IVA High Alumni
What Happens When Your Teachers Actually Know You?
Phoenix Aguilar
Phoenix Aguilar came to IVA High looking for a school where teachers would actually know her. An IVA High student from 2018 to 2020, Phoenix left with sharpened critical thinking skills, lasting friendships, and the kind of care from teachers that changes how she sees the world.
Phoenix Aguilar
Phoenix Aguilar came to IVA High looking for a school where teachers would actually know her. An IVA High alumni from 2018 to 2020, Phoenix left with sharpened critical thinking skills, lasting friendships, and the kind of care from teachers that changes how she sees the world.
A Smaller School That Made Room
Phoenix’s search for IVA High started with a need. After years in a traditional school setting, she was looking for something different: a smaller environment where teachers could connect with students on a real level.
“I was looking for a smaller and alternative school that would help teachers connect with me more and help me with my learning,” Phoenix says.
Her parents found IVA High and passed along the information. One look at the school’s approach and it was clear: this was the right fit.
The Friends Who Stayed
For Phoenix, the most lasting part of the IVA High experience was the people. The staff members and classmates she met during those two years are still part of her life today, a quiet testament to the kind of community IVA High works to build every day.
Ask about a favorite memory and Phoenix doesn’t hesitate: Isaac’s “IVA Out of Context” series in 2019. It’s the kind of inside moment that only makes sense if you were there, and exactly the kind of thing that makes a school feel like a place worth belonging to.
A Curious Mind, Sharpened
The intellectual virtue Phoenix connects most with is curiosity. “I am constantly curious about the people and world around me and new things to learn,” she says.
That curiosity was developed and encouraged by teachers who took the time to understand Phoenix as a learner, including during stretches when things were hard. When Phoenix experienced severe migraines, her teachers responded with kindness, flexibility, and accommodation rather than frustration or judgment.
“All of the teachers were always so kind and understanding and accommodating for me, especially when I had severe migraines, and didn’t put me down for my personal health problems,” Phoenix says. “It made me see the kindness in the world around me and helped me succeed in doing the things I am currently doing with my life.”
The critical thinking skills Phoenix built at IVA High have stayed with her long after graduation, shaping how she approaches challenges, relationships, and new opportunities.
What Comes Next
Recently hired as an art teacher and coach for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, Phoenix credits the teacher’s aide experience gained at IVA High as the foundation that made the role possible. Alongside that work, she’s currently studying mortuary science at Cypress College, bringing the same curiosity about people and the world to one of the most meaningful professions there is.
From the classroom to the mortuary science program, Phoenix moves through the world the way we at IVA High hoped she would: with openness, care, and an enduring desire to learn.
Learning to Show Up for Himself
Giovanni Ayala
At IVA High, community lives in the hallways, in the classrooms, and in the students who show up every day ready to grow. 12th-grade student, Giovanni Ayala, embodies that spirit.
A two-year member of the IVA High family, Giovanni has taken on the challenge of becoming a stronger version of himself, and his journey reflects exactly what we celebrate here. His story is a reminder of what makes IVA High such a special place to learn.
Giovanni Ayala
At IVA High, community lives in the hallways, in the classrooms, and in the students who show up every day ready to grow. 12th-grade student, Giovanni Ayala, embodies that spirit.
A two-year member of the IVA High family, Giovanni has taken on the challenge of becoming a stronger version of himself, and his journey reflects exactly what we celebrate here. His story is a reminder of what makes IVA High such a special place to learn.
A Transfer That Changed Everything
Before IVA, Giovanni attended a large high school where he struggled to find his footing academically and socially. His close-knit family noticed. His sister, now a 10th grader at IVA, was the one who first told him about the school. His mother recommended IVA, hoping a smaller, more caring environment might turn things around.
Giovanni himself was hesitant, unsure which direction to take or whether a new school would make any real difference. IVA was small. That felt different. It also looked welcoming, which helped. But stepping into a new environment at mid-high school takes courage, and the road wasn’t immediately smooth. He faced real challenges in that first year, ones that tested his resolve and pushed him to a crossroads. What met him there surprised him.
The staff showed up in ways he hadn’t experienced before. So did counselors, peers, his own family and the broader IVA community. Slowly, Giovanni began showing up for himself. “The staff seemed very accepting,” he says. “The way they take their time with students and help them for the better.”
One moment stands out from that turning point. During a “Make It Right,” our approach to restorative practice where students take accountability and work to repair harm in the community, something clicked. “It made me realize I had to be a better person,” he says. That kind of clarity, honest and unadorned, reflects exactly the growth we work to nurture in every student.
Challenges That Led to Change
Those challenges didn’t disappear after transferring. The bad influences and habits he’d carried from his former school were still pulling at his decisions, and eventually those outside pressures caught up with him in a serious way. “My first year there I was still a troubled kid doing what I wanted to do,” he reflects. He faced a personal crisis that shook him to his core.
After some time away from school, he returned and the IVA community was waiting. He talked to the staff. He processed what had happened. “It helped me mentally and changed my perspective on life and decision making,” he says. That support, patient and personal, finally broke through.
Community Made It Possible
His family, long anchored in values of connectedness and support, had been there through all of it. That foundation, combined with the relationships Giovanni built at IVA, gave him the resilience to keep going. He credits IVA with helping him leave those habits behind, and he now has his sights set on his future.
Ask Giovanni about his favorite memory and he points to the block party last school year, a celebration of community that captures the spirit of what IVA High is all about. That spirit shows up in a lot of ways, including the school’s cheer team (founded by Giovanni’s own sister!).
Giovanni also wanted to celebrate the community directly. “I’m truly grateful for IVA and the community it is,” he says. “I want to be a good influence to others and do better for my education.”
At a school built around intellectual virtues like curiosity, humility, and courage, that kind of intentional care sits at the heart of everything we do. For Giovanni, it made all the difference.
She Came for a Small School. She Stayed for the People.
Nia Berry-McMillan
Nia Berry-McMillan’s path to IVA started with a Google search. She and her mother were looking for a smaller school after years at larger campuses where students’ safety, mental and physical, was never a given. Her older brother had attended a charter school during middle school, so the model felt familiar to her.
Still, Nia needed to see it for herself.
Nia Berry-McMillan
Nia Berry-McMillan’s path to IVA started with a Google search. She and her mother were looking for a smaller school after years at larger campuses where students’ safety, mental and physical, was never a given. Her older brother had attended a charter school during middle school, so the model felt familiar to her.
Still, Nia needed to see it for herself. A staff member gave her a tour, and what she heard was consistent: IVA put students first. That was enough. She enrolled, and the school was just what she had been looking for.
The Day the Room Came Alive
Ask Nia about a moment that changed her, and she points to an afternoon in English class during her junior year. The class was working through Jane Eyre, and what started as a Socratic seminar turned into something else entirely. “The conversation was never-ending,” she says. “For the first time, I saw the excellence in my peers far beyond what I knew of their personality.” That kind of moment, students pushing each other’s thinking in real time, sits at the heart of what IVA works to build every day. For Nia, it reframed what she understood about the people around her.
What Comes Next
Nia’s junior year left a mark. She reflects on it as an experience she never took for granted, and one she felt emotional about when it ended. One moment stands out in particular: a Socratic seminar in English class where her peers were discussing a chapter from Jane Eyre. The conversation kept going, and Nia saw something she hadn’t expected. “For the first time I saw the excellence in my peers far beyond what I knew of their personality,” she says. That kind of discovery — of the people sitting right beside you — is exactly what we at IVA High hope to make possible. She carries all of it with her now as she heads into her senior year.
Shaping the Future of Public Health
Makayla Shields
Alumni Makayla Shields embodies the IVA High spirit. A four-year IVA student who has stayed connected to the school for eight years running, Makayla arrived as a shy freshman and left with the courage to give her graduation speech, earn acceptance to six colleges, and set her sights on a career in public health. Her story is a reminder of what makes IVA High such a special place to learn.
Makayla Shields
Alumni Makayla Shields embodies the IVA High spirit. A four-year IVA student who has stayed connected to the school for eight years running, Makayla arrived as a shy freshman and left with the courage to give her graduation speech, earn acceptance to six colleges, and set her sights on a career in public health. Her story is a reminder of what makes IVA High such a special place to learn.
One School Tour Was All It Took
Makayla had just moved back to Long Beach from Arizona when she first heard about IVA High through a connection in her foster family. She was shy, navigating a new chapter, and looking for a school that wouldn’t overwhelm her. A friend of her foster mom already had a son enrolled, and the recommendation was enough to get her through the door for a tour.
IVA High was still in its early days, barely finished interior walls and all, but Makayla saw something in it. “It felt like it had a lot of room to grow,” she says, “and I knew I had a lot of room to grow myself.” The match felt right. She enrolled, and our young school became home.
A Counselor Who Changed Everything
Ask Makayla what made IVA High different, and she doesn’t hesitate! A school counselor named Makenna changed her life. At a point when Makayla struggled to trust adults, Makenna became the person she confided in. “She kept me on track,” Makayla says. “She reminded me my past doesn’t define my future and I’m capable of doing whatever I put my mind to.”
That relationship stuck. Now watching her younger sibling navigate high school, Makayla understands how rare it is to find someone like that in a school building. “Knowing I had Makenna be my person at that time makes me feel so lucky.” IVA’s counselors and teachers invest in students. For Makayla, that investment paid off in ways she’s still counting.
The Speech She Almost Didn’t Give
The biggest test of courage came at graduation, when we asked Makayla to deliver the Triton speech in front of her entire class and their families. She almost said no. “I remember asking if they were sure they wanted me to give the speech,” she says, “not because I didn’t want to, but because I was scared.” Mr. Schmidt reminded her that nobody else could speak to our community the way she could.
She took the mic. She never looked back. “That was not the first time I had to use courage, and it wasn’t the last,” she reflects, “but it was the first time I realized just how capable I was once I put fear aside.” That kind of clarity, honest and hard-won, reflects exactly the growth we work to nurture in every student.
A Community Who Made It Possible
Family, staff, and peers gave Makayla the resilience to push toward her future with confidence. With guidance from Makenna and Mr. Schmidt throughout the college application process, she earned acceptance to six of the eight schools she applied to and chose UC Santa Cruz. She graduated with a degree in Global Community Health and a minor in Legal Studies, and three Master of Public Health programs have already accepted her.
“IVA and the staff members shaped me into a more confident and outspoken person,” she says. “I came to this school as a freshman scared of my voice and my world, but I left stronger.”