Marvin Bonilla, a first-time Parkdale student, was recommended by English teacher Mr. Kelly to be spotlighted for “submitting excellent work and contributing wonderfully to whole-class discussions.”  Although his academic story has seen its challenges, Bonilla sat down with us to let us know about how he plans to finish off the school year walking across the stage. 

Q: What are three words you use to define yourself and why?

I would say patience because I have a lot of patience when it comes to a lot of things. I would say focused because when I put my mind to something, I really like to dedicate myself to get that done. And I say calm because I like to take things in a passive manner in a real way, and I like to take things slow.

Q: What is your hope for this school year?

My hope for this school year is to finish up, recovering my credits, and being able to graduate.

Q:What or who inspires/motivates you the most and why?

My parents inspired me a lot and they give me the right motivation to keep going and to become the person I want to become in the future.

Q:What do you like most about this school year so far? What would you like to see changed? 

So this is my first year in this school and so far I really like it. It’s a very clean and nice, already maintained school. I would say maybe, I guess the hall sweeps are a little bit unnecessary, but I understand because kids do be in the hallway a lot. But other than that, the school is really good.

Q:What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time, I like to go out and drive. Driving really relaxes me. 

Q:What would people be surprised to know about you?

I would say that I’m a senior because I’ve fallen down a lot of grades because of my choices. And most of the time when people ask, ¨what grade are you in?,¨ I say senior and they don’t believe me.

Q:Who is your current favorite teacher and why?

My favorite teacher is Mr. Kelly. I would say because he’s a very calm and cool teacher. He likes to respect his kids, like the respect he would want from us. 

Q:What advice would you give to other students? 

I would say to think about their choices before they actually do it because it can really affect your future.

Q:You were recommended by Mr.Kelly, why do you think he chose you to take part out of all of his other students?

I said he chose me because I really like to talk to him about how much I regret not keeping myself focused throughout my other high school years. And I like to put in a lot of effort into his class because I know that a teacher would want to see somebody grow instead of seeing somebody fail.