Student Spotlight: Hanford High's Jocelyn Bahena & Eddie De La Paz

Jocelyn Bahena and Eddie De La Paz have long been good students. In middle school, though, they didn’t see how what they were learning each day could impact what came after they graduated.

“I was just going through the motions,” Eddie says of school.

Beginning in seventh grade, they enrolled in AVID classes (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and began to connect the dots between their current coursework and their futures. The classes gave Jocelyn and Eddie opportunities to work on leadership and other critical skills while also receiving guidance on what potential careers they may enjoy and how to pursue them.

“I was already really organized as a student but AVID gives me motivation and helps me stay focused,” Jocelyn says.

Now seniors at Hanford High School, Eddie and Jocelyn say they have taken what they learned in AVID and applied it to everything from athletics to the questions they ask in class. Graduation is still a school year away, but they already feel prepared for that next step, whether that’s pursuing a career in engineering or law.

“I feel like I am ready, that I can push myself and be confident and what I do,” Jocelyn says.