megan is attending St. Mary’s on an athletic scholarship, playing for the SMC Gaels Women’s Lacrosse Team.
OneDublin.org: What attracted you to attend St. Mary’s College of California?
Megan Zummo: “I originally wanted to go to a big school, but over time I realized that lecture halls with 300 students was not the way I wanted to go. I wanted to have close relationships with my teachers, and at St. Mary’s the student to teacher ratio is really low. St. Mary’s also offered me a scholarship for lacrosse.”
OneDublin.org: How did you get introduced to lacrosse and why did you fall in love with the sport?
Zummo: “I’ve played soccer since I was in elementary school and when I arrived at Dublin High School my fifth grade teacher was one of the first lacrosse coaches. She told me the best soccer players make the best lacrosse players and recommended I try the sport.
“Lacrosse is a very fast-paced sport and it took me about a year to fully understand and get good at the sport. Lacrosse is like soccer, but there are a lot of technical skills you have to learn. I love the pace of the game!”
OneDublin.org: Talk about the recruiting process for athletes which is a bit different from students enrolling strictly on academic merit.
OneDublin.org 