Balers come back

San Benito High School alums find careers on campus
By Ruby Perez
&
amp; Hayley Guenther
Special to the Pinnacle
San Benito High School holds a special place in the hearts of
many alumni, who look back with fond memories at their years on
campus. For a select few, the halls they once roamed as students
are now the path to their desks, where they make their careers
helping new generations of Balers. Here are some of their
stories:
San Benito High School alums find careers on campus

By Ruby Perez & Hayley Guenther

Special to the Pinnacle

San Benito High School holds a special place in the hearts of many alumni, who look back with fond memories at their years on campus. For a select few, the halls they once roamed as students are now the path to their desks, where they make their careers helping new generations of Balers. Here are some of their stories:

Krystal Lomanto, class of 1983

As a 1983 graduate of San Benito High School, Krystal Lomanto uses the memory of her time as a Haybaler when she talks to students in her role as principal.

Lomanto has a program called the Principal’s Student Advisory, where she meets with students to discuss their thoughts and concerns and gets on the same page as them.

“Currently there are 30-plus students who are on the advisory and it has been an incredible experience for me,” Lomanto said. “Watching students graduate is pretty amazing.”

Lomanto, who has one son at SBHS and another who will be a freshman next year, was very active in high school.

“I played volleyball, softball and I also was on the District 4 Rodeo team,” she said.

SBHS had an open campus when Lomanto was a freshmen, but when she was a sophomore it was changed to a closed campus. She explained how no one really cared at the time, because the lunch period was not long enough to actually give students ample time to get off campus and get lunch. As a principal now, she hears a lot from the student body about how they want an open campus.

One thing Lomanto remembers about the school was how it was always kept clean.

“When I was in high school, the students took pride in their school and picked up their garbage,” Lomanto said.

She would like to see that continue.

Lomanto went to California State University, Fresno and intended to become a physical therapist. Although she later changed her mind about physical therapy, Lomanto majored in kinesiology and minored in science. Lomanto taught health, chemistry and PE at SBHS for 10 years. Before returning to her alma mater, she student taught and coached at Hoover High School in Fresno as well as Caruthers High School. She got engaged to another Baler alum and moved back to Hollister in 1990.

“Being the principal wasn’t something I always wanted to do,” Lomanto said.

However, when the position was offered to her before last year she took a chance because she said she loves working with students.

“I was vice principal and I loved it,” she said, “[Working with students] is really my life line.”

Although Lomanto has been a teacher and is now principal she said, “You learn something new every day. I have learned how to interact with people and I learned how to build a true team.”

Cheri Cosio, class of 1985

Cheri Cosio graduated from San Benito High School in 1985. After high school Cosio attended Gavilan College. Shortly after she finished at Gavilan, she began working at SBHS. Her job first began in October of 1991 and she was an administrative assistant for two and a half years.

Cosio recalls her first years as somewhat funny and unusual. For one thing, she was not much older than the students, and another she had to become accustomed to calling teachers by their first names. After her years doing this sort of work, Cosio switched to working as an instructional aide/independent study adviser. She worked at the job for three years. She later began working in the attendance/discipline office of SBHS and has been there to this day.

“She’s really nice, helpful, and always in a good mood,” said SBHS senior Priscilla Sanchez, who works as a teacher’s assistant in the office. “She’s always welcoming when people walk in.”

Since Cosio has worked so long at SBHS she has seen how much the school has grown and evolved since she attended. One of the major changes is growth – SBHS now holds around 3,000 students. Another is the reform in the offices. Guidance counselors were added, while during Cosio’s earlier years they did not exist. Before, students were sent into the office only for discipline purposes and now it varies more from discipline to simply students wanting to speak with the counselors about college options.

“Great staff as far as guidance counselors,” said Cosio, reflecting as both a former student and an employee.

Remembering her high school years, she recalls how things were for herself as a student and how they are much different compared with a student attending now. While Cosio was a student, she recalls hanging out on tables where lockers used to be situated, there being an open campus, and rallies in the football stadium.

Though high school was a lot of fun and Cosio loved the feeling of simply hanging out with her friends, she thoroughly loves her job.

“I love my job. I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Cosio said. “I’m very fortunate that I have a job that I love so much.”

Joanne Zuniga-Kaplansky, class of 1990

Joanne Zuniga-Kaplansky graduated from San Benito High school in 1990. Immediately after high school Kaplansky attended the University of California, Santa Barbara as undeclared. She was unsure of what she wanted to study but always knew she wanted to work with young people.

Eventually, Kaplansky got her degree in sociology and Chicano studies, but her job choices still were unclear. Kaplansky thought about perhaps becoming a counselor or a social worker.

When she graduated in 1994 and returned back home to Hollister, Kaplansky still felt uncertain about what job she wanted so until she decided she began substituting at SBHS.

There, she ran into Frank Muro, who asked if she was interested in becoming a long-term substitute for the class English as a second language. Kaplansky began teaching and immediately felt a connection to teaching and the students.

After she finished up her substituting term, she got her teaching credential and eventually left for the University of San Francisco to receive her master’s in ESL.

After living in San Francisco for some time, Kaplansky was asked by Muro if she wanted to come back to the high school to teach Spanish; an offer she accepted.

“I felt my community calling me back,” Kaplansky said.

She eventually became a full-time Spanish teacher as well as the English language development coordinator.

For Kaplansky, high school was enjoyable, she said. She fondly recalls hanging out with her friends every day.

“Just being with my friends on a daily basis,” Kaplansky summarized, “having that support system every day.”

The high school was much smaller in Kaplansky’s day as well. However, it still holds that sense of community and pride that Kaplansky “couldn’t find anywhere else,” which was her main draw to return to her alma mater.

Patrick Nolan, class of 1996

Patrick Nolan graduated from San Benito High School in 1996 and attended California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo for a year where he spent a semester as a guest student at Colorado State. He eventually earned a degree in American history from San Francisco State University.

Before becoming a teacher, Nolan worked odd jobs; everything from a cook to a bartender to working in the mortgage industry. But Nolan always felt drawn toward teaching.

“I knew I wanted to do something where I could be around something I loved [American history] every day,” he said. “It was a good combination.”

Nolan, who eventually earned a master’s in education from National University, was living with his wife in San Francisco until she got a job back in Hollister, which is when he first began teaching at SBHS. The change was big for Nolan. He left a noisy, crowded San Francisco for small, peaceful Hollister.

Nolan recalled hanging out with his friends and playing sports as his favorite memories at SBHS. Moving back has given Nolan perspective of how much the school has changed since he was a student himself.

The use of technology in the learning experience, Nolan believes, is a huge improvement to the education the students are receiving that he did not have while attending. In the end, Nolan is fond of his job because it allows him to talk about history and teach as well.

Catalina Lemos, class of 1990

Spanish teacher Catalina Lemos graduated from San Benito High School in 1990 with dreams of becoming a psychologist. She enrolled at California State University, Chico to study the subject. 

While at college her Spanish professor changed her mind about her profession.

“He was very strict and demanding and had very high expectations of the class,” she said.

He spoke both German and Spanish and “had a love for the language, and was a very interesting person.”

Lemos said she enjoyed her Spanish class and had a better connection with that teacher and class than she did with her psychology class and soon changed majors.

During her time as a student SBHS, she recalled, the high school was much smaller and because of it, so were class sizes. As a teacher, she misses the smaller classes, but she does appreciate that students have more classes from which to choose.

“As a student I was positive, a little bit silly and always busy with friends and school activities,” Lemos said.

School spirit was also very strong when she was a student.

“We loved to go to the rallies,” said Lemos, who remembers how the students were close knit and how involved everyone was. Lemos was a song leader, in choir, and a member of the Close-Up Club and California Scholarship Federation. 

“A song leader was like a cheerleader, but we incorporated more dance movements with the cheers, rather than sharp movements,” Lemos said. “We cheered and danced at the football and basketball games and preformed at the rallies.”

Lemos said she has learned “how to be respectful no matter what the situation is. I’ve learned that everybody craves respect and everybody deserves it. Problems arise when people feel they aren’t getting respect,” Lemos said.

Derek Barnes, class of 1993

In 1993, Derek Barnes graduated from San Benito High School at a time when the school and the community were expanding and when the new gym [Mattson] opened.

“It was a sign that the school and Hollister as a community was growing,” said Barnes, a history teacher. “I never really struggled in high school. I always wanted to teach here.”

Although Barnes knew he wanted to be a teacher, he did not know what subject was right for him.

“I did not like history up to that point,” Barnes said.

But his history teacher, Marty Dillon, had an impact on him. There were quite a few teachers who inspired Barnes including Dillon, Dennis DeWall and Doug Keck. DeWall and Keck still teach at SBHS.

“I saw how they connected with kids,” he said. “They made teaching interesting.”

Barnes, who was the first member of his family to graduate from college, spent two years at Gavilian College before he transferred to San Jose State University.

“I stayed close to Hollister to be close to my girlfriend at the time, close to my job and to attend a school that is pretty successful at creating solid teachers,” Barnes said.

He and his girlfriend from that time are now married.

Barnes tells his freshmen students to “do as much as you can in high school” because he was so active in high school and he knows how important it is.

“I had a great high school experience because I did things,” he said.

Barnes was involved in many activities including the Rally Club, Foreign Exchange Club and Drama Club. He was the president of the Drama Club his senior year and was also the Winter Ball chairman. 

As a teacher Barnes, is still active at the high school.

“I am the department chair for social science,” he said. “I coached baseball for seven years here. And I am currently a class advisor with Amy Henneman for the class of 2010.”