POP: Alumni

Pali students-turned-teachers share memories of their very own high school days.

Mrs. Ruth Mills, Class of ‘70

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How has Pali changed since you went to school here? How has it stayed the same?

Well, it’s changed because it was lily white when I went here. If we had one African American, that was really unusual. It was all white and Asian. So I like the diversity now. It has stayed the same in that it’s still a very academically challenging school.

What is your fondest memory of your time as a student at Pali? As a teacher?

As a student, probably falling in love for the first time. I had my first boyfriend; he was a year ahead of me at Pali. As a teacher, the freshmen class that I had in 2007. They were the graduating class of 2010. I had several different classes with a lot of those kids, and my periods four and six were filled with those kids. There’s a picture over there of me throwing a party for them when they graduated. They were just the best group of kids I’ve ever had.

What made you want to become a teacher here?

Well, what made me want to become a teacher was I just always found school interesting, and, I mean, even when I was a little kid, I thought maybe I’d be a teacher. Wanting to become a teacher here… I lived in the Palisades, I knew this school, I thought it was the best school around.

Mr. Steve Engelmann, Class of ‘82Engelmannweb

What made you want to become a teacher here?

Well, I had a great time as a kid at Pali. So, you know, I went to school here, so I was very familiar with the campus. We got the beach right there, we got the mountains right there, it’s a beautiful area. There are people from the whole city and I think that’s really valuable. We have a hundred different zip codes, so many different languages are spoken, and it’s such a broad spectrum – and I think that’s really valuable.

Do you miss anything about being a student here?

I enjoyed the social part of it. Just meeting new friends and kind of just messing around, and being a kid. You know, who doesn’t miss that?

Mr. Steven Burr, Class of ‘88

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Did you enjoy your time at Pali?

I did. I think the biggest thing is I played baseball. Playing baseball and hanging out with the guys I played baseball with. I think if it was just academics and school, I’m not sure if I would [have]. There’s nothing super memorable about the teachers I had except my econ teacher. Gosh, my English classes, I barely remember them. My history classes, other than the econ class, were not fun. I absolutely hated Spanish. It was a nightmare. It was an experience so I kind of know what it’s like to be struggling in a class. I pretty much did my work at nutrition, lunch and the bus ride to home and school.

What made you want to become a teacher here?

I think I just come from a family of teachers and I think my experience as a student here, to try to make it more enjoyable for students and I think academically rigorous. When I went to UCLA, I got slammed. It was extremely difficult to adjust. I had to take the intro writing course to improve my writing. I never wrote that much when I was here at Pali. So, I think the combination of the factors of a lot of people in my family… When I was a student here, I did tutor. I did that in college. I think that people said I would be a teacher and I didn’t believe them. They knew me better than I knew myself.

What is your fondest memory of your time as a student at Pali? As a teacher?

Gosh, as a student, I think my fondest memory was just bus rides to baseball games and just hanging out. I thought those were pretty cool. As a teacher, fondest memory, there were a lot. Halloween’s around the corner. I would say, the Halloween contest has always been really fun, and I think the biggest thing is just former students coming back to visit. That’s always a great day.

Mrs. Maggie Nance, Class of ‘90

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What was Pali like when you went to school here?

It was pretty small, much less spirit, a bigger division between honors track and regular kids, really old faculty, no school spirit.

Do you miss anything about being a student here? How does teaching at Pali compare to attending it?

I so rarely think about what life was like as a student. I don’t miss it. Being a teacher means I can go anywhere, have keys, can walk in and walk out. It’s a different level of freedom and responsibility.

What is your fondest memory of your time as a student at Pali? As a teacher?

I loved my friends and all the laughing we did. As a teacher I love my students and all the laughing we do. I love watching you grow up.

Ms. Myrna Cervantes, Class of ‘93

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What was Pali like when you went to school here?

It was very segregated and there was very little or no support for academic or social, emotional support for minorities.

How has Pali changed since then? 

I think that we’ve made a lot of great positive changes. Now, we have programs like Fuerza Unida and the Village Nation. Students feel like they can belong at Pali. Traveling students, minority students… I know that the number of brown and black students has increased in AP and Honors classes. And also the number of those students has increased in attending a four-year-college after high school.

Did you enjoy your time at Pali?

I loved it. I loved it because I was fortunate to have one of my best friends with me which is Ms. Angelica Pereyra, and we were together in most of our classes, honors classes, and APs, and we were able to create a safe space for our group of friends. And, also, we were the first ones who founded the Latino Awareness Club, and we had culturally relevant assemblies, so that was nice, but not… There was a disconnection between teachers and students.

What is your fondest memory of your time as a student at Pali? As a teacher?

As a student, I remember that, for a Cinco de Mayo assembly, we brought in Aztec dancers, and the whole school was in awe because most of the student population had never seen Aztec dancers. So that was one of my fondest memories. And now, it’s when parents and students come back and thank me for all the work I do and how much they appreciate my help now that they’re college students. Those are the best moments.