How a high-school senior discovered opportunities that are about
to pay off in a big way
San Benito High School senior Pepe Bernal doesn’t immediately
stand out in a crowd. He’s average height and average build and
exceptionally shy, but under that demeanor Bernal is anything but
average. It just took a caring brother and family friends to unlock
the scholar in him.
How a high-school senior discovered opportunities that are about to pay off in a big way
San Benito High School senior Pepe Bernal doesn’t immediately stand out in a crowd. He’s average height and average build and exceptionally shy, but under that demeanor Bernal is anything but average. It just took a caring brother and family friends to unlock the scholar in him.
The 18-year-old senior will graduate this week and immediately prepare to enter the University of California, Los Angeles in the fall – one of the toughest UC’s in the state to get into.
But despite the fact that Bernal is ranked No. 19 in his class and is one of a few trilingual students at SBHS, Bernal wasn’t always the person he is today.
Reared in a poor, Spanish-speaking family, he will be the first child in his family to attend college – a pursuit that had not warranted a high priority in his family. His father is a fieldworker and was not encouraged by his parents to pursue an education.
“My parents never put any pressure on me, they didn’t go to school so they weren’t aware of the importance of it,” Bernal said.
As a result, he didn’t recognize his educational options. During his freshman year he said he didn’t push himself and often slacked off. But his future prospects came to light through his brother, Florencio.
Florencio was born with muscular dystrophy. While he was enrolled in the special education program at San Benito High, his conditioned worsened. Today he is on a respirator in a nursing home. It was while Florencio was propped in front of a computer that he started researching and sending Bernal information about the Air Force and college. He let Bernal know that there were educational opportunities waiting for him.
“My brother and I have a very tight relationship. He would get me to ask myself questions about what I wanted in life. He’d push me. He’s the biggest inspiration in my whole life,” Bernal said.
During his sophomore year he began to log straight A’s. He enrolled in four Advanced Placement classes during his senior year – French, calculus, English and physics.
While his brother was pushing Bernal from one side, Forencio’s aide, Maureen Block, was engaging Bernal from another direction.
“I first got to know Pepe when he was nine,” Block said. “When Florencio first hit high school his condition took a dive real quick. I started talking to the family and found out that the kids were Catholic, but because of the language barrier and transportation issues they hadn’t received the sacraments. So I started taking Pepe and his older sister Esmeralda to catechism classes weekly.”
Last week Bernal was confirmed.
Block continued her friendship with the family and Bernal. She watched him grow from a shy boy who always thought of his family before himself, into the man he is today.
She described Bernal as self-reliant to a fault. Despite the fact that Bernal is ranked in the top percentile in his class, he was not planning on walking in graduation ceremonies because he couldn’t afford the cap and gown, and you won’t see him in the yearbook since the family couldn’t afford senior portraits
But the financial challenges were not something his brother would allow to sidetrack Bernal.
“Florencio really kicked Pepe into gear. After that he got straight A’s,” Block said.
Bernal is now a math tutor at the high school and earlier this year was awarded Migrant Education Student of the Year Award.
SBHS Migrant Education Director Frank Muro said that he got to know Bernal after he applied for an annual school trip to Washington D.C. during Bernal’s junior year.
“I saw that he had a lot of potential. He told me he was interested in the Air Force and I introduced him to Congressman Sam Farr so that he could get a letter of recommendation,” Muro said. “He’s a very shy guy so I had to pump his ego.”
Muro said that earlier this year the school contacted him and asked Bernal if he would be a tutor in the migrant education program.
“I have no doubt that he will do exceedingly well in life,” Muro said. “He wants to be a mechanical engineer and it takes a unique brain to go into that field.”
Initially Bernal was interested in attending the Air Force Academy, but changed his mind when he discovered it was in Colorado. He said that he has an uncle who lives in LA who told him that one of his cousins was going to attend UCLA. He looked into it and decided he’d like to go there as well.
When he’s not in school or studying Bernal hangs out with his girlfriend, Kelsea Ryan, chilling at Starbucks or listening to music. He said that right now he’s really into 80s metal, bands like Metallica.
Fortunately for Bernal one less problem will be figuring out how to handle a long-distance relationship next year, as Ryan is attending UCLA as well.
He likely will begin as an average student on a campus the size of UCLA, but with the love and support of a brother and friends, untapped potential is just as likely to emerge in ways he never would have imagined.
