An Exciting Graduation at Nova Academy

Just one week ago on Friday June 12, 2009, I attended the 2nd graduation of the Nova Academy—Early College High School. Dr. Donald Verleur, founder of Olive Crest awarded the “Soaring Eagle Award”.

Attendees included parents and relatives of the graduates, staff and teachers of the school and members of Olive Crest’s Board of Education (of which I am a member). Seventeen “at risk” kids, many with college credits, graduated and were congratulated by the head of NOVA, Dr. Dennis Eastman.

Of the 17 kids to graduate, only one had a parent who had a degree in higher education. The Master of Ceremonies for Nova Academy’s Graduation was Ed Arnold, known to most for his more than 30 years at KTLA-TV and KABC-TV, and who also served as the voice for KCET-TV during 10 of those years. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Organizations in Rome, Italy, and now with the Annenberg Group, Gaddi Vasquez, delivered the commencement address. In it, he made six points to the new graduates

1. Don’t quit
2. Value your education
3. Invest in your heart and your mind—don’t forget where you came from
4. Block out the voices who tell you “No”, “You’ll never get there”.
5. Find a mentor—to call, to confide in, to embrace, to cling to.
6. Believe in yourself.

Gaddi ended the speech with a quote from Mother Teresa—“God never gives us more than we can handle”. His last words were you are being trusted for a New Era, and New Opportunities. Pictures will come later.