Never give up on your journey!

Emily Alvarado officially graduated from San Diego Workforce Innovation High School (SDWIHS) on February 2, 2024, but walked across the stage on May 23, 2024, wearing her cap and gown with her support system in the crowd cheering her on as she received her high school diploma. Enrolling with SDWIHS in 2016 as a Junior, she had her reservations about our school. Needless to say, she got more than what she bargained for when she started the rest of her educational expedition with us. She attended our Prom, and she played volleyball for our school’s team without the pressure from the traditional high school environment. During the 2020 COVID era, she decided to disenroll and go on a road in another direction. She started working to earn some extra money to help the family which ultimately led her to marking time. She realized that she wasn’t moving forward with her life and needed to jumpstart her future. Not having her high school diploma and any marketable skills, she felt there was only one thing to do and get the support she needed. In 2023 she decided she could no longer live with the person she saw in the mirror and re-enrolled with SDWIHS at the age of 23. The truth is that she had unfinished business knowing that she was missing out on an achievement of being the first in her family that would graduate from high school.

Now that she was back in school, earning her diploma was her top priority, however, she still needed to develop some marketable skills to help with the next phase of life. After hearing about the JAG Program, she joined and started down a path towards success. She completed the JAG Out-of-School credits which helped her learn how to develop her resume to meet the needs of the workforce and interview techniques to help sell her qualities and skills. Her self-confidence started to build momentum along with her motivation to pursue her ambitions. She expanded on her intangible skills with tangible skills that will help her transfer from an entry-level job into her career. With JAG in her life and the support of the JAG Specialist, Michael Cruz, and the school’s staff members, she picked up the pace with her credit completion rate and turned in her last credit within a couple of months.

Not only did she walk across the stage, but she was also the ceremonial graduate speaker who spoke of trials and tribulations, barriers of hardships, and the unconditional emotional support from our staff.  Even though she doesn’t label herself as a comeback story, she does have a positive message to share.  It's never too late to finish what you started and achieve your goals. She is 24 years old and still has her whole life ahead of her. SDWIHS was not a means to an end, but the beginning to find and achieve her purpose in life with a clean slate. Her personal message to herself and everyone who needs their spirits elevated to accomplish their dreams, “Never give up on your journey!”