Student: Angel Bravo Rivas
Year in School: Senior
Plans After High School: Angel is going to attend Bakersfield College for two years and then wants to transfer to University of California, Santa Barbara. Angel wants to pursue a degree in architecture, but also has ambitions of writing his own book at some point.
GPS Focus: GROWTH
What Makes Angel #BulldogSTRONG: Commit to graduate. Work through failure. Always give 100%. Honor your commitments. Be a lifelong learner. Overcome obstacles. All of these essential behavior expectations are defining attributes of what it means to show GROWTH at Golden Valley High School whether in the classroom, on campus, or in the community. For GVHS Senior Angel Bravo Rivas, GROWTH has come to define his academic journey as a Bulldog over the past four years. From his freshman to junior year, Angel earned a solid grade point average as reflected in a 3.4 GPA while being enrolled in only College Prep classes. As a Senior, Angel decided to challenge himself and enroll in two Advanced Placement classes, English Literature and Spanish Language. At the beginning of the year, Angel was uncertain about his decision. “At the beginning of the year, I was really worried about my AP classes, especially AP English Literature,” Angel humbly comments, “Everyone told me that AP English Literature was one of the toughest, most impossible classes to pass, but I stayed in. Throughout my years as a Bulldog, I have never faced anything more challenging. Stress, tears, and uncertainty consumed me.” To his credit, Angel overcame the obstacle of uncertainty and took to finding solutions such as asking for help. Whether it was tutoring during lunch or after school or asking a lot of questions in class, Angel would work with Mrs. Bealessio to take on the challenges of his AP English Literature class, giving 100% effort along the way. Angel is forever appreciative for the support he has received to allow him to be successful. “I can’t put into words how much Mrs. Bealessio helped me to grow as a student,” Angel graciously states, “I truly feel grateful that there is a teacher like her at this school.”
Beyond the classroom, Angel can be defined as a lifelong learner. Angel enjoys watching and playing basketball as he was part of the Bulldog basketball program for three years. He also enjoys cooking and plans to take some some culinary arts classes in order to enhance his abilities as a chef. While cooking, Angel listens to hip hop and his favorite rapper, Juice WRLD. He has plans to enroll at Bakersfield College before transferring to the University of California, Santa Barabara to study architecture - an interest he acquired while working with his step father on the weekends building and constructing houses. At some point after his career as an architect, Angel has aspirations of becoming an author or poet with the overall goal of writing a book to be published. The wide array of interests that Angel has and his desire to learn new things are a product of the lessons he has learned at Golden Valley High School. “Golden Valley provides me with the things I need,” Angel notes, “I have been enrolled here for the past four years and I have made so many memories with my friends, sports, and many teachers. All these memories I have made at GVHS is what makes this campus special.” For the tremendous academic GROWTH he has experienced as a student at GVHS by enrolling in his first AP classes as a Senior and in his desire to be a lifelong learner, Angel Bravo Rivas is #BulldogSTRONG.
What #BulldogSTRONG Means to Angel: "#Bulldogstrong means to have pride in yourself and to not judge others. You must treat others with respect as they should to you.”
What Teachers and Staff Think of Angel:
“Angel’s dedication to both his learning and becoming a stronger person overall are why he epitomizes what it means to show growth, pride, and service. When many students choose to ease back their senior year, Angel took it as an opportunity to challenge himself academically and enroll in new, advanced classes like AP. This action alone takes courage; however, it is his resilience and grit that are truly what are impressive to me as a teacher. The adjustment to an AP level English course, with its rigor and heavy reading, made for a tough obstacle for Angel, one he contemplated giving up on. However, instead of doing so, he came to me with his concerns and we came up with a plan to help him succeed. Not only has he overcome these adjusting challenges, but has grown tremendously in his abilities. I’m extremely proud of his perseverance, diligent work ethic, and his quest to never give up. This is what teachers look for when identifying students who have shown growth: it’s not that these students do not have challenges, but that they choose to work through them consistently, asking for help along the way, to come out stronger and more confident students. Angel has done just that. Angel took pride in himself and his education this year, and has shown tremendous growth academically.” Madison Bealessio, English Teacher and Yearbook Adviser, Golden Valley High School
“Angel Bravo Rivas is an outstanding young man in class and demonstrates Growth, Pride, and Service regularly in class. As a learner he shows both Growth and Pride as a diligent worker who turns in thoughtful work and is not afraid to ask for assistance when he needs it. Also, he is an outstanding contributor during class discussions and/or activities. After high school I know Angel will go on to demonstrate how to be #BulldogSTRONG in both college and the career world.” John Hansen, Government/Economics Teacher and We the People Coach, Golden Valley High School
“Angel has been an awesome student in my class this year. I enjoy our conversations about our favorite football teams and sports in general. Angel is #BulldogSTRONG because of the effort he puts into my class and the positive contributions he makes in my class. Overall, Angel is just a great person.” Fernando Ruiz, World History Teacher and Blood Drive Coordinator, Golden Valley High School
“Ángel Bravo Rivas is such a dedicated scholar. He is always working diligently and asking interesting follow-up questions. He is always respectful and ready to embark on the next intellectual journey. For those reasons, Ángel Bravo Rivas is #BulldogSTRONG!” Luis Jauregui, Mathematics Teacher, Golden Valley High School
“I appreciate Angel’s persistence. I have come to know him as a goal driven student and I enjoy having him in my class.” Gabriel Flores, Spanish Teacher, Golden Valley High School