Being Thankful

With a passion for helping and supporting others, senior Rolando loves to entertain people and play sports. Every Sunday he enjoys a family outing to a restaurant of their choice following mass at San Jose Catholic Church. Rolando belongs to Respeto, a program at San Jose Catholic Church for Mexican American teenagers who are already demonstrating leadership potential in their school, neighborhoods, and church youth groups. This program is very demanding and requires a certain level of maturity, openness, and a one year commitment.

Rolando’s family decided to send him to San Juan Diego Catholic High School (SJDCHS) because of the dedication exemplified by teachers and staff. “I liked the small community feeling of SJDCHS. I was able to meet everyone my first day which also allowed me to create closer relationships with people.” During this interview, Rolando expressed to me how grateful he was for his parents’ sacrifices and told me about his ambitions later on in life. “Originally I wanted to be a pediatrician. After some thought, I decided to become a pediatric nurse or any type of nurse really, just as long as I’m helping people.” To make his dream a reality, Rolando has already applied to colleges such as University of the Incarnate Word, The University of Texas at Arlington, Texas State, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi; he has been accepted into all four.

Rolando is also thankful for the dedication the teachers have shown during his time at SJDCHS. He attributes his getting accepted into colleges to college counselor Alison Liu, who helps students not only apply to college, but also apply for scholarships. Rolando credits Mr. Bongard who has given him great advice over the years and thanks Mr. Reynolds, former dean of discipline, who always asked how he was doing outside of school.

“After getting my BSN degree, I would like to get my masters at The University of Texas at Austin and travel. Ultimately, I want to come back to Austin to start a family and build a house for my parents. My father is a huge inspiration to me and my mother is always there when I get home; she’s always helping with homework and supporting her children like a mother should. I feel like she does too much sometimes so I would love to give back the support she’s shown me.”