ALA
Graduation Speaker
Kevyn Spill

Kevyn will attend Trinity University to double major in history and theology.

How did you decide on this pathway?

When I was very young I always liked learning about history, and theology is more of a recent thing. I like learning about past cultures and past beliefs but also more recently I decided I wanted to learn about the relationship between different religions, particularly between Christianity and Islam. I want to study that and go further into that idea.

Who has been most influential to you in your education this far and why?

My mother because she really pushes me to do the best I can, because she was always working class and never had time to enjoy the fruits of her labor. She wanted me to do the best I can to escape the poverty cycle. She didn’t want me to suffer the same way that she did. She taught me to do the hard things when you are young, so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor when you are old.

As a leader of the class of 2023, what is your hope for the Class of 2023 as they move on to the next chapter of their lives?

I think everyone in this class is very intelligent, more intelligent than they give themselves credit for. I think the majority if not all of them are smarter than I am. I hope that they see that later on in life. I think they will definitely achieve something great.

ALA
Graduation Speaker
Elizabeth Schweers

Elizabeth will attend the University of Texas at Austin to major in Urban Studies.

How did SAISD schools shape you into the person you are today?

This is the only SAISD school I’ve gone to, but ALA is kind of a special school so a lot of it helped me open myself up. The community here is really great and the teachers are amazing and really care so it kind of helped me learn how to love learning.

What has been the greatest challenge you have overcome in your education and how did you overcome it?

I'm yearbook editor and I think probably the yearbook. I didn’t realize how much it was before I started it. I learned a lot about communication skills. Our librarian has helped me so much with the challenges that come with being in charge of something and I’ve never done that before. She just helped guide me without taking that over and she’s just really awesome.

As a leader of the class of 2023, what is your hope for the Class of 2023 as they move on to the next chapter of their lives?

I hope that we just keep trying. In my speech, I talk about how we are already immersed in the real world. Going to college isn’t as big of a leap as I think it used to be just because of how much has happened while we’ve been in high school. We’ve had to get involved in politics because it’s affecting us already. I just hope we stay engaged and don’t let go of what matters as we get older and life gets harder. I hope we stay focused and stay engaged in our communities.

ALA
Graduation Speaker
Jaime Garcia

Jaime has a full ride to UTSA to study graphic design and film.

How did SAISD schools shape you into the person you are today?

My first school was Franklin Elementary. I really liked that school. It’s really close to my house. I would walk there every day. I was part of the bilingual class, and at that point I didn’t really know English so I would mostly talk to the bilingual students, but it was a really nice experience. I think it’s also kind of rare when you find a class with just Spanish. I got to learn English through it as well but it very much felt like a community. It was very much just us. I knew everybody in that class and everybody knew me and everybody was friends there. Going to ALA was a very big shift because I was still not very strong in English but everyone here just spoke English. It was a really cool experience to come here because it was a lot more project-based learning. I really liked it; that’s why I stayed here. We have a small class here so I know everybody and everybody knows me.

Who has been most influential to you in your education this far and why?

My younger brother. He's in 10th grade here at ALA. He’ll come talk to me about school. He’ll just talk to me about his day and vice versa. Also with the pandemic years I would go help him out and we would just talk. I thought that was pretty influential. He helps me out because we get to talk to each other and I think that’s very important.

As a leader of the class of 2023, what is your hope for the Class of 2023 as they move on to the next chapter of their lives?

I hope everybody enjoys the rest of their life. I know most of them I probably won’t see again but they have their whole future ahead of them and I hope they enjoy it.

Advanced Learning Academy
Class of 2023

San Antonio Independent School District
Board Of Trustees

Christina Martinez............President
Alicia Sebastian............Vice President
Arthur V. Valdez............Secretary
Sarah Sorensen............Trustee
Leticia Ozuna............Trustee
Stephanie Torres............Trustee
Ed Garza............Trustee

Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Jaime Aquino

Deputy Superintendent - Office of Academics & School Leadership
Patricia Salzmann

Deputy Superintendent of Operations
Dr. Kenneth Thompson

Assistant Superintendent
Angelica Romero

Advance Learning Academy Principal
Kathy Bieser

Graduation Candidates

CORDS AND STOLES DESIGNATIONS

Spanish Honor Society - Red with Gold Stole
ALA Trailblazer - Blue Cord
UT on Ramps Dual Credit - Orange & White Cord
Internship Participation - Green Cord
Presidential Scholarship - Red Cord
Greehey Scholar - Teal/Teal & Gold/Teal, Gold & Orange
Thespian National Honor Society - Purple Cord

GRADUATION CANDIDATES
SCHOLARSHIPS RECEIVED AT TIME OF PROGRAM PUBLICATION
Class of 2023

Alarcon, Maricela
Arangua Johnson, Myssie
Arredondo, Jesse
Artalejo, Ernestina
Ashford, Megan
Ayala, Payton
Ballard, Jessica
*Beltran, Deana
Berma, Araceli
*Birmingham, Jeremiah
Boren, Brayden
Botello, Sidney
Briones, Javier
Brown, Tomeka
Byrne, Faith
Cacy, Jonathan
Carbonaro, Tania
Carey, Tori
Carey, Victoria
Castro, Sonya
Cavazos, Manuel
*Champion, Nicholas
Colliflower, Matthew
Connors, Lisa
Cortez, Annette
Covarrubias, Alicia
Curry, Angel
Danweber, Sean
De Coss, Maria
*DuPont, Nathaniel
Dye, Katrina
Eklund, Lara
*Esparza, Porfi
Esparza, Porfirio
Ferrand, Afton
Foster, Dalton
*Freeman, Luke
Fuentes, Mercedes
Garcia, Kimberly
Garcia, Maria
Glass, Samuel
Gonzales, Kristie
Gossett, Cole
Hammond, Jacqueline
*Harrington, Meghan
Harris, Erica
Hart, Ellen
Hauge, Jens
Hellman, Pamela
Ibarra Alcala, Vanessa
Janes, Anne
Johnston, Michael
Joseph, Ana
King, Ashley
*Krenz, Kristin
Leal, Christina
*Lerma, Hugo
Lewis Green, Paula

Longoria, Norma
*Mallette, Daniel
Maney, Ryan
Martin, Yvonne
*McDonald, Rachel
Meier, Emily
Mikhaylov, Shanta
Moreno, Jo Janie
Moser, Hannah
*Murphy, Lisa
*Ostos, Brent
*Passant, Carol
Perez, Andrea
Pikla. Alanna
*Price, Lynda Ann
Rabago, Ana
Rabat, Jennifer
Ramirez, Ashley
Rasmussen, Jessica
Reyna, Skylar
Rivas, Gabryela
*Rounds, Senga
Salazar, Mario
Sanchez, Leticia
Santillan, Mary Helen
Shaver, Audrey
Shirley, Victoria
Sida, Kim
Singh, Amy
*Sisson, Laura
Sparks, Alyson
Spengler, Cole
*Stengel, Amy
Stith, Sara
Swali, Ankita
Talbert, Kallan
Tegeler, Misty
Thomas, Regina
Toland, Dina
Tondre, Cheri
Turner, Diana
*Unsworth, Lindsay
Valdez, Carmen
Valdez, Regina
Vallejo, Chris
Vazquez, Nancy
Viccinelli, Ava
Villa, Johnny
Walker, Natalie
Westerfield, Heather
Westerfield, Noah
Williams, Chesni
Woodman, Craigg
Woods, Laura
Wooten, Cenese
Zamarripa, David
Zapata, Angelita
Zothner, Kristie