When Adriana Negrete receives her diploma from Sierra High School in Fillmore, it will be a milestone with very special meaning. As the first in her family to graduate from high school, she hopes to set an example for her younger brother and two older sisters. "I hope it helps motivate them so they'll want to graduate because it's never too late," she said.

After some earlier struggles, Adriana found her motivation at Sierra. She became involved with student government and volunteered for a UC Santa Barbara project that removes invasive plants from the Santa Clara River. She was also nominated as an "Outstanding Student" by her teachers.

Adriana will attend Ventura College in the fall and hopes to pursue a career in nursing or law enforcement. She says focusing on her future gave her the inspiration to achieve her goal of graduating from high school and entering college. "I'd like to have a future. I know if I didn't go to school I'd just end up working at a fast food place or something. Now I'll be able to have a good job after college."

Adriana's parents have worked in construction and agriculture and she says they're very proud to see her earn her diploma. "I think they're just really happy because I'm actually doing something with my life."

Anthony Flores was born with a serious ear infection and started wearing hearing aids at the age of two. In elementary and middle school he felt the sting that can come with being different. "I was the only one in my class who was wearing hearing aids and it changed me because I was treated a little bit different," he said.

But when he entered Pacifica High School in Oxnard, he started meeting other people with their own struggles to overcome. "By the time I hit high school, no one really cared. People are people and everyone is normal when you get to know them."

Today, Anthony says his disability made him stronger by pushing him to show the world what he can do. He participated in high school football, wrestling and track while maintaining a high grade point average that earned him Scholar Athlete status. It's no surprise considering that education runs in the family. Anthony's father, Dr. Ramon Flores, is a Navy engineer and member of the Ventura County Board of Education. His mother, Yolanda Barretto-Flores, is a counselor at Pacifica High School.

Anthony's hearing loss did create some challenges in his high school sports career, but it was nothing he couldn't overcome. In football, he'd sometimes have trouble hearing the quarterback's plays, but his teammates would fill him in. While he was wrestling, coaches relied on hand signals instead of words to communicate with him. "With me having hearing loss, some people didn't think I'd be successful," he said. "But that's when I started showing people I can do this."

Anthony plans to attend Ventura College and then transfer to a four year university to study sports medicine or kinesiology. He hopes to earn a Ph.D. and work in physical therapy or athletic training.

For anyone who has struggled with being different, Anthony has this simple message. "If someone's having a hard time in life, forget the past. Just get back up and keep moving forward."

The Ventura County Office of Education offers a variety of programs for students and families with students who have hearing loss. Click here for more information.

In an operating room at St. John's Hospital in Oxnard, Ariana Singer had an experience that let her know a career in medicine would be in her future. As a student in the Bioscience Academy at Ventura's Foothill Technology High School, Ariana had the opportunity to sit in on a quadruple coronary artery bypass. "I was literally a foot away from an open chest cavity and a beating heart," she said. "That surgery was amazing. It happened over a year ago and I'm still smiling telling the story."

This fall, Ariana will attend Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. After that, she plans to go to medical school and ultimately have a career as a surgeon. At Marist, she will play Division I water polo, allowing her to build on another of her high school accomplishments. 

During her freshman, sophomore and junior years at Foothill, Ariana played water polo for Ventura High School because Foothill didn't have its own water polo team. When Foothill added a team this year, Ariana made the risky choice to switch over and play for her home school. It ended up paying off in a big way as Ariana helped lead the Foothill team to a CIF championship in its inaugural year. She says the enthusiasm of Foothill's administration, staff and students is something she'll never forget. "I can't really put into words how awesome it was to play for my own school."

Ariana says learning to manage her time was key to her success in high school athletics and academics - her weighted grade point average is 4.63. She also credits her teachers and family for their dedication and support throughout her high school career.

When he started playing the piano at age four, David Gatchel probably never imagined how far it would take him. Today, the senior at Adolfo Camarillo High School plays not only piano, but also clarinet and saxophone and is on his way to a career as a professional musician.

David is the drum major in the ACHS marching band, a member of the All-State Honor Band, was first chair clarinetist for the Ventura County High School Honor Band, and played in the Rising Stars concert at the Ventura Music Festival. The highlight of his young music career came in April when he had the honor of performing a piano concerto with the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic in front of a crowd at the Civic Arts Plaza.

In addition to his music prowess, David is on the varsity swim team and is a valedictorian with a weighted grade point average of 4.5. He will continue his music education next year at the University of Southern California, where he'll study piano performance. His career aspiration is to land a position in a symphony orchestra, perhaps as a solo pianist or clarinetist. "It's always been a dream of mine to be a conductor too," he said.

Without the support and guidance of his teachers, David says he wouldn't be where he is today. Former band director John Stava in particular made a big impression on this budding musician. "He always was supporting me, always pushing me and always giving me opportunities to play and perform," David said. "He was a big influence in my life."

When DJ Mamroth enrolled as a sixth grader at the Triton Academy for kids with autism, he often had trouble making it through the day. Today, as he prepares to receive his high school diploma, he's become a campus leader who counsels his fellow students and serves as an example of what they can achieve. 

DJ was one of the first students to sign up when Triton Academy opened its doors in Camarillo. "I would say this place has really helped me out over the years," DJ said. "I wasn't really that great at school beforehand, but when I came here my progress vastly improved, like a hundred fold."

The school offers personalized, intensive programs run by specially trained educators designed to meet the unique learning needs of students with autism. "When I need help, I get it," DJ said. "People are very caring and if I feel overwhelmed, they will give me the comfort and support I need."

One of the people providing that support is Robert DeCandia, who has taught DJ for the past four years. They bonded over Star Wars before DJ was even Robert's student, and Robert is proud to see how far DJ has come. "He's done a good job of not worrying as much and living in the moment. This was a guy in 9th grade who was worrying about what was going to happen when he graduated."

Now that graduation is here, DJ has some good options ahead of him. This summer, he has an opportunity to return to Triton as an assistant teacher, giving back to the school that has given him so much. He's also considering working at his father's air conditioning business. As he heads confidently toward his future, DJ says autism doesn't define who he is. "Honestly, I don't even think about it."

He's an editor of his school newspaper, was a running back on the varsity football team and he's headed to UC Santa Barbara on his way to a career as an attorney. It's all the more impressive because Edwin Ckikukwa only entered Thousand Oaks High School as a sophomore after moving from the southern African nation of Zimbabwe.

Edwin and his sister came to join their mother, a former Zimbabwean journalist, who had left ten years earlier seeking political asylum. "It was a huge adjustment," Edwin said of adapting to life in the U.S. "Here people are very individualistic and self-driven and there's that motivation to be your own person."

Edwin tapped into his own motivation to get the most out of his high school years. Following in his mother's footsteps, he became a journalist and joined The Lancer school newspaper, winning several awards for his writing. He joined the school's Mock Trial team and took third place for prosecuting attorney. And with a weighted grade point average over 4.0, he received the Scholar Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation. 

The honor that he's most proud of came during his junior year when he won the West Point Leadership Award for his achievements in academics, athletics and citizenship. "That was probably the coolest thing I've ever done," he said of the honor.

When he begins his college career at UC Santa Barbara this fall, Edwin will major in political science. He hopes to become an attorney specializing in intellectual property or corporate law. 

The years of separation from family and challenges of starting a new life as a teenager in a new country haven't been easy, but Edwin says it's all been worth it. "It was extremely difficult, but I think it was necessary because otherwise I wouldn't have had the opportunity that I have right now." 

There doesn't seem to be anything Emily Neilan can't achieve when she puts her mind to it. Her 4.67 grade point average puts her at the top of her class at Oxnard High School. She's been a standout player in volleyball, water polo, swimming and soccer, competing at the varsity level even as a freshman. And she's headed to UCLA to study bioengineering. "I always strived to do the best I could and was never really satisfied with anything but the best," she said.

In addition to her personal drive, Emily credits her success to her supportive parents. Her dad is a teacher at Oxnard High School and her mom is a counselor at Ocean View Jr. High. She also says her volleyball coach Pat Casey has been a huge influence in her life. "He's definitely a tough coach and he's really hard on everyone, but he would always encourage me and boost my confidence. In the end, he would support us and he would always praise me for doing well in sports and in school."

In a profile the Ventura County Star did on Emily last year, Casey told the paper, "She is one of those once-in-a-lifetime players you coach. She is our best athlete, our hardest worker and a remarkable student. She is pretty much everything you want in a human being."

Looking back on her high school years, Emily said, "I definitely didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked to with sports and all of my homework, but it was never unbearably hard. I just did what I had to do and I guess it paid off."

Since she was a girl, Royal High School senior Giuliana Petrocelli had known Kas Terhorst as a cheerful family friend with a distinctive accent. But she recently discovered he had an amazing story to tell. During World War II, Terhorst was a Jewish boy growing up in Holland and he survived the holocaust by hiding out in a Catholic monastery. Giuliana wanted to be the one to share his story with the world. "So I recorded him and interviewed him and got him to tell his story and compiled that into a 30 minute documentary," she said.

The documentary became a centerpiece of her involvement with Royal High School's Ronald Reagan Citizen Scholar Institute. In partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library, the institute promotes civic education and offers a diploma seal to students who meet its rigorous requirements. 

Giuliana says the institute and her focus on civic education have built her confidence and defined her goals. "It's inspiring because it opens doors to different opportunities and different viewpoints of the world that can help a student grow and discover themselves."

In addition to being a Citizen Scholar, Giuliana plays flute for the school band and is president of Royal's chapter of the California Scholarship Federation. She also wrote the script for the school's winter play, "United Artists: A Tale of Hollywood in the World War I Era."

This fall Giuliana will attend USC and major in critical studies. She plans to pursue a career in filmmaking and hopes to use her talents to shine light on people and issues that don't get the attention they deserve.

Giuliana says one of her keys to success is that she pushes herself beyond her comfort zone, and she advises other students to do the same. "I always think people can discover they have more potential than they believe."

Isaac Vandor took a very unlikely route to Camarillo's ACE Charter High School. He was a student at Malibu High School when concerns about potentially cancer-causing chemicals on the campus prompted him to look elsewhere. "That's sort of how I stumbled upon ACE," he said. "It really seemed to be the closest, best option for STEM near me."

ACE stands for Architecture, Construction and Engineering, and the school uses a project-based approach to education that goes beyond textbooks. "Everything sort of gets flipped on its head and project-based learning actually ends up teaching more of the concepts in a better, more memorable way than you realize," said Isaac.

The school's learn-by-doing approach was a perfect fit for Isaac. While at ACE, he scored 2160 on his SAT and was recognized as a Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. 

 
The "E" in ACE is Isaac's passion and he'll be pursuing it at the Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts. "I'm very interested in human/robot interaction," he said. "Actually developing the artificial intelligence and the robotics systems to ultimately augment the human experience."

Isaac is driven by the possibility of changing the word and says he found inspiration in the email signature used by ACE's Principal Joe Clausi. It's a quote from pioneering computer programmer Grace Hopper that says, "The most damaging phrase in the language is 'We've always done it this way.'" Isaac said, "I use that as my guiding credo. If you see something that should be changed, don't be afraid to go out and do it. And if you see something that you think is lacking or missing, create it for yourself."

It was a case of appendicitis that led Jeffrey Becker to discover his love of cooking. He came down with the ailment as a sophomore at Ventura High School, forcing him to take an extended break from school sports. Since he needed another activity to fill the time, he decided to give the school's culinary arts program a try, and he ended up finding his passion.

"The class was only about 12 students, so we kind of grew together as a family," he said. The small class size meant lots of personal attention and a chance to hone his skills. He soon found himself part of a team that was winning cooking competitions and realized he had the makings of a career. 

In the fall, Jeffrey will attend Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island, which is home to a highly regarded College of Culinary Arts. The University sees tremendous promise in Jeffery and is covering his entire first year of tuition. 

Jeffrey had a lot to overcome to get to this point. He has never met his biological parents and was in and out of foster homes until he was seven years old. He now lives with his adoptive father and three brothers, who are also adopted and foster children. 

Jeffrey's dream for the future is to own his own restaurant. "Honestly, all I want to do is have a small local restaurant. Something nice and comfy with home cooking," he said.

So will he be setting up shop in Ventura County? At this point, he's not sure. "At the moment it feels kind of confining. I feel like I need to get out and do something else," he said. "Maybe I'll come back, maybe I won't." We can only hope he does.

For Rosio Villalpando, the motivation to succeed had to come from within. When she emigrated from Mexico as a young girl, she spoke no English and had no one to help her adjust to a new school in a new country. 

Rosio says she was driven by her desire to set an example for her four younger brothers and sisters. "I had to push myself to do better," she said. "To be there for future generations so I can give them the help I didn't have."

Thanks to that drive, Rosio flourished at Hueneme High School. With a weighted grade point average of 4.07, she's ranked eighth in her class. After initially failing to make the school's cross country team, she redoubled her efforts and was ultimately named the Pacific View League's cross country Champion.

For all four years of high school, Rosio has been enrolled in the school's AVID program, which helps prepare underrepresented students for college. "Without AVID I don't think I would have made it any further than high school," she said. "Being the first in my family to go to college, I didn't have anyone to tell me about completing applications and taking the SAT or ACT. Only the AVID program did that." 

Rosio was accepted to UC Berkeley, but decided to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she will double major in agricultural business and industrial engineering. She says a big reason for choosing Cal Poly was to be closer to her siblings so she can continue helping them achieve their own dreams. "I tell them it's about what they want in life and what they want for themselves. I tell them to remember where they came from. Once you look back, you see how much you have changed throughout the years. You see how much you have challenged yourself and how much you can succeed."