By Eighth-graders, graduating seniors, reflect on their future

Los Altos High School

Ashley DuVal

Ashley DuVal, daughter of Gay and Ron, loves music and has received recognition for her considerable talents as a trumpeter. She has also excelled academically and enjoyed participating in sports.

DuVal has been the principal trumpet player in the LAHS wind ensemble and orchestra and has also been a member of the Santa Clara County and state honor bands as well as the San Francisco Jazz All-Star High School Ensemble. She was a member of the marching band her freshman and sophomore years.

“Ashley is an enthusiastic and energetic person armed with a strong will and a sense of humor,” Gay said. “Her passion is reflected in her music.”

Last month the 18 members of the SFJAZZ ensemble competed in the seventh annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City.

“It was incredible,” DuVal enthused. “I felt all our hard work paid off.”

DuVal, a member of the National Honor Society, said her favorite high school subjects were English, biology and auto mechanics.

At the school’s recent awards assembly, she was recognized for her talents in all three areas as well as for her musical accomplishments. She was named Advanced Placement Biology student of the year and English student of the year, and she received department awards for her achievements in auto mechanics and music.

She also participated on the basketball and junior varsity cross-country teams “just for fun and to make friends.”

This fall she plans to attend the University of California, Berkeley, and double-major in music and environmental science. “I’m going to take things as they come and try to explore new interests,” she said.

Ben Clark

“One of the best things I’ve done is sports,” said Ben Clark, son of Mike and Sue. “I just love being active, and I’ve met a lot of new people and made some good friends.”

Clark was a member of the golf team all four years of high school and was on the cross-country team for three. This year he was co-captain of the cross-country team, which made it to the Central Coast Section finals. “That was a lot of fun,” he said.

The blue-eyed senior has also excelled academically. Both he and his twin sister, Tricia, graduated last Friday with high honors, with special recognition by the California Scholastic Federation, and are members of the National Honor Society. Ben was also named a National Merit commended scholar.

Clark is especially interested in math and science. “I’m pretty good at these,” he said. “This year I’ve had AP physics and AP Calculus BC (second-year calculus). These were very challenging classes. I’ve had very good teachers and feel really prepared for college.”

For his math skills, he won a California Mathematics League award.

This fall Clark will attend the University of California, Los Angeles, while Tricia attends nearby Occidental College. He is undecided on a major but believes it will be in mathematics or possibly business.

“UCLA is a good school with a beautiful campus - and my grandparents went there,” he said.

Sue said of being a mother to her two seniors, “This has been a fun job. I’m proud of both my children.”

Bryan Danforth

Most classmates will probably remember Bryan Danforth, son of Kathy and Lee, for his skill at water polo, his talent for math and science, and his love for “The Simpsons” television cartoon series.

“He would probably take some pride in telling you he draws upon the Simpsons for most of life’s important lessons,” Lee said. “He’s a wonderful, delightful young man with a wry sense of humor.”

The 6-foot, 4-inch senior claims he has spent as much time in the pool with his water polo team as he has in his classes. “It’s a tough sport, but it’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s been a huge part of my life.”

Danforth has a gift for math and science, which, he said, “come pretty naturally to me.”

However, he has also enjoyed English and is, Kathy said, a talented writer.

“There are definitely two sides to me,” Danforth noted. “Math and science can be kind of dry subjects. There are only right or wrong answers. English is a lot more creative.”

He used his writing skills in a new way this year as a member of the Talon staff. He said he found that being the business manager of the paper brought him new self-confidence.

“I think the Talon has helped me with my communications skills. Having to sell ads and subscriptions for your paper, you take a deep breath and jump right in,” he said.

Danforth will attend the University of Southern California this year. While USC has one of the nation’s best water polo teams, he doesn’t think he will play on the team. “For varsity, you need a lot of dedication,” he said. “I will probably play for a club.”

He’s undecided on his major at USC. “I’m leaning toward pre-med.”

Mountain View High School

By Sara Ballenger and Elizabeth Cloutman

Town Crier Staff Writers

Last Friday was graduation day for Mountain View and Los Altos high and intermediate schools. Graduation can be a time of mixed emotions for students and parents. It represents leaving a comfortable, familiar situation, yet presents an opportunity to achieve years of dreams and hopes for the future.

Six local high school seniors and four eighth-grade graduates reflected recently on their past few years in school and how they have prepared them for the future.

Chosen by their principals as some of the most outstanding students in their graduating classes, all have not only done well academically, but have also made friends, explored new interests and achieved personal growth through a variety of extracurricular activities.

Ivan Rosales

Ivan Rosales is the third of Hector and Alma’s five children - and the first to attend college. This fall he will attend the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has received a total of $11,000 in scholarships, in addition to a $4,000 grant from UCSB.

Rosales is a friendly, energetic young man who has done well academically and participated in school clubs and varsity badminton, while working part time at Starbucks Coffee.

“Ever since I was a freshman, Starbucks has been a part of my life,” he said. “I go to school in the morning and work in the afternoon. Recently, I was promoted to supervisor.”

Rosales said he has learned from being in the MVHS leadership class. “It has really helped me become a stronger leader.”

He found Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), a college prep elective program for students under-represented in higher-level courses, a great source of support. “This has helped me tremendously. I consider it my family away from home.”

He has also been active in Vocess Latina. The group meets with parents each Tuesday evening at the Los Altos-Mountain View Adult Education Center to assist parents in helping their children reach their full potential.

Though Rosales has long dreamed of becoming a lawyer, he found a new love in his junior year when he took Tim Farrell’s AP U.S. history class. “He instilled in me a passion for history … I would also like to be a history teacher. If I could do both, I would.”

Alma is very pleased with her son’s accomplishments. “I’m very proud and happy,” she said.

Brandon Montgomery

You could call Brandon Montgomery a “military brat.” He lived in four other states before settling in Mountain View in 1996.

The eldest of three sons, he lives with his father, Ken, a U.S. Army recruiter, and one brother on the Moffett Field base. His mother, Ellen, lives in San Jose with his other brother.

Soft-spoken and thoughtful, Montgomery finds real joy in learning. His classes this year have included AP English, physics, trigonometry, society and politics, civics and economics, AP Spanish 4, painting and AVID.

“I got lucky,” Ken said. “As far as his academics, he never quits. I’m really proud of him.”

Like Rosales, Montgomery has found support through AVID. “It’s been a real inspiration for me to do well in school,” he said.

He was on the cross-country team his freshman year, but an injury forced him to quit. He volunteered at the Sunnyvale Rehabilitation Center his freshman and sophomore years.

Montgomery was a member of his school’s Black Student Union his sophomore and junior years and particularly enjoyed participating in the statewide BSU conventions.

“I’m grateful I found it,” he said. “I made a lot of friends from all over California that I’ve stayed in contact with.”

This year he became a peer mediator for the MVHS Student Mediation and Reflection team. “It taught me a lot of patience. I learned how to start up and mediate a discussion. It gave me confidence to talk a lot more.”

Montgomery received a school district scholarship that will help pay for his four years at San Diego State University. He’s not yet decided on a major but is considering pre-med.

Abby Johnson

“If I didn’t stay busy, I don’t know what I’d do with myself,” said Abby Johnson, daughter of Sharon and Cole.

Friendly and always smiling, Johnson has led a busy life at MVHS. She has been a forward on the girls basketball team and a member of the Associated Student Body since her sophomore year. This year she was its vice president.

She was also a member of the leadership class for four years and participated in the drama program for three years.

“She’s an absolute delight,” Sharon said of her daughter. “She’s always smiling and is a happy person.”

Johnson said playing basketball took up so many hours, it helped her organize the rest of her life.

“She handles and balances her life to an extent that’s amazing and still does well in school,” Sharon said.

Johnson has served on the technical crew for her school’s drama productions and acted in several one-act plays. This year she played one of the daughters in “Cheaper by the Dozen” and participated in the annual drama festival at Sutter Creek.

This fall Johnson will enter the University of California, Davis, where she plans to study communications and perhaps psychology. “Since I was 5, I’ve wanted to be a news broadcaster,” she said. “I’m going to try for a (broadcasting) internship in Sacramento.”

No matter what she ultimately chooses as a major, she knows she will approach college in the same way she did high school. “I think it’s important to try new things … because that’s the only way you get to meet new friends, find out what you’re interested in and what you want to do the rest of your life.”