Aldo Garza – Tipton High School

It is said if an individual experiences success, then they will experience other successes. This has turned out to be true for graduating Tipton High School senior Aldo Garza. His story is also a reminder that students need to have a niche and feel a sense of purpose.

Garza was in danger of not being able to graduate with his class due to a lack of the needed number of credits for a diploma. Two programs were able to get him on track. He dug in and worked hard while participating in the Tipton Achievement Academy (TAA). Then, he was willing to assist English Language Learner (ELL) students. His bilingual ability allowed him to help others and in turn, lit a spark to push himself academically.

“It has been great to see. It’s been a night and day difference,” Principal Craig Leach says. “Looking back a few years, Aldo was just skirting by. He was credit deficient and on an alternative path in the TAA. Then the opportunity to be a translator and mentor/role model came up. We haven’t had a huge number of Spanish speakers, but it is growing. We had the idea for a Spanish speaker to help. Aldo amped up to be that guy. That opportunity flipped a switch.”

Garza moved to the area when he was in the third grade. At the time, he only spoke Spanish. He moved away when he was in sixth grade but returned to Tipton High School when he was a freshman.

Garza credits the ELL program for helping him learn English.

“This ELL program was a big help. In fourth grade I picked up English…but I goofed off my freshman and sophomore year,” he says. “Then, the opportunity to help others came up. This has been a good opportunity. It helped me so much.”

“It has been awesome to see him grow. TAA is still a growing program. It takes credit deficient students and sets them up to graduate. Aldo has been one of our outstanding students; he put in the hard work needed,” Paula McCord, ATT teacher, says.

An example of how Garza has stepped up to help others recently occurred. A non-English speaking student from Guatemala moved in and Garza acted as a translator and peer tutored him for several hours every day.

After graduation, he would like to continue using his skill as a translator. Garza shares that he is interested in interpreting in the construction field or as a hospital dispatcher. He feels his bilingual skills would be helpful in business and hopes to eventually own his own business someday.

“The advice I would give other students is that sometimes there are hard times, but you can overcome them. You can change even if you are struggling. I realized there’s always people who will help. I want students to know that it is important to mentor others,” Garza says.