{"id":509,"date":"2017-05-30T13:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/class-of-17\/?p=509"},"modified":"2017-05-30T20:41:12","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T20:41:12","slug":"alex-gutierrez-on-life-after-high-school-its-gonna-be-up-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/class-of-17\/2017\/05\/30\/alex-gutierrez-on-life-after-high-school-its-gonna-be-up-to-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Gutierrez On Life After High School: ‘It’s Gonna Be Up To Me’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Gutierrez struggled with\u00a0math — and that kept her from going to her dream school. She just wrapped up her senior year at a Garland charter school where students learn English, Spanish and Chinese. She plans to stay home for a few years going to community college, but she has big plans for the future.<\/em><\/p>\n

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‘Necesitas hecharle ganas’<\/h5>\n

The senior banquet at International Leadership of Texas in Garland is the last big get-together before graduation. Alex Gutierrez and her friends sit around a table talking, laughing and eating fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. The speakers blast Snow Patrol and Andra Day.<\/p>\n

Alex is trying to process what she\u2019s feeling \u2013 normal emotions for a teenager who\u2019s ending one phase of her life and starting another.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt literally feels overwhelming, because it all feels like it\u2019s happening so fast,” she says. “Even though when I started the school year, it seemed like graduation wasn\u2019t coming fast enough.”<\/p>\n

\"Alexandria

Alex Gutierrez, center, Anthony Banuelos, right, and Rebecca Banuelos, left, listen while Anthony’s mother, Norma Banuelos, speaks about him during the senior banquet. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

Alex\u2019s journey through high school has been checkered with highs and lows. She’s had an\u00a0ongoing challenge with math since middle school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say that so I can get promoted to ninth grade, I have to take summer school math,\u201d Alex told KERA in 2013. \u201cBecause math is the only thing that\u2019s like holding me back.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she was trying to learn a third language — Chinese.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t hard at first, like at the beginning of the school, but it\u2019s gotten challenging,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her former principal Nadia Ayala used to give Alex pep talks when she was struggling in pre-AP algebra.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told her in Spanish, \u2018Necesitas hecharle ganas,\u2019\u201d Ayala said. \u201cYou have to put in the will and the work so that you do well, especially when you know you\u2019re not the best at something. You need to work even harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like any good challenge, the hard work paid off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year in math was actually a lot better,” Alex says. “I was in financial math and financial math was like a lot easier than any other math classes I\u2019ve had in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a bit frightening because I always had someone guiding me.”
Alex Gutierrez on life after high school<\/div>
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Photos of graduating students, including Alex Gutierrez, are on display at\u00a0the senior banquet. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

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‘It’s a bit frightening’<\/h5>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean senior year was easy. Alex says it has been stressful. She’s been constantly checking her grades, making sure she’s on track to graduate.<\/p>\n

\"Alexandria

Alex Gutierrez laughs with Anthony Banuelos, left, and other friends. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

There were also the personal challenges.<\/p>\n

Her dad told her he and her mom were getting divorced. The family dynamics changed. Alex says it’s been different.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been more of my mom supporting me and pushing me through,” she says. “She\u2019s been more of the one who I could say I owe it all to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex tries not to think about it too much. She focuses on school. It worked.<\/p>\n

She ended up getting Bs on most of her final exams. And she got one of the highest grades on a test that measured how much Chinese and Spanish she knows.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s that question: What comes next?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit frightening,” she says. “I always had someone guiding me whether it was my parents or teachers letting me know that: \u2018oh, you have to turn this in by this week.\u2019 Or \u2018you have a final in two days.\u2019”<\/p>\n

Those days are over.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s gonna be up to me to keep up with my stuff,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Alexandria

Alex Gutierrez, center, leaves school after the senior banquet. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

Up for the challenge<\/h5>\n

For the next couple of years, Alex plans to stay close to home and attend Richland College. After that, maybe Sam Houston State. Her ultimate goal \u2014\u00a0a\u00a0dream she\u2019s had since third\u00a0grade \u2013 is to become an FBI agent.<\/p>\n

Sure, she wants to see justice done, but part of the appeal is the adrenaline rush.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not your typical job where you\u2019re sitting down and working on a computer,” she says. “You\u2019re out and you\u2019re investigating and you’re interacting with other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

No matter what obstacles lie ahead, Alex Gutierrez seems up for the challenge.<\/p>\n

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Class of ’17 Yearbook<\/h5>\n

Name:<\/strong> Alex Gutierrez
\nSchool:<\/strong> International Leadership of Texas Garland High School
\nGraduation date:<\/strong> May 27, 2017<\/p>\n

Next step:<\/strong> “Get my basics done at Richland College and then transfer over to Sam Houston State University.”<\/p>\n

Dream job:<\/strong> Become a federal agent<\/p>\n

Favorite quote:<\/strong> “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” \u2014 Gandhi<\/p>\n

If I could do one thing over, it would be:<\/strong> “I wish I would have participated in more clubs and activities in high school.”<\/p>\n

Alex Gutierrez, Through The Years<\/h5>\n\n
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