Inevitably student graduation speakers fall victim to cliché. Last Thursday evening Quan Nguyen of Burke used a classic during the Pimmit Hills High School Winter Graduation Ceremony held at Falls Church High School.
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away."
But when delivered from Nguyen's lips, lips that quivered with emotion, no statement could have been less trite and more heartfelt. For a class that has had so much taken away from it and fought so hard to learn, Nguyen's words were not just appropriate but perfect.
Teresa Zutter, director of alternative school programs for Fairfax County, gave the commencement address. The Rotary Club of Dunn Loring presented scholarships to Mohammad Abu-El-Hawa, Van Hnin, Jerin Kolan and Quan Nguyen. Francis Garcia received the Pimmit Hills High School Scholarship.
The 32 winter graduates included students from 12 different countries, ranging in age from 18-26.
According to Assistant Principal Bud Mayo, Central Registration can place foreign students seeking a high school diploma who are 18 or older at Pimmit Hills. These students constitute approximately 90 percent of Pimmit Hills' population. A school cluster or the school board places the other 10 percent who come from county high schools.
"The vast majority of them work full-time in addition to going to high school," English Department chair Steve Klass said. "A lot of our kids have come from places in the world where they have lived through incredible strife ... and yet they can see America ... as this land of wonderful opportunities for them."
ONE SUCH STUDENT is Rotary Club scholarship winner Jerin Kolan of Vienna, who moved from Somalia in 1999 with his two cousins and uncle. Both of his parents died when he was a young boy, and his education ended after fifth grade, when civil war kept children out of school.
He has worked full-time as a server at IHOP in order to support himself through Pimmit, where he started two years ago with no credit hours or knowledge of English.
"Going to the high school was kind of a little scary ... but ... I was just doing my best to do what I wanted to do ... finding many friends and getting along with them," Kolan said.
With his high-school diploma, Kolan is thinking about attending Northern Virginia Community College and then George Mason University, studying financial management with hopes of owning his own business exporting and importing goods to and from Somalia.
He said he's thinking about the future when hopefully Somalia's government will be stable enough for such a venture.
One of the many friends Kolan found is graduation speaker Holly Burke of McLean, who after moving from New York wanted a more diverse atmosphere than Langley High School. After researching alternative schools, she found Pimmit Hills and with the approval of Zutter, Langley and Pimmit Hills, was able to make the switch.
Like Kolan, she was also nervous when starting Pimmit.
"When I first came here, I was like, 'Wow. I am not going to fit in. I'm like one of five white kids ... in my class,'" Burke said. "But then it was just awesome. Everybody here is really cool. Switching to Pimmit was one of the best choices I ever made."
With their high-school diplomas, graduates' future plans are as diverse as Pimmit Hills' student body, including working in heating and air conditioning, enrolling in the Cadet Program of the police force, attending nursing school, joining the Marines and Air Force, pursuing a career in professional dance and, of course, continuing their education in college.
Hector Aragon of Reston plans to develop the photography that he explored in his graphic design class at Pimmit Hills and for which he received a Gold Key yesterday. He hopes a recent submission of his portfolio to New York will yield scholarship money.
Aside from the friendships and intimate support system produced by a school of under 400 students, last Thursday graduates shared a new commonalty: a high-school diploma.
And whatever the future holds, as Nguyen said, no one can take that away from them.
She concluded her speech.
"Thank you for loving me for who I am," Nguyen said, beginning to cry.
Silence filled the small auditorium as she wept. Seconds later this silence was replaced by applause.
The faculty, students and parents clapped not only out of support but as thanks for acknowledging the overpowering emotion they all felt and could only be given justice by tears.
Nguyen smiled.
"Your presence, help and heart have helped me get to where I am today," she said. "Thank you.”