On May 20, the Class of ’96 graduates from Woodrow Wilson High School.
Some of these seniors will be the first in their families to finish high school. Others are links in a long, family chain of Woodrow Wildcats.
All have worked hard to reach this point in their lives.
The 12 seniors profiled here are some of Woodrow’s best overall students, and they were chosen to represent their classmates by Woodrow Principal Eduardo Torres and the Advocate.
All 12 have “A” or “B” grade point averages, and all plan to attend college. Among them are athletes, volunteers, writers, actors and musicians. Many work part-time jobs in addition to doing well in school.
“This is a diverse group,” Torres says. “They all have very promising careers.
“We have so many kids that are good at what they do. They are our hope. They are setting a different standard.”
A Living Legacy
Kara Pendergrass
When Kara Pendergrass entered Woodrow, she had a lot to live up to.
Her mother teaches English at the school, and her sister and two brothers all were actively involved in the high school.
Eighteen-year-old Pendergrass, the baby of her family, has kept up the tradition.
She has maintained an “A” grade point average while performing in Woodrow’s award-winning musical and theatrical programs.
A two-time participant in Woodrow’s one-act play, she was a member of the cast that placed third in last year’s one-act state competition.
Pendergrass also has been in four Woodrow musicals, playing Irene in the recent production of “High Button Shoes”, and she sings in the show choir Variations. She was chosen for Dallas Public Schools’ All-District Choir this year.
When not on stage, Pendergrass plays varsity tennis or practices drill team routines. Her mother is the drill team coach, and Pendergrass is one of three drill team captains.
She also is secretary of the National Honor Society and student council.
Pendergrass hopes to attend Florida State University, where she would like to study journalism.
She says she’d like to be a television reporter.
“I’m so used to being in front of an audience,” she says. “I love the communication.”
She also has applied to UT-Austin and Texas A&M and has been accepted to Harding University in Arkansas and David Lipscomb University in Tennessee.
Studying Hard
Juan Carlos Torres
If Juan Carlos Torres isn’t in class, or at work, he’s studying.
He has to try harder than some of the other students, he says, because English is not his native language.
Torres, 17, moved to the United States from Puerto Rico his freshman year of high school.
His first two years at Woodrow, he didn’t speak English.
With help from teachers, he finally learned the language and has maintained a “B” grade point average. He says his mother, a housekeeper, and his father, a church groundskeeper, push him to try hard in school.
“I study every night when I get home,” Torres says. “I pay attention to the teachers. I’m never absent.
“I do it for my parents. They want me to do well in school and go to college since they didn’t have the opportunity to go. I do it for them and for me, too.”
When his nose is not in a textbook, Torres is playing on Woodrow’s baseball team, which has made it to the playoffs the past two years.
He also is a member of the Woodrow Odyssey of the Mind team that qualified for state competition this year. Odyssey of the Mind is a problem-solving event that requires students to exercise their creativity.
Outside of school, he works at Kroger Food Store on North Henderson in the customer service department.
He says he hopes to attend UT-Arlington and study computer programming.
Speaking Out
Tom Rundell
Tom Rundell says Woodrow has taught him young people can make a difference.
Eighteen-year-old Rundell is editor of Woodrow’s newspaper, The Wildcat, and one of a handful of student representatives on Woodrow’s School-Centered Education Committee, a group of faculty members and community leaders who make policy decisions for the high school.
“I’ve gotten more insight into how the school works, Rundell says. “The school really does work with students, but the students need to speak out.”
Polite and soft-spoken, Rundell is still articulate and strong-minded.
Rundell started high school at Jesuit College Preparatory, but says he transferred to Woodrow because of the school’s tradition, cultural diversity and extracurricular opportunities.
“You learn to think at Jesuit, and you learn to think at Woodrow, but you don’t get the same kind of education,” Rundell says.
“Jesuit provides more of a sheltered education. You’re not hardened at Woodrow, but you’re open to more opinions.”
Last year, Rundell received Columbia University’s Book Award, given to students for demonstrating leadership, service and academic excellence.
He’s a member of the National Honor Society, has maintained a “B+” grade point average and is enrolled in several advanced placement courses.
He’s also a four-year letterman in swimming, cross-country and track, and he’s captain of this year’s swimming and cross-country teams.
Outside of school, Rundell works as a lifeguard and participates in community service projects through his church and the Boy Scouts.
He has been accepted to DePauw University in Indiana and the business school at UT-Austin. He plans to study marketing and work in television or radio broadcasting.
Before Her Time
Gwen Glenn
Despite moving around and switching schools, 16-year-old Gwen Glenn is graduation from high school a year early with a “B” average and many honors classes under her belt.
Glenn attended two elementary schools and two junior high schools before coming to Woodrow, moving back and forth between the Richardson Independent School District and Dallas Public Schools.
During junior high, she managed to take high school-level courses, earning enough credit to graduate from Woodrow as a junior. She has earned a $1,000 college scholarship for this accomplishment.
While at Woodrow, Glenn moved out of her mother’s apartment to live with her 25-year-old brother due to problems with her stepfather, she says.
She says she often has to depend on herself for the motivation it takes to do well in school. Her brother, however, has been a big influence in her life, she says.
Through his own initiative, Glenn’s brother, a computer graphics designer, earned a full scholarship to St. Mark’s School of Texas and then was accepted to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, becoming the first member of his family to attend college.
He wants Glenn to attend Dartmouth, but she says she doesn’t want to move so far from home.
She will attend UT-Austin or Texas Tech and plans to study mechanical engineering.
Glenn says going to college early doesn’t scare her.
“I have more experience (than other students) with being out on my own, of being out in the real world,” Glenn says.
At Woodrow, Glenn is captain of the girls’ varsity track team; president of Future Homemakers of America; and president of the Woods and Water Club, which sponsors camping and rafting trips. She was nominated for homecoming queen this year and sings in her church choir.
The Trail Blazer
Emily Renda
As a child, Emily Renda decided not to let communication barriers separate her from friends.
After finishing Stonewall Jackson Elementary, Renda – who is deaf – chose to mainstream herself and attend J.L. Long Middle School and Woodrow, rather than enroll in Dallas Public Schools designed for deaf students entering secondary grades. Renda wanted to be with her “hearing” classmates, she says.
Because of Renda, students at Woodrow have learned sign language and more deaf students are following her path.
Renda, 19, says she hasn’t had many problems as only one of 2 deaf students at the high school. (The other student is a sophomore.)
“I will assist anyone who had patience in learning sign language,” Renda says. “I can depend on my speech and lip reading skills. I’ve been doing that since I was two years old.”
The school district also has provided Renda with an interpreter, Jim Fisher, who has worked with her since seventh grade.
At Woodrow, Renda is a top athlete, participating in basketball, soccer and golf. She made the All-District soccer team three years in a row and was second team All-District in basketball last year.
Renda also takes pictures for the school newspaper and paints and draws in her free time.
She has an “A” grade point average, ranks in the top 10 in the senior class, is a member of the National Honor Society and has taken many advanced placement courses.
She has been accepted to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she plans to continue playing soccer. She hopes to major in a science-related field and is considering becoming an illustrator for medical books.
“I want to help medical students learn from the pictorial,” Renda says. “I’m not a Picasso or an Einstein, so I’ll be a mixture of the two.”
The Young Professional
Cristi Becerra
At age 18, Cristi Becerra already exudes maturity and professionalism.
As a member of Planned Parenthood’s speakers bureau, Becerra educates teenagers and low-income and minority women about proper health care. She has represented Planned Parenthood at women’s clubs and is being trained in a bilingual program for the organization that will deliver information to Hispanic women.
Becerra also volunteers for Meals on Wheels and tutors adults in the LIFT program, a literacy effort.
She honed her communication skills as a member of Woodrow’s debate team. Although this is Becerra’s first year debating, she and her partner placed third in the school district and qualified as alternates for state competition.
Becerra also is the business manager for Woodrow’s newspaper, was a member of the one-act play cast that placed third in the state last year, and has performed in the school musical.
Becerra, who attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, came to Woodrow as a junior. She gave up a scholarship at Bishop Lynch High School to participate in Woodrow’s debate and journalism programs, she says.
Outside of school, Becerra performs small parts in Dallas Opera productions. She also holds a job as a salesperson for Vantage Shoe Warehouse.
Still, Becerra has maintained an “A” grade point average, has taken many advanced placement courses and is a member of the National Honor Society.
For her accomplishments, she has been listed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students for four years.
Becerra credits her strong family for her success and values.
“I’m proud that I have done what I thought was right,” she says. “I’m not one to follow a crowd.”
Becerra, the oldest of three children, will be the first in her family to attend college in the United States. Her father studied law in Mexico before moving to America, where he met his wife.
Becerra has been accepted to Vassar College and Fordham University, both in New York; Boston University; and the University of Miami, which has offered her a scholarship.
She will attend Vassar if she receives enough financial aid, she says. She wants to study English and film and become a writer.
Finding a Hero
Jose Preciado
After spending his childhood looking for a hero, Jose Preciado decided to stop searching for a role model and become one himself.
“I was a bad kid,” Preciado says, as he relates a story about nearly setting his elementary school’s bathroom on fire by throwing lit matches into garbage cans.
“I’ve always gotten a lot of negativity from people. People would say I’m dumb or I’m going to end up in jail. Now, I’m here and about to graduate.”
Preciado says he turned his life around to prove people wrong.
Today, he has a “B” grade point average. He awakens at 5:30 a.m. and arrives at school early to study in the library.
Through Woodrow’s PALs program, Preciado tutors a child at Lipscomb Elementary two to three hours a week. On Saturdays, he teaches children at his church, arriving at 9 a.m. to prepare lessons.
As a member of the East Dallas YMCA teen program, he also participates in community service projects that often involve working with small children.
“I like having fun with the kids,” he says. “I always tell them: ‘You can do it. If you need help, I’ll help.’”
In addition to volunteer work, Preciado is employed as a clerk at Baylor Hospital. He says he isn’t sure what career he will pursue, but is considering medicine.
He has applied to University of North Texas and also may apply to UT-Arlington.
He and two of his three sisters, who attend local community colleges, are the first generation in their family to attend college.
A Better Life
Stanley Barrientos
Stanley Barrientos says he feels lucky to be in America.
When he was age 11, he, his mother, two brothers and sister moved to Dallas from El Salvador.
His mother, who is divorced and works as a housekeeper, hadn’t finished high school, but Barrientos says she valued education and wanted a better life for her children.
‘She’s the biggest influence in my life,” Barriento says. “She’s always making sure we do our homework, that we’re not late to school and that we’re not absent.”
It took Barrientos, 18, two years to learn English, and he says he still struggles to communicate at times, but language barriers haven’t stopped him from maintaining a “B+” average in high school or from being inducted into the National Honor Society. He also was listed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students in both his sophomore and junior years.
In El Salvador, Barrientos says he never would have had the opportunities he has had at Woodrow, such as playing the trumpet in the school band or learning about computers.
Many children in El Salvador drop out of school at young ages to work on farms, he says.
The decrepit schools are the size of small houses, he says, and students are lucky if they have access to typewriters.
In addition to band, Barrientos participates in LULAC, a Latin American Club at the High School, and his church’s youth group. He also works for ZuZu Handmade Mexican Food on Oak Lawn.
He has applied to Austin College and says he wants to work with computers.
Talented and Gifted
Abigail Glenn
At Woodrow, 18-year-old Abigail Glenn discovered she’s more than a bookworm.
In elementary and junior high school, Glenn was a student in Dallas Public Schools’ talented and gifted program. She found little time to do anything but study, she says.
Entering high school, Glenn decided she needed to be more well-rounded. So, she left her TAG friends.
At Woodrow, Glenn became a swimmer and a Sweetheart, the name given to drill team members. She is one of three drill team captains.
Her junior year, she was a homecoming princess, and she is currently in the running for student of the year.
She’s also senior class secretary on student council and a member of the Spanish Club.
But her academics still come first, Glenn says.
Glenn has maintained an “A+” grade point average and has carried an intense academic load throughout his high school, taking several advanced placement and honors courses. She is one of the top two students in the senior class and is a member of the National Honor Society.
Outside of school, she works as a dietary aide for Vencor Hospital, which provides emergency medical care for the elderly, and she helps organize youth programs at her church.
She has been accepted to Texas A&M and is on the waiting list at Rice University. She is considering studying engineering or architecture because she says she wants a career that combines calculus, geometry and physics – her three favorite subjects.
Just Do It
Falonda LaCaze
When Falonda LaCaze beams her bright, friendly smile, it’s hard to believe this happy-go-lucky athlete when she says she’s shy.
A star basketball player at Woodrow and this year’s team captain, 18-year-old LaCaze says sports have brought her out of her shell.
‘Being on the court kind of breaks you of being shy,” says LaCaze, who also plays softball. “You have to be in front of a lot of people.”
LaCaze says she enjoys teamwork and the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of people, which is why she likes Woodrow.
It’s also why she likes her job. Since her freshman year, she has worked part-time and summers as a salesperson for Foot Locker at Town East Mall while still maintaining a “B” average in school.
Work, practice and studying keep her busy, but LaCaze says she doesn’t like to be bored.
She turns to her family for support. Both her parents have a multitude of siblings, and LaCaze has many cousins. The wholed family is extremely close, LaCaze says.
LaCaze and her cousins are the first generation of the family to attend college. The cousins advise each other, she says.
LaCaze has applied to Texas Woman’s University and wants to be a physical therapist, combining her love for fitness with her desire to help others.
She plans to continue playing basketball in college and is trying to earn a scholarship to pay her tuition.
Making the Grade
Lourdes Ordonez
Lourdes Ordonez says her goal is to help people like she has been helped.
Known to her friends as LuLu, 18-year-old Ordonez will be the first in her family to graduate high school on time to attend college. She will graduate with honors and with a “B” grade point average.
“I want to be somebody who people can see later on in life and say: ‘If she made it, I can make it too,” Ordonez says. “I want my little brother to have someone to look up to.”
Ordonez says she has gotten as far as she has due to her role models – her parents, band teachers and the adult leaders of the East Dallas YMCA tee program.
Ordonez plays clarinet in Woodrow’s band and is co-drum major this year. As a member of the Y, she does community service projects throughout our neighborhood.
She also works at Minyard’s at Gaston and Abrams, where she will be a manager this summer. One of her co-workers needs a kidney transplant and Ordonez has organized fund-raisers to help out raising $6,000 so far.
Her other school activities include soccer (she is team captain), student council (she is senior class vice-president), and one-act play (she is on the stage-crew).
Ordonez has applied to the University of North Texas, UT-Arlington and Texas Tech. She says she will most likely attend UNT so her parents can visit her.
She is not sure what her major will be, but is considering becoming a teacher or social worker. She says she wants to help other minority students attend college.
On the Move
Emily Blue
Emily Blue says she loves a challenge – and keeping up with her schedule is one.
Heavily involved in her church and school, 18-year-old Blue has no free time.
At Woodrow, she’s a drill team member, president of the Spanish Club and a top debater. Blue recently placed third in the school district in Lincoln Douglas debate and advanced to the regional level in a Rotary Club speech contest, placing first locally.
Blue is a Woodrow peer mediator, as well. Peer mediation is an alternative to the principal’s office, Blue says. When students are having problems or disputes, peer mediators help them find solutions.
At her church, the Gospel Tabernacle Interdenominational Church, Blue sings in the choir and is a youth group member. She also dances for Mahogany, a Christian dance company. Most of her social life is based around her religion, she says.
“My church and my relationship with God have a lot to do with how I cope and deal with things,” Blue says. “He (God) helps me to maintain a level head and focus.”
Blue has maintained a “B+” grade point average, is a member of the National Honor Society and has taken several advanced placement courses.
She has been accepted to Southern Methodist University, where she says she will pursue a degree in international business and biblical studies.
She says she plans to learn at least two languages in addition to English and Spanish to help with her business career.
“I’m highly self-motivated,” Blue says. “I want to reach a certain point of excellence. I think striving for excellence is important.”
