The Great Acceptance

Dianna Jimenez, Staff Writer
January 20, 2016

After having waited so patiently and anxiously for the email that would determine his college future, Pablo Santos, 12, finally received Stanford University’s email of acceptance.

Q1: How did your interest in applying to Stanford commence?

A1: It really began around the beginning of junior year. Before junior year I didn’t really think about what would happen after high school and I had this really provincial view of the world. Then I realized that I have all these options open to me and that I could visit so many places and have new experiences. One place that really highlighted that was Standford because though it is far away from home; it isn’t on the East coast, where I’d feel like I’d be on a completely other world. The kids at Stanford are really known to be “laid back,” but at the same time hard working. It reminds me of the metaphor “ducks swimming in the water”; on the outside they look calm, but underneath the surface they’re paddling and trying to stay afloat. It’s a “work hard play hard” type of mentality that I really like.

Q2: What was going through your mind before you received your email of acceptance?

A2: It’s kind of funny because in AP LIT we study a lot of metaphors, and the day I was going to receive the email, it was raining and I thought to myself ‘Ok this could either be the world crying before I am or this could be the waters that’ll give birth to something new,’ and it ended up being the second part. I just kept telling myself that if its rejection it’s okay because there are other options and if I do get accepted there would be this weight lifted off my shoulders.

Q3: When and where were you when you checked your email to find the letter from Stanford?

A3: Three days before I received the email, Stanford had announced that it would be sending all emails on Friday [December 18] at 4:00 p.m , so that Friday I had just gotten out of Quiz Bowl and Mr. Glasser arrived because he wanted to be there when I got the email. It was 3:30 p.m. and a bunch of friends and I went to Mr. Glasser’s room and we were just waiting for it to hit 4:00 p.m. We were all crowded around Mr. Glasser’s computer. It was one click away. When I first opened the letter, I thought that if it was an acceptance letter it would start with something like “congratulations,” but it didn’t so then I thought it was a rejection letter. I kept on reading and it said “it is a pleasure to offer you a spot in the Stanford class of 2020.” I went from feeling low to this really big high; it’s a feeling that I’ll never forget.

Q4: How did your friends and family react to the news?

A4: I remember right after I got the email, I called my house and my mom answered; she was talking to my older brother, who lives in Washington, on her cell phone. When I told my mom, she screamed and then I heard my brother on the speakerphone, also screaming. It was really humbling because I could tell that people were just as excited as I was. I remember coming back to school on that Monday, just walking in the halls and all seeing all my friends and having their support. It was very interesting to see how everything led up to that moment.

Q5:What are your plans now? Have you decided to go to Stanford or will you be waiting to see what you hear from other colleges?

A5: I was planning on applying to other private colleges, but since my acceptance I have not applied to any other privates. I did apply to a few UCs, so I’m going to wait for them, especially UCLA. Over the break I did a lot more research on Stanford and I just got really excited about it; I’m like 99% Stanford and honestly I probably will commit. The only thing that’s holding me back is if I really will be willing to go all the way to the bay area and be out there alone, so that’s why UCLA also seems like a nice option. Stanford is very liberal in the sense that you have a lot of options and freedom in your schedule, especially as a freshman. My original plan was to do chemical engineering but I’m going to take advantage of being able to explore and see what peaks my interest.

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About the Contributors

Dianna Jimenez, Staff Writer

The new AP English class, AP Language and Composition, at Downey High School has given junior, Dianna Jimenez the opportunity to excel. Jimenez is an AP student that has a similar mindset to other AP students; she wants to push her writing capabilities further.

“I want to improve my writing,” Jimenez said, “not only for high school English, but for college as well.”

Jimenez chose to take AP Language and Composition because she wants to rectify any mistakes she has in her writing before she writes her prompt to apply to college.

“I chose to take AP Language and Composition because I felt with my experience in Honors 10 and the skills I developed that I would succeed in the class,” junior, Victoria Lopez said. “I like to challenge myself.”

Lopez and Jimenez feels comfortable in her AP class because she is surrounded by students who are passionate to learn and motivated to pursue the same goal.

“I like to write and I enjoyed Honors English 10 with Ms. Kasner,” junior, Andrew Bilodeau said, “so an opportunity to become a better writer in a subject I enjoy was to hard to pass up.”

Bilodeau has taken three years of AP/Honors English classes at Downey High School, similarly to Jimenez. AP Language and Composition includes more discussion of themes and broader concepts, making the class more interactive, rather than a traditional English class. In Bilodeau’s and Jimenez’s opinion it is a more productive learning environment.

Jimenez hopes to develop her writing skills on her writing because she believes writing is a central skill of everyday life and will be useful for her in the future.

Angelica Fregoso, Staff Writer

After realizing that 4,382 students registered in less than a week to join Downey High School, Angelica Fregoso had the desire to go out there and spread the word about newspaper. She cannot wait to interview new students and write their stories to fit in with the others located in the Legends category.

“Nobody in this school really knows each other,” Fregoso said. “I mean there are so many students now, so I believe it is possible to have them get to know one another by getting to read each others’ stories on Downey Legend.”

If she is able to promote newspaper to the students, then those students can read stories about others’ lives and view them differently.

“Many people, many stories,” Fregoso said, “and when students pass each other without knowing who they're walking by, mainly because of how they dress or how they talk, it's kind of sad, because one can't simply judge a book by its cover.”

She knows how it feels to walk past students and not know who they are. During her freshman year, Fregoso moved to Downey High from St. Emydius, a private middle school, that only had about 250 students.

“That school was so little,” Fregoso said, “almost everyone knew each other.”

During the middle of her sophomore year, former newspaper writer, Akhila Nalamilli, mentioned the Downey Legend newspaper with Fregoso.

“Angelica is a very nice girl,” Nalamilli said. “Her writing is amazingly done and a great use for newspaper.”

Fregoso's love for writing came to her when she was in first grade; as she started taking tests on The Magic Treehouse: Age of Dinosaurs, she loved the idea of being able to write her own stories and include her own characters and make her own world.

It is not really a goal to write those kinds of stories to this day, Fregoso pointed out. Joining newspaper was to become open-minded and to write actual stories of actual people rather than typing fiction.

“Although it seemed interesting to write what I want my characters to say and how I want my world to work out,” Fregoso said, “I think it's better to write what real characters say and how their worlds work.”

Knowing how she had a flowing passion to accomplish this goal, Norma Fregoso, mother of Angelica, agrees that she can do it.

“My daughter has always been a creative writer,” Mrs. Fregoso said. “Ever since she was a young child, she has expressed interest for writing stories.”

Fregoso's writing also inspired her friends to improve on various things like essays and CQTs.

“Angelica's very passionate and puts all her emotions into her work,” Carolina Marin, Fregoso's best friend said. “Not everyone has the ability to express themselves correctly, and I feel that she is capable of conveying her point thoroughly and emotionally without confusing or misleading the reader.”

With much more to experience, Fregoso patiently waits for what stories she will be writing about in newspaper, and to obtain knowledge about the lives of students, teachers, and the citizens of Downey.

The Downey Legend

The Downey Legend

The Downey Legend

The Great Acceptance

The Downey Legend

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