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SpectrumMar07.qxd 4/26/2007 4:47 PM Page 14 S Youth THE SPECTRUM Youth Youth 14 TWO RWC STUDENTS OVERCOME LONG ODDS TO EARN ACADEMIC HONORS Candace Joy and Lizbeth Mendoza, two Redwood City students who had to overcome long odds to succeed academically, have been selected for the 2007 Phi Theta Kappa All-California Academic Team. Phi Theta Kappa is the national honor society for twoyear colleges. Both students have been invited to attend a luncheon in Sacramento on March 29 where the state’s top two-year scholars will be formally recognized. Mendoza immigrated to California from Mexico with her parents after she graduated from high school, but she couldn’t speak English. She enrolled in Cañada’s Community-Based English Tutoring program in 2002 and eventually went through the English as a Second Language program before enrolling in college-level coursework. Today she is earning straight A’s as a civil engineering major and is tutoring other students in math and ESL. She does all of this while playing for the school’s volleyball team and caring for her 4-year-old son. Last year Mendoza was awarded a $1,000 Coca Cola Scholarship, and she plans to transfer to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Joy arrived at Cañada after struggling with drug addiction during her teen years. She failed to graduate from high school but has been a straight-A student at Cañada and is currently serving as president of the school’s honors club. “Cañada really helped me turn my life around,” Joy said. “My professors convinced me that I had potential and they would not accept any excuses. They wouldn’t allow me to get a B. It wasn’t easy, but because they pushed me I have been a successful college student.” LIZBETH MENDOZA WWW.SPECTRUMMAGAZINE.NET CANDACE JOY Joy is studying political science and has applied to Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco. She wants to study international relations. The All-USA Academic Team program annually recognizes 60 outstanding two-year college students and is sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, USA Today and the American Association of Community Colleges. To be eligible, a student must post a minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA and be eligible to graduate with an associate’s degree. MORE THAN A PRINCIPAL: AN ADVISOR, A MOTHER AND A FRIEND Nick Markwith, Student Writer Many wonderful Woodside High School teachers and faculty grace the students with their presence every day. They are enthusiastic, ready to teach and fill our noggins with whatever they can. However, the staff blames only one person for their desire to educate the youth with such a passion. Principal Linda Common is the cause of that inspiration. Common was born in Sacramento to two amazing parents. As a child, her parents pushed her to be the best she could be and to never give up. Common explains that they “had that kind of attitude that always made me want to do my best. I always felt supported in whatever I did.” At that time, she wanted to be a first grade teacher. Her first grade teacher “was just amazing,” she says. She had such a great time in that class, it became a dream of hers. Common attended high school in Sacramento, where she was an athlete and a scholar. Again, another of her teachers, her English teacher, inspired her. Common attended many colleges. And when I say many, I mean it. She holds an impressive list of over a handful, including Santa Clara University. Each university she attended granted her another degree. Her many degrees are in areas such as bilingual studies and special education, which allowed her the opportunity to experience all facets of the teaching industry. During her college years, Common began working as a first grade teacher, accomplishing her childhood dream. However, paths in her life led her astray and she found herself vice principal at a high school. For the next eleven years, she saw quite a few principals pass through but never thought about taking charge herself. Finally, someone offered Common the principal vacancy at Aragon High School and she took it. At that time, if “someone asked me what my profession is and I said dean of students, they would smile and say ‘Oh, an all-girls’ school,’” she explains. “But I couldn’t let that affect me, otherwise I would never have the success that I do now.” Despite remarks, Common remained strong and committed. She spent a year at Aragon before moving to her current position at Woodside High School as a wildcat. Common’s administrative beliefs relate to her family. She sees Woodside as more than a job, as a family with her as the mother. And because of this, she deals with discipline as if with her own child. “I think I treat each and every student from a mother’s approach … in the areas of discipline and support,” Common reveals. She believes that every student needs nurturing and guidance at school, especially when students come from broken homes. She wishes to reach out to those students and make sure they lead a successful life. Since Common has been principal at Woodside, she has helped improve life and leisure. Woodside had not had any construction since originally built in the 1950s. But Common changed that quickly as she brought about, with the help of anonymous donors, the construction of the still-quite-new Performing Art Center, a gym and a pool. She has also updated and furnished classrooms to further the education of her students. In the future, Principal Common hopes to implement a program in which students can have internships at local businesses and hospitals. Since not every student attends college, she wants to help those who do not see college in their future by furthering their aspirations in the career of their choice. “Just imagine it, two hundred students working at the three hospitals only a few miles away from Woodside. So much good can be done,” says Common of her dream. For those of you who plan on attending Woodside High School in the near future, your future principal has some words of advice. “Prepare to work hard, learn and be successful. You’re a wildcat now,” she says. And for those of you leaving Woodside this year or in years to come, she has another recommendation: “Stay positive, and always believe in yourself.”
SpectrumMar07.qxd 4/26/2007 4:47 PM Page 15 Local Interest IN HONOR OF ALL THINGS ODD Below: Sequoia High School teacher Ron Gordon and his family celebrated the last odd day on Jan. 3, 2005, by holding root vegetables in honor of Square Root Day on Feb. 2, 2004 Not everyone celebrates oddities, but that’s the whole point of 03/05/07, dubbed “Odd Day” by Sequoia High School teacher Ron Gordon, who noticed the rare occurrence of consecutive odd numbers in a date — an occurrence that happens six times near the start of a century. Gordon declared 01/03/05 as the first Odd Day — a date he noticed when giving his students the due date for an assignment. In honor of all things odd, Gordon is asking people to send descriptions and pictures of odd events and people dealing with odd numbers. The last winner was a group of Gunn High School students led by Elissa Brown, a senior at the time, who dressed up silly and paraded around town. Their entry included photos and a parade route. REDWOOD CITY’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE First prize is $135.79. Third prize wins $1 + $3 + $5 + $7 + $9, totaling $25. Fifth place will take home $1.35. “It’s like a calendar comet — suddenly it’s here to brighten your day and then it’s gone for 80 years,” he said. Gordon just finds the idea to be an easy, fun way of celebrating all things different. It’s not the only number-based holiday Gordon celebrates. Square Root Days like 09/09/81, 02/02/04 or the next one on 03/03/09 are celebrated with things like root vegetables. Gordon doesn’t encourage celebrating Even Day, however — he doesn’t want to be held responsible for people getting even. Contestants have a 357- hour window — between 3 a.m. Feb. 18 through 9 p.m. March 20 — to complete or make their odd entry. The entry must be submitted within 135 hours of the March 20 deadline — in other words, entries are due by Monday, March 26, at 3:15 a.m. to be considered. Gordon put together some suggestions for celebrating the odd season, such as “figure out why odd has an odd number of letters and even has an even number of letters” or “look for sea odders” or “odds ’n’ ends.” Currently, Gordon’s three children have a consecutive odd connection since they are 13, 15 and 17 years old. He was taken aback when the odd sequence was pointed out. “They weren’t born odd. I wonder if it’s genetic or just a function of the calendar,” he said. Four consecutive odd dates remain in this centu- S ry. The next odd day will occur May 7, 2009, followed by July 9, 2011, then Sept. 11, 2013, ending with Nov. 13, 2015. There’s an 80-year break at that point before such a “holiday” will happen again. “Our son Kyle wanted to know why they didn’t get Odd Day off from school,” Gordon said with a laugh. His middle child, Tyler, described the holiday — and his father — as the edge of goofy pushed to the limit. Send entries to rgordon@seq.org or to Ron Gordon, P.O. Box 5133, Redwood City, CA 94063. For more information call (650) 364- 0652. Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Daily Journal newspaper. Visit our Web site at www.spectrum magazine.net for the latest on The Spectrum and a complete archive of our past issues! 15 WWW.SPECTRUMMAGAZINE.NET
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