Communications Office / #IamSAUSD Features

Joaquin Martinez, Owner, Elite Fitness, Santa Ana (click photo below to view video)	About Joaquin... As owner of Elite Fitness at 214 N. Broadway in Santa Ana, Joaquin is SAUSD! He also offers some tips for students and parents about being fit and eating right. He attended Santiago Elementary and Willard Intermediate before going on to University of CA at Irvine. Now he offers classes to teachers and community members at reasonable rates, so contact him at 714-760-4638 or go to elitefitnessdowntown.com
Eduardo Lara, Ph.D, Professor at Cal State Long Beach Santa Ana Valley High School-alumnus	About Eduardo... “I love Santa Ana. I would not be the same person I am today without Mr. Stancil, my student government teacher who pushed my thinking on social justice leadership, or without Ms. Andrews, my social science teacher, who inspired and loved me and all of my classmates, or without my grandfather, who is a curandero, or without my other grandfather who read the politics section of the newspaper to me every week. I went to UCLA for my Ph.D, and to Cal State Long Beach, where I teach sociology classes. And now, I’ve found an amazing community in Long Beach. Yet, I still think of my progress as situated in the context and story of the community of Santa Ana. And in so many ways, I have never left.”
Special Educators are SAUSD!	About Special Educators... Special Educators play a major role in creating an environment that encourages all students to succeed here at SAUSD. We caught up with them at the district board room, click the photo to watch their message.
David DeLeon - Kiwanis, President Elect Santa Ana High School Graduate	About David... "When I was five, my brother and I were walking back from playing baseball at the park. A guy ran between us on the sidewalk and a black Jetta pulled around the corner, chasing him. Guys with guns hung out the window firing shots. My brother ducked to the ground and I hunched over and ran. The guy hopped the fence, the car drove away and it was over. When we got home, my mom took my baseball hat off and we saw where a bullet had tore through the fabric on the top of my hat. At the age of five, I was almost a drive-by statistic. So when I look at my son, I see how fragile life can be. Everything I do, I do it for my son. I realize that everything we have can be taken away from us in an instant." - David, father of Jacob, Kiwanis president elect, Treasurer at Heroes Elementary, & Community Liaison/Outreach for the Santa Ana PTA Council
Diana Lopez-Attorney at Law Valley High School Graduate	About Diana... “I was often told that ‘You would make a great lawyer. You love to argue. You always have something to say.’ These words came from adults and teachers in my life and they were delivered in a way that made me feel that it was a negative, like a back-handed compliment. I decided I’d never become a lawyer because the people who told me I should were people who were frustrated with my voice. I earned a math degree and was attracted to the hard sciences because I wanted to be taken seriously. I was a software engineer for a month. I was a math teacher for a year. Then one day, I was at a table in my father’s home writing a letter for him to his insurance company advocating for him so that they would not make a decision that would bankrupt him. And I realized that I’d been doing this type of work my entire life, translating for my family, advocating for them in legal situations, writing for them. I decided that day to go to law school and I found my calling as an attorney. Everyday, I use my voice to advocate for those who cannot.” - Diana, attorney. Santa Ana Valley High School alumni.
Aileen Navarrete -Class of 2015 Gates Millennium C.H.S. Centurion Harvard Bound Scholar (click photo to play video)	About Aileen... Aileen has excelled in her studies at Century H.S. and encourages other students to follow her pathway to success. As a Gates Millennium Scholar, she will be attending Harvard University in the Fall...Go Centurions!
Jessica Domingue - West Point Scholar Santa Ana H.S. Class of 2015 (click photo to view video)	About Jessica... Jessica has been awarded a full-ride scholarship to West Point Military Academy at in New York. As a Saint, she has been active as a dancer and decorated with multiple medals in the NJROTC program at SAHS. Go Saints!
Cesar Ibarra - 2015 Millennium Falcon, Valley H.S. (click photo to view video)	About Cesar... Cesar is a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship and will be attending Columbia University in the Fall, majoring in Computer Science combined with a Minor in Entrepreneurship. Go Millennium Falcons!!
Yerik Macias - 2015 Millennium Falcon, Valley H.S. (click photo to view video)	About Yerik... Yerik Macias has also earned a Gates Millennium Scholarship as a result of his demonstrated effort and his academic excellence while attending Valley High School. This fall he will be attending University of Southern California majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Go Millennium Falcons!
Jerry Cazales of Toyama Karate-Do is SAUSD (Click photo to watch video)	About Jerry... As part of the Engage 360º Extended Learning Program here at SAUSD, Mr. Cazales, a lifelong learner and product of SAUSD schools has been instrumental in helping our students learn about karate, keeping fit in mind and body and maintaining respect for teachers, parents and most importantly themselves! For more information about Engage 360º contact your school's main office.
Paula Garcia-Young's #IamSAUSD story (Click photo to watch video)	About Paula... Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman, Paula Garcia-Young, a graduate of Valley H.S. and a product of the Santa Ana School Unified District speaks to Deidra Powell about how she was prepared and mentored by her teachers for the business and community leadership roles that she holds as an adult here in Santa Ana today.
Rosa Jaramillo-Salgado's #IamSAUSD story (Click photo to watch video)	About Rosa... Ms. Rosa Jaramillo-Salgado is a teacher in the Taft Pre-School Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She began her school years attending the very same program that she teaches in today!
#IamSAUSD story of SAUSD Alumnus Officer Florentino Olivera (Click photo to watch video)	About Officer Olivera... Meet Santa Ana High School Alumnus Florentino Olivera, who is a CHP Officer, and a huge supporter of the Annual CENA event. Thanks to Officer Olivera and his fellow officers, hundreds of children in Santa Ana received toys last year and will receive toys this year for the holidays. Officer Olivera was honored at the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education recently. He is photographed with Principal Lisa Solomon of Lowell Elementary.
#IamSAUSD Story of SAUSD Alumnus and SAUSD Teacher Daniel Ramirez	About Daniel... Daniel Ramirez is a first grade teacher at Carver Elementary School. At the age of seven, Daniel moved to the United States with his parents and six siblings. He attended Lincoln Elementary School, Spurgeon Intermediate, and he graduated from Valley High School in 1992. Daniel has many accolades including SAUSD Educator of the Year 2013. He continues to live in Santa Ana with his wife and two children. Daniel’s wife, Guadalupe Aguilar Ramirez, was also born and raised in Santa Ana, and she teaches Spanish at Segerstrom High School. Santa Ana Unified School District is truly a family affair in the Ramirez household.