By Jose Valenzuela
Pulse staff editor
The March 2017 issue of The Pulse is the seventy-fifth issue published since the Fall of 1998. We asked former reporters and editors to let us know where they are now, their favorite Palo Alto memories, and what advice they would give to current students.
Jose Aguilar, a Palo Alto graduate, earned his bachelor’s degree from The University of Houston, where he double majored in Communications and English/Creative Writing. Currently, he is a part-time stay-at-home-dad alongside his partner. They take care of their son and their two soon-to-be adopted foster children. On his days off, Aguilar ventures out into the schools of the Houston Independent School District as an associate teacher. He hopes to work on getting certified in the near future. Aguilar aims to develop a yearbook group and a student-run newsletter within the district. Aguilar wrote that being on staff of The Pulse benefited him in many ways.
“My main benefit came in the form of an eye-opening moment spurred by one of Denise’s assignments during our editing class. She asked us to come to class prepared to present a lesson on grammar for our peers. I think it was a lesson on participles (because I was always dangling them) or gerunds, I can’t exactly recall. But I remember studying all night so that I would be able to make it through the lesson. I hate presenting anything in any setting, but I have to say I rocked that lesson. I remember my classmates saying they actually understood what they were doing wrong now. I left that day knowing I had it in me to teach. It was a pretty great moment,” wrote Aguilar.
If you are able, explore all that you think you may want to pursue as a career. If you already know what it is you want to pursue, explore those things outside of your career path that will help you to grow and will enhance your life forever. Take that pottery or photography class; take the creative writing or non-British lit class; audition for the theatre department’s current play or musical; take an extra science that helps you better understand nature; tackle that hardest math that scares you; sign up for that summer in Spain. This is the time to do it. Your future self will thank you.
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