{"id":632,"date":"2017-05-30T13:35:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T13:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/class-of-17\/?p=632"},"modified":"2017-05-30T20:42:15","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T20:42:15","slug":"joel-lueras-school-struggles-set-him-up-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/class-of-17\/2017\/05\/30\/joel-lueras-school-struggles-set-him-up-for-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Joel Luera’s School Struggles Set Him Up For Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Going to school in a tough neighborhood has its challenges, even for a high-achiever like Joel Luera. The high school debater is headed to college in the fall, but\u00a0the road to graduation\u00a0hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/em><\/p>\n

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‘Where I’ve gotten is because of mistakes’<\/h5>\n

Joel Luera receives his high school diploma from W.W. Samuell High on June 1. A few weeks ago, he got a college degree \u2013 an associate’s diploma from Eastfield College.<\/p>\n

None of this would be happening if he hadn\u2019t messed up\u00a0in middle school, he says.<\/p>\n

“In middle school, I decided not to do what I had to do,” Joel says. “And, you know, I did poorly in school. … \u00a0And that\u2019s why I ended up going here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u00a0chose to attend W. W. Samuell Early College High School \u2013 it\u2019s a school within a school where kids earn college credit while going to high school. Getting accepted into schools like these is a competitive process: There are interviews, recommendations letters and a lottery.<\/p>\n

\"Joel

Joel claps along with his family while receiving unexpected recognition from a fellow student at the W.W. Samuell Early College High School gratitude ceremony. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

Joel says he didn\u2019t have the grades in middle school to get into a magnet high school like he wanted. But the early college program saw his potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere I\u2019ve gotten is because of mistakes, but I don\u2019t regret any of those mistakes because they\u2019re part of who I am and I have to accept that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Joel

2017: A graduation photo with mom and dad \u2014 Baldemar Luera, Joel Luera and Irma Luera. (Photo\/Lara Solt)<\/p><\/div>\n

Joel has always been a high achiever. Last school year, though, was tough. He started taking college classes at Eastfield in Mesquite \u2013 a 40-minute commute each way\u00a0from his home in Oak Cliff.<\/p>\n

His schedule was packed\u00a0\u2013 20 credit hours the first semester, 18 hours the second. He ended up getting a D in speech and Cs in algebra and English his junior year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a very good time for me because I had a lot of negativity,\u201d Joel says. \u201cI don\u2019t get anxious, but I think of things a lot and try to think of all the outcomes and stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of that, there were girl problems, and he wasn\u2019t very social.<\/p>\n

Toward the end of junior year, he started to come out of his shell. He went to prom with a friend, and in the fall, to homecoming.<\/p>\n

Both dances were at Irma Rangel, an all-girl school in Dallas. He’d met both girls through debate. That was a turning point for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the first school dance I\u2019d ever went to and finally doing that, I was like, \u2018OK, I think I could do this again,'” he said. “I went to homecoming there as well, and it was just like, I did things that took me out of my comfort zone, but it was enjoyable because they were things I would have never done otherwise.”<\/p>\n

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\"Joel

Joel Luera receives an honor cord and a 2017 graduation tassel while attending a gratitude ceremony. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

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Saying Thank You On Stage<\/h5>\n

On the same day Joel got the associate’s degree from Eastfield, he attended what\u2019s called a gratitude ceremony at Samuell High.\u00a0Joel and his classmates wore their blue caps and gowns. The point of the ceremony was for students to thank someone who changed their lives.<\/p>\n

Assistant principal Nooraaney Sattar read the students\u2019 thank you letters. Sattar quoted Joel\u2019s tribute to debate coach Don Cheatum.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has helped shaped who I\u2019ve become and ensured that I would have the tools necessary to become who I aspire to be,” Sattar reads. “I would like to thank Mr. Cheatum for everything he has done for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Joel

Joel Luera, right, recognizes his debate teacher and coach, Don Cheatum, second from right, at a gratitude ceremony. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

Joel wasn\u2019t prepared for one moment \u2013 when his former debate partner Steve Vasquez got up on stage to thank him<\/em>. Steve got teary-eyed and even joked that he kept working hard in debate, so he could one day beat Joel.<\/p>\n

After the ceremony, coach Don Cheatum explained that Steve and Joel have been on-again, off-again friends.<\/p>\n

“Freshman year they were both on the debate team with me,” he said. “Then they kind of had a falling out when they messed up at a major tournament and so it took about a year for them to warm back up again. This year, they\u2019ve been partners again, and they were the best varsity team we\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he started teaching, Cheatum wasn\u2019t sure he could stick with it. Joel, who came in with middle school debate experience, was one of those students who inspired Cheatum to keep going.<\/p>\n

“What was even more important is that he befriended a lot of the older debaters. And that\u2019s exactly what you do in any debate team,” Cheatum says. “It\u2019s the ones that become interested and driven and learn the ropes form the older students and now he\u2019s the older giving out help to everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Joel

Joel Luera, with his friend Steve, who unexpectedly recognized him during a gratitude ceremony. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

“He has helped shaped who I\u2019ve become and ensured that I would have the tools necessary to become who I aspire to be.”
Joel talking about his debate coach, Don Cheatum<\/div>
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Plans For The Future<\/h5>\n

After a few academic stumbles in the early college program, Joel no longer feels overwhelmed. He took fewer classes this past semester and now, he\u2019s ready for summer.<\/p>\n

He plans to\u00a0travel and work at Keeton Park Golf Course.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy being productive and doing things. I don\u2019t want to just sit at home all the time,” he says. “The current job I have at the golf course \u2014 I love that job.\u201d<\/p>\n

His job in the fall? He’ll be a\u00a0full-time student in Austin at the University of Texas. Getting a $20,000 presidential scholarship to go there doesn’t\u00a0hurt.<\/p>\n

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Class of ’17 Yearbook<\/h5>\n

Name:<\/strong> Joel Luera
\nSchool:<\/strong> W.W. Samuell Early College High School
\nGraduation:<\/strong> June 1, 2017<\/p>\n

Next step:<\/strong>\u00a0“Immediately, I\u2019m going to work this entire summer; save up money. Then, in August, I\u2019m going to UT Austin to be in my next three or four years of school. I plan on obtaining a degree in rhetoric and writing and then a second degree in probably something business related. I want to go into tech consulting now. [I still may enter]\u00a0law, but I haven\u2019t decided yet. But for sure, I want to get two degrees while I\u2019m there.”<\/p>\n

Dream job:<\/strong>\u00a0“It\u2019s either tech consultant or lawyer. It would be lawyer, but being a lawyer is expensive and law school is around $90,000. And it\u2019s not as much as my ‘dream job’ as it was. It’d be a civil rights lawyer. As much as I want to do that, I can\u2019t because the worries of paying off debt.”<\/p>\n

Favorite quote:<\/strong>\u00a0“You have the power over your mind \u2013 not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength.” \u2013 from the meditations of Marcus Aurelius<\/p>\n

If I could do one thing over, it would be:<\/strong>\u00a0“I don\u2019t think I would do anything over. I am happy with where I am at and I\u2019m happy with what I\u2019ve become and the person I\u2019ve become. So I don\u2019t think I\u2019d do anything over, even all the mistakes and things that I did wrong that I could have done better. I wouldn\u2019t want to change the situation I\u2019m in, so I would keep everything the same.”<\/p>\n

Joel Luera, Through The Years<\/h6>\n\n
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