As an ENLACE mentor, she hopes Washington students will follow her example and appreciate ENLACE.
"We stayed together as a family," she said of her senior classmates.
"We are really close to our mentors, and we really trusted them, like they were our parents or our big brothers. But we had fun with them, and they made us do our homework."
She tutors as she was tutored.
"We're doing pretty much the same thing our mentors did for us," she said. "It's my turn to help."
Besides help with homework, mentors plan parties and field trips for the students. They also refer families in need for counseling and other social services.
At Albuquerque High, many of the ENLACE students are members of the Student Council, which Gonzales sponsors. Others are on the soccer team he coaches or serve as his office assistants.
Gonzales said he has mixed emotions about their day of separation in May when they graduate.
"I can't tell you how much these kids meant to me. This group will be special forever.
"These kids have done extremely well. When they were in middle school, I didn't think some of them would be here," he said.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
