Profiles

Mario Portillo

Though he was born in the United States, Mario Portillo maintains close ties with his extended family in Guatemala.

Mario is attending Harvard Westlake on a scholarship, the result of a work ethic for which he thanks his parents.

He says he was also fortunate to encounter a group of teachers that helped him prepare and apply for independent schools.

Mario hopes to become a scientist or mathematician and to work in aerospace technologies.

Cristina Martinez

The daughter of a determined Honduran mother who raised her to believe that all things are possible through hard work, Cristina Martinez has received a scholarship to Pacifica Christian High School.

The Cochran Middle School graduate has been an avid reader since elementary school. Cristina’s current favorites include works by Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Alan Poe. She credits her teachers for guiding her to and through challenging works.

She hopes that her love of literature will translate into a law degree, one she wants to use in a political career. “I hope one day that I can use all I have been given as a tool to speak for so many who are less fortunate than I am.”

Andrew Jimenez

Raised by his grandmother, Mexican American Andrew Jimenez is grateful his immigrant parents made many sacrifices so that he would grow up in Los Angeles where he could pursue a better life.

As a scholarship student at Crossroads High School, Andrew carries their dreams along with his books and papers. Andrew says that he never took his education for granted.

With the help of some very dedicated teachers, and a drive for excellence, he is virtually certain to accomplish his goal of becoming a criminal attorney, specializing in the defense of those who are unable to defend themselves.

Anthony Mitchell

Hello I am Anthony Mitchell; I attend Pacifica Christian High school.

I love my school; the environment is amazing. I have copious friends, and I am currently running for Sophomore President. I enjoy all my teachers; they have taught me so much not only from the subjects they extol, but also just life in general. Because Pacifica is predominately Christian, I have adapted to the rituals and ceremonies celebrated by them; in fact, I have worked on my relationship with God since attending. My school is one big happy family. I have always dreamed of a place where not much animosity is present. Because Pacifica wants their students to think well and live well, its a green light for success; therefore, I am a better student and a better person.

Joel Argueta

Joel Argueta was born in Los Angeles. His parents immigrated to the United States in the 1980’s from El Salvador in search of a better future for their family. Joel grew up in the Historic West Adams district of Los Angeles, attending Virginia Road Elementary and now Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Middle School. Bilingual from an early age, Joel excelled in the areas of math and science. In 5th and 6th grade he received a perfect score on the math section of the California Standardized Testing Examination. Joel explains that he was motivated to excel academically by good teachers and his desire to get the best education possible. After much hard work, Joel received a full-ride scholarship to Harvard-Westlake. For him the transition from public to private school has been easy. He acclimated quickly. He enjoys the academic rigor of his classes, has made many new friends and especially likes being surrounded by students who love to learn. His goals are to go to MIT to study mathematics and science and eventually become an engineer, a mathematician or scientist.

Francisco Sanchez

Francisco Sanchez was born in Oaxaca, Mexico. He moved to the U.S. with his mother in 1999. He entered an LAUSD elementary school in second grade, not knowing how to speak English. As a native speaker of Spanish and Zapotec, an indigenous language from Southern Mexico, Francisco learned English as a third language. Francisco and his mother have moved over 40 times in the past ten years. Despite these hardships Francisco has excelled academically, especially in the area of language arts and writing. A voracious reader, Francisco was placed in honors classes in 6th grade. His writing abilities have impressed a number of English department faculty members at Cochran Middle School. In seventh grade, after being encouraged by his seventh grade English teacher, Francisco entered a statewide writing contest where he wrote about how J.K. Rowling novels had greatly impacted his life. His eloquent essay highlighted the challenges he faced in his life and how Harry Potter novels taught him about the importance of friendship.
After much hard work, Francisco received a full-ride scholarship to attend Crossroads School in the fall of 2008. Francisco has had a great year at Crossroads and has stated that the main difference between public school and private school has been the variety of electives and school programs available at Crossroads. In the future, Francisco hopes to either be a teacher or a writer. In his free time, he enjoys playing the piano and listening to music on his iPod.

Heven Ambaye

Heven Ambaye was born in Ethiopia. She was raised by a single mother who left their Ethiopian home for Egypt when Heven was six - in the hope of sending back enough money to sustain their family of two. Heven was raised by her aunt and uncle until 2003, when she came to the United States to be reunited with her mother who had received asylum from the U.S. government. Heven entered an LAUSD school at the end of the 4th grade knowing very little English. Once she entered Cochran Middle School at the start of 6th grade, she was placed in an intermediate English–as-a-Second-Language (ESL) class. Halfway through the school year she was re-classified out of ESL and placed into Honors level classes.
Despite her initial feelings of fear and apprehension, Heven soon thrived and stood out among her peers. She was ambitious and did whatever it took to excel. She came to afterschool tutoring every day to work on bettering her English skills. Heven’s scores in English, history and mathematics greatly improved. It was at one of these afterschool sessions that Heven mentioned that she and her mother had made a pact when coming to America that they would do whatever it took to get her to Harvard University. It was Heven’s story and her long-term goal that was the inspiration of what would eventually become ISSS. Many of our students at Cochran have the ambition and capabilities needed to ensure success in higher education - they simply lack the resources and planning to get them there. Heven and her middle school teachers determined that the first step in this long-term plan would be to get into a top-notch high school that could adequately prepare her for higher education.
After a lot of hard work and planning, Heven was accepted to the Brentwood School on a full-ride scholarship. She began ninth grade in the fall of 2008. In the beginning of the year she was excited though nervous. She has since acclimated well. She plays soccer for Brentwood's team - the Eagles, has made some good friends and is doing well academically. Heven knows that excelling at Brentwood is the next step in her mission to attend Harvard University. Listening to music is Heven’s therapy, and she looks forward to completing her first year at Brentwood.

Miriam Cortez

Miriam is a fourteen year old girl who has gone through so much in her young life. She grew up with her mother, two younger sisters, an older brother, and an alcoholic father. When Miriam was nine years old, she and her two younger sisters and older brother were sent to a foster home. Miriam's father lied to the police about her mother and Miriam and her siblings became

wards of the state. For 8 months her mother fought in court until she finally got her children back home. While in foster care Miriam was only allowed to visit her mother and siblings once a week. Being in a foster home was emotionally draining and very sad for Miriam, she managed to stay strong and work hard in school. While in foster care, Miriam received the student of the month award almost every month at both schools that she attended Her grades didn't suffer either, as she remained a straight "A" student. This not only made her mother proud, but her social worker, attorney, and judge were so impressed that this convinced them that Miriam was ready to go live with her mother again.

On November 1st, 2005, Miriam and her siblings were reunited with their mother, while their father lost his paternal rights. Today Miriam and her family still struggle to overcome the issues in their lives, though her attending Crossroads High School gives the whole family hope and strength to deal with everyday difficulties. The believe that there is "a light at the end of the tunnel". Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, one of the best private schools in Los Angeles accepted Miriam on a full scholarship. She is working hard to make the most of it. Miriam is an example to her younger sisters and they too are working hard in school in order to have the opportunity to attend great private schools in the future. When Miriam grows up she wants to become a lawyer for children in foster homes, children that may be going through the struggles that she once went through. She's also thinking of being an ambassador to a country in order to "make it better for kids". Miriam is an amazing child. She is gifted, bright and happy! She loves all people and the following is her philosophy, "I believe the world will change one day if we all come together and don't worry about who we are on the outside for a moment but start to focus on who we really are on the inside. There are no differences between us, even if we are purple or striped or believe in a different God. We are all humans and we breathe the same air as well as live under the same stars." - Miriam Cortez

Arturo Garcia

Arturo Garcia is an 8th grader at Johnnie Cochran Middle School. His parent emigrated from Mexico to the United States to seek better opportunities and to discover the "American Dream". They have always believed in the importance of education and have encouraged Arturo to strive for academic excellence. Arturo is an exceptional student with a thirst for knowledge. He wants to go to a private school so that he can be in an environment with kids who have a similar work ethic and strive for excellence. He dreams to go to Harvard or MIT and states, “Independent schools have a high rate of students who go to admired universities like Harvard. I would like one day to go to Harvard and earn a doctorate in science and math. I envision myself as a member of CIA. This is my dream job, because it ties in so many things that I am interested in--mathematics, biology, forensics, foreign language, and giving back to the United States". Arturo has been accepted to Pacifica Christian High School on a partial scholarship. He has been wait-listed at Harvard-Westlake and is eagerly awaiting for a positive reply.

Independent School Support Systems
8424 Santa Monica Blvd. ste. A730

West Hollywood, CA 90069

e-mail: ikopelevich@gmail.com
Call: 323-632-6850

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