Only four students a year can earn the Student of the Quarter Award at SIATech Long Beach.  Melody Menchaca has earned those bragging rights for this prestigious award.
 
Before SIATech, Melody was a student at various high schools around Southern California. She commented that it was very hard to concentrate and devote her dedication to her studies when she was moving too much. It was not a choice to constantly move around all Southern California, but it was necessary if they wanted a roof over their heads.

In 2005, life threw more challenges her way.  Melody found out that her mother was very sick. Seizures became a constant part of her mother’s life. Melody and her mother had to move into a housing project, and Melody had no other choice but take care of her mother every day. She commented that life became very tough for her in the next upcoming months, but she knew giving up was not an option.

Do not let Claudia Andrade’s shyness and quiet demeanor fool you.  Underneath that demure exterior lies a relentless push for success. She has overcome some of the hardest outcomes life can throw at anyone, yet she does not give up.

In high school, Claudia was an average student. Like many people her age, she was quiet, focused, and aiming to fulfill goals she had set for life. Instead, her life was about to change. At the age of fifteen, Claudia became pregnant with her first child. The father of her baby was a drug addict and up to no good. Sometimes, he would beat her and mentally harass Claudia. Like many girls her age, she felt she was in love and did not leave her boyfriend even if it was not the best choice. She comments, “I knew one day that enough was enough.”

By Juan Varela, Salutatorian - SIATech Charter High School

Upon first entering SIATech, one word came into my mind “opportunity,” an opportunity to learn something new, an opportunity to start fresh and to make something of myself.  At the beginning of this school year, while I was in my other school, it dawned on me that this was going to be my last year in school. One last opportunity to get good grades, a last opportunity to raise my GPA and be the student I know I could be. In that school my dreams just stayed dreams! For one reason or another, I was being held back by other students and sometimes the school which needed me to work at their pace rather than my own.

One day a fantastic thing happened! I happened to be with my cousin, Ruthie, and we were looking for jobs on the Internet at one of our libraries. She was writing on a piece of paper that was actually an advertisement for Job Corps. I turned it over and said “Ruthie have you looked at this?” Then I called the number. This phone call led me on a fantastic journey to Job Corps and SIATech! Coming to SIATech and Job Corps, I got inspired to do my best and be the student I knew I could become. Of course I could not have done it alone. It was all a combination of the different personalities that the staff at SIATech and Job Corps brings together. The Homestead staff of Mrs. Lopez, Mr. Lopez, Mrs. Ramsay, Mrs. Primerano, Mrs. Alcina, Mrs. Hall, Mr. Acevedo, Mrs. Hazim, Mrs. Werther, and Mr. Grafals each helped make me the salutatorian. The gorgeous ladies in the front of the school inspire everyone to make the best of their day everyday because they greet everyone with their smile. The teachers encourage every single student who walks in the SiaTech doors to do their best no matter what. Mr. Lopez inspires us when he goes to our CPP classroom to inform us about SIATech. Mrs. Lopez transforms our lives when she admits us into the fabulous program and finally Dr. Dawson has left a permanent print in our lives when she founded SIATech in Miami-Dade County.