INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED OPERA DIVA ON CENTER STAGE...AT COMMENCEMENT FOR AT RISK TEENS
Jenine Baines
June 26, 2008
PASADENA, Calif. She has sung before thousands at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera and even Dodger Stadium, but a gig as commencement speaker for The Rosemary School was one of the toughest she´d encountered yet, internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Suzanna Guzman confessed to the group of roughly 40 family members, staff, supporters and four graduates gathered on the lawn outside The Rosemary School, Rosemary Children´s Services´ non public school for troubled and at risk teenage girls.
"When Rosemary Children´s Services approached me about speaking this morning, my first thought was ´What? I can´t speak. I sing,´ " Guzman related on a warm June morning. "Honestly I can sing for 3000 people at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and, believe me, this is harder."
But Guzman is making a habit these days of tackling such challenges, she told the graduating class. She has returned to college at Cal State LA – where she has enrolled in a medley of courses ranging from prerequisites like Career Planning to a daunting class in Orchestration – and fully intends to earn a degree in Music in the not too distant future. She came to this decision, she told the girls, after reading how 70% of Latinas who left school, as she did prior to graduating from college, never returned.
"But the truth is that today is so not about me," Guzman continued. "What you can´t forget, what you must emblazon in your mind with perfect clarity, is why you are here. You did it. You made it. You are a graduate. Now you know that when you set out to do something, you can finish it."
The Rosemary School provides regular and special education programs for the teenage girls, grades 7-12, referred to Rosemary Children´s Services by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services or the Los Angeles County Probation Department. Coursework at the non-public school includes core academic subjects, pre-vocational and vocational education training, work experience, and independent living skills.
"At The Rosemary School, we do our best to instill in each student the ability to focus on her goals and work through the difficulties she may face to achieve them," explains Dr. Frederick Martone, Director of Education. "We always tell the girls, ´your determination makes the difference.´ "
Class speaker "Rachel" – who also won more than one academic award at the ceremonies – read a poem she had written especially for the occasion. In Rachel´s eyes, the journey she and her classmates have made together can best be described as a "decision."
"Are they going to remain in the darkness and let that fading light fade away?" she recited. "Or trust that the light will help to guide them to success/And that their broken dreams no longer have to be broken but possible?"
Guzman, whose address followed Rachel´s, underscored the graduate´s sentiments. She concluded her talk with a line from Mahler´s Resurrection Symphony, in the manner she loves best. "With wings, I myself have unfurled, I soar towards a light that most people cannot see," she sang for the girls.
Rosemary Children´s Services is one of the oldest West Coast charities that helps boys and girls of all ages who have suffered abuse, neglect and abandonment. Its programs include a Foster Family and Adoption Agency, which helps nearly 400 children, annually, throughout Los Angeles County and portions of San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange Counties; a Non-Public School providing specialized education in a small structured environment; a Mental Health Program to provide individual and group therapy and training in various life skills; and the Residential Program which includes Rosemary Cottage and four group homes.
For more information about Rosemary Children´s Services or to arrange a tour, call 626.844.3033 or visit www.rosemarychildren.org.
"When Rosemary Children´s Services approached me about speaking this morning, my first thought was ´What? I can´t speak. I sing,´ " Guzman related on a warm June morning. "Honestly I can sing for 3000 people at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and, believe me, this is harder."
But Guzman is making a habit these days of tackling such challenges, she told the graduating class. She has returned to college at Cal State LA – where she has enrolled in a medley of courses ranging from prerequisites like Career Planning to a daunting class in Orchestration – and fully intends to earn a degree in Music in the not too distant future. She came to this decision, she told the girls, after reading how 70% of Latinas who left school, as she did prior to graduating from college, never returned.
"But the truth is that today is so not about me," Guzman continued. "What you can´t forget, what you must emblazon in your mind with perfect clarity, is why you are here. You did it. You made it. You are a graduate. Now you know that when you set out to do something, you can finish it."
The Rosemary School provides regular and special education programs for the teenage girls, grades 7-12, referred to Rosemary Children´s Services by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services or the Los Angeles County Probation Department. Coursework at the non-public school includes core academic subjects, pre-vocational and vocational education training, work experience, and independent living skills.
"At The Rosemary School, we do our best to instill in each student the ability to focus on her goals and work through the difficulties she may face to achieve them," explains Dr. Frederick Martone, Director of Education. "We always tell the girls, ´your determination makes the difference.´ "
Class speaker "Rachel" – who also won more than one academic award at the ceremonies – read a poem she had written especially for the occasion. In Rachel´s eyes, the journey she and her classmates have made together can best be described as a "decision."
"Are they going to remain in the darkness and let that fading light fade away?" she recited. "Or trust that the light will help to guide them to success/And that their broken dreams no longer have to be broken but possible?"
Guzman, whose address followed Rachel´s, underscored the graduate´s sentiments. She concluded her talk with a line from Mahler´s Resurrection Symphony, in the manner she loves best. "With wings, I myself have unfurled, I soar towards a light that most people cannot see," she sang for the girls.
Rosemary Children´s Services is one of the oldest West Coast charities that helps boys and girls of all ages who have suffered abuse, neglect and abandonment. Its programs include a Foster Family and Adoption Agency, which helps nearly 400 children, annually, throughout Los Angeles County and portions of San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange Counties; a Non-Public School providing specialized education in a small structured environment; a Mental Health Program to provide individual and group therapy and training in various life skills; and the Residential Program which includes Rosemary Cottage and four group homes.
For more information about Rosemary Children´s Services or to arrange a tour, call 626.844.3033 or visit www.rosemarychildren.org.
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