Mission Magazine Spring 2008 - Garces Memorial High School

Student ProfileTom Hollenbeck2007-2008 ASB PresidentHis advice to incoming freshmen is to “try everything, know yourlimits, but do it all”. He urges students to get more involved inorder to get the most out of their Garces Memorial experience. Thehighlights of his high school experience have been football, ASB,and being a member of the “Hurricane” – a big group of studentswho attend the basketball games dressed in green and white andexpress their spirit for Garces Memorial loudly and proudly.Tom Hollenbeck, ASB President, asked his predecessor for some advice. Hewas told to be unique and to do something different to set himself apart from past ASBPresidents. It didn’t take Tom long to think of something. Every afternoon, Tom startsthe announcements off with a “Fun Fact” and they range from Garces Memorial trivia to“did you know?” facts. The student body, faculty, and staff all enjoy Tom’s “facts” andwonder what he’ll come up with each day.When asked why Tom chose Garces Memorial, there was no hesitation in his response.He said “family”. Garces Memorial represented a lifestyle to him where everyone knowseach other and gets along. Although Tom’s parents did not attend Garces Memorial, hisgrandmother (Joanne Montoya ’58) and his cousins (Kevin Inman ‘07 and Jeff Inman ‘06)did. It was an easy choice to become a Ram. Tom knows the friends that he has made atGarces Memorial will be his friends for life.Tom said there is no other school like Garces Memorial inBakersfield. Everyone likes the students at Garces Memorial andother high school students all have “Garces” friends. Tom feels oneof the most important aspects is that Garces Memorial buildscharacter for a lot of kids and helps teach them to make smartdecisions, be responsible and respectful of others. GarcesMemorial is known for its rigorous college preparatory curriculumand as a result Tom is ready. He is especially grateful to Mr.Jamison for teaching him how to take better notes in class and to organize his thoughts so that he works smarter.The Catholic part of his education has not gone unnoticed. He likes the way each day starts and ends with a prayer and he haslearned a lot in his Theology classes. He’s become more respectful of other religions and has a greater understanding of theCatholic religion and is able to better explain to others what it means to be Catholic.His future plans are to graduate from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo with a degree in architecture and attend all his high schoolreunions so he can stay in touch with all the friends he has made here.Page 5