1JOHN F. KENNEDY THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF QUERTARO

GUILLAUMEFRANCISCO

MINERO

Alumni Feature

Cover Story

JFK ASTORY OFSUCCESS

JOHN F. KENNEDY THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF QUERTARO

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SPRING 2008

Mirtha Stappung M.ed., Ma General Director

Charles Weiss M.ed., Ma assistant Director

Denise Humphries M.ed., Ma Pre-school PrinciPal

Mark Dunn M.ed., Ma elementary school PrinciPal

Tara Cruz M.ed., Ma miDDle school PrinciPal

Adrian Leece M.ed., Ma, Bsc. Frms hiGh school PrinciPal

Arturo Bustamante athletic DePartment Director

C.p. Josefina Morgan M. Admon y Finanzas Financial Director

Lic. Cristina Fernndez de Csar, Jeffrey Lewis M.i.m, Lic. Norma

Rosado, Ing. Carlos Perera, Lic Roberto Loyola M. Ad., Ing. Julian Urquiza,

Arq. Elmo Ceretti. BoarD oF Directors

Lic. Mnica Duarte eDitor in chieF anD chair

oF the eDitorial BoarD

Charles Weiss M.ed., Ma Lic. Karla Ros

eDitorial BoarD

Hctor Muoz DesiGn

Karla Ros & Asbed Levi PhotoGraPhy

Adrian Leece, Alejandra Landa, Agustn Palacios, Anglica Pascaln,

Beatriz Borrego, Cecilia Ponce de Len, Elba Parkman, Graciela Fernndez,

Guillaume Francisco Minero, Jimena Csar, Mara Marn, Mirtha Stappung.

Writers

alumni aFFairs Lic. Mnica Duarte alumni@jfk.edu.mx

(442) 218 0075 ext. 1006

aDvertisinG sales Lic. Karla Ros

(442) 218 0075 ext. 1010 krios@jfk.edu.mx

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101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536

You are Here f Letter from The General Director

Join the JFK Alumni Network

Have something to say

Ceci Ponce Sports Bits

& Our Cheerleading

and Jazz Teams

A special thank you goes to students from the HS Marketing Class for

their ideas and proposals that went into this edition of the JFK Times.

Ian Stump, Mara Marn, Pablo Lpez Centeno, Sabastin Aguilar, Alejandro Martnez, Juan Manuel

Villalobos, Juan Pablo Cal y Mayor, Jimena Csar, Pedro Castro,

Stephanie Albrand

ACADEMIC CORNER

international Baccalaureate

ProGram JFK & INEA

REUNIONS & SNAPSHOTS

Keep those tricycles rolling on the new Tricycle Park

Guillaume Francisco

MineroAGRONOMIST

vol. 1 no. 1

2Letter from The General DirectorMirtha Stappung M.Ed., MA

Welcome to the first edition of our new publication. JFK Times is designed to inform our alumni, students, staff and friends and help build bridges of contact within the Grand Kennedy Community.

So many students have passed through classes here and continue to consider their time with us as important in their lives. We have many visitors, generations of families coming to the school, current staff and students, letters, emails and phone calls with infor-mation that is important for us to share. We appreciate the support and interest.

JFK Times is a link that we know will increase our contact with each other and will provide

a rich content to bring back memories, learn of our journeys through life and more of our achievements as a community.

Besides distributing this publi-cation to our local school commu-nity, we expect to mail this publi-cation to alumni; by this coming summer, they will have a chance to open up a web page http://alumni.jfk.edu.mx where they can rejoin their graduating class in a virtual environment to connect in a more intimate way under sponsorship of the school. As alumni, you will soon receive your password to enter the site and can help us by visiting it often and by helping us add information in a secure way to it so that the contact base be-

comes more complete over time. We hope that you will also share

elements of your life path for ad-dition to our alumni pages. As you see from this edition that we have already gathered messages from interested alumni and we would love to include yours in future editions.

Thank you for taking the time to catch up by reading this maga-zine and I hope that you find this to be both interesting and a useful way to maintain contact with the school.

Sincerely,

Mirtha Stappung, M.Ed., MAGeneral Director

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alize their studies into areas of interest. For example, for the Individuals and Societies area, students now choose History or Econom-ics, and we are planning to introduce a third option for next year: Information Technology in a Global Society. Another option allows students to take Business and Management instead of Art, which combines with Econom-ics, and some other new courses in 12th grade, (The Economics of Tourism and Leadership), to provide students a business-orientated High School Diploma.

On the surface, having an IB Diploma is beneficial because it provides more opportuni-ties to students when choosing universities. Many students have gained places in colleges and universities in other countries simply because they have the diploma. Many have also gained large incentives (course credits and

scholarships) to help with those studies. The IB is recognized as a challenging program in over one hundred countries. Studying for this raises our students to levels beyond that of being from a local High School where grades were awarded internally and standards are not always comparable.

On a deeper level, the IB Diploma has raised the level of education and the standard of our courses in general. Teachers participating in the program are invariably those whos classes the students prefer and find most satisfying. Our awareness of many educational topics, our access to the latest teaching techniques and forums to discuss education at an international level, is pushing the quality of our school well beyond the individual courses and is having an effect in much lower grade levels. All our students in grades eleven and twelve take the

Having an IB Diploma is beneficial because it provides more opportuni-ties to students when choosing universi-ties

Academic

What is the International Baccalaureate pro-gram and why is it important for our students?

The full IB Diploma is a rigorous, interna-tional, pre-university program of study that provides a well rounded education. It includes six areas: First language, Second language, Individuals and Societies, Experimental Sci-ences, Mathematical Studies and The Arts. Students must complete one course from

each of these areas. They must also complete three other tasks: a research project, a course entitled Theory of Knowledge and at least one-hundred and fifty hours of CAS (Creativity, Action and Service: a social service program). As our school becomes more familiar with the program and its demands on the students, we are adding additional courses in each area to allow students to make choices and person-

The International Baccalaureate Program

Corner

An Interview with our High School Principal, Mr. Adrian Leece M.Ed, MA

OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS BY OUR FACULTY & STUDENTS

By Karla Ros

6 7

These factors help prepare our students to an even higher level than in countries where they are free to focus on just the IB diploma. In general terms our schools results are at the world average. This places JFK up with many schools across Europe and Scandinavia, where the worlds best education can be found.

Can you share some success stories from the IB program?

Many of our students are having success as a result of the IB. The fact that so many colleges attend our annual College Fair is testament to this. Many say that they come because we are an IB school and they know what level of candidates they can meet here. Both local and international universities and colleges are offering our IB Diploma candidates possible scholarships and course credits so it is difficult to quantify the exact impact of IB. However, one story I can share is that of Alberto Padilla, who graduated in 2007. He was accepted to the University of Alberta, Canada and awarded a $40,000 dollar scholarship specifically because of his excellent IB grades and overall IB di-ploma score. He won this award in competition with a number of other IB graduates from Ca-nadian and foreign schools. In fact, the univer-sity recruited him after he met them in Mexico City and told them about his IB studies at JFK. At least two other students have received large scholarships like that, and at least one changed university after his first year and managed to get credits valued at a full-years study based on his IB results.

Number of Students Receiving International Baccalaureate Diplomas upon Graduation

00 01

01 02

02 03

03 04

04 05

05 06

06 07

07 08

2

5

8

14

17

25

19

42

4.6

9.3

14.8

21.5

28.8

29.4

32.2

62.7

SC

HO

OL

Y

EA

R

# O

F

ST

UD

EN

TS

% O

F

ST

UD

EN

TS

IB Diplomas Issued

Both local and inter-national universi-ties and colleges are offer-ing our IB Diploma candidates possible scholar-ships and course credits

courses with the same teachers and therefore all of our students benefit intellectually.

Do International Baccalaureate teachers have some special training?

There are training courses for IB teachers somewhere in the world all year-round. Our teachers attend training every January in Mexico City for their specific subjects. We meet with teachers from many countries across Latin America and share best practices and learn more about the subjects. Sometimes we also send teachers to the US in the summer if we have a special need and the course is not offered in Mexico. We have teachers who have never missed a course since the school began IB about 9 years ago! In 2007 fourteen teachers were trained in Mexico, two in the US. Both Mirtha, our General Director and I

attended conferences in Mexico and the US. All this is typical of JFK support for students and teachers in this program. This year we are also considering online training to enrich our IB Professional Development and provide even wider accessibility to teachers.

What advantages might a graduate of the International Baccalaureate program expect?

This question is not easy to answer as there are so many factors involved. Our students work not only on the IB Diploma but also on the National program, and meet the needs of the US High School Certificate. They take on a considerable extra workload beyond the six subjects. We must also remember that our students take the Bilingual Diploma. This is the most challenging program of all. They are also studying in two languages instead of one.

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ENJOY THE JKF SPIRIT

Building

All students in High School are required to participate in a Social Service project as part of their studies. One popular project is INEA (National Institution for the Education of Adults), a federal government program which allows our students to become involved in sharing their knowledge and skills with less educated members of our community.

INEA is a national institution that offers free services for adults with limited resources who want to advance in their studies. Students have typically not finished elementary or middle school. Five years ago, the John F. Kennedy School, as part of the Social Service program, accepted the challenge of having an official

INEA school on campus. Classes provide basic instruction in reading, writing and computa-tion at a primary and secondary level and com-puter classes using our computer laboratories.

Each semester, eight to ten High School students enroll to give classes here on campus. They are actively involved by assisting INEA teachers in providing classes. Each year JFK formally helps local adult students graduate from both primary and secondary school. More than fifty have graduated from the pro-gram so far.

Alejandra Landa from our High School Student Support team, working under the visionary leadership of her Principal, Adrian

CommunityWe see what they have achieved with the few possibilities they have.

Working With INEA In Adult EducationBy: Elba Parkman

I can help to

reduce illiteracy in

our country.

I am able to know adults from another perspective. They are not the only ones who

learn, we learn too.

I had a student in Veracruz who did not know how to read and write when we started her classes. Last semester she brought me some candies and she thanked me for teaching her.

Leece M.Ed., to oversee the program. She has always had an interest in helping people with economic and social disadvantages. She has not only brought many members of the wider community into the program but has also been able to guide some of our school employees into classes.

The program is promoted through distribu-tion of brochures and pamphlets to stores. Pamphlets are also placed on cars in the area and sometimes a PA system mounted on a car is used to announce the services. Local families are also invited to enroll their domestic em-ployees who have not had the opportunity to finish their basic studies.

I know that this can help a person with their future.

Comments from JFK student instructors tell us a lot about the learning.

There was a boy that at the end of the

computing class

thanked me for

teaching him. After

some time I went

to a friends house

with my mother.

A worker came to

me in a very happy

mood to say hello.

My mother asked me

who he was. Proudly I

answered: He is one

of my students!

10 11

First school established at the Cimatario location with 60 students Pre-School through 3rd grade

The School moved to Hacienda La Laborcilla with 70 students

Middle School section started

Mr. Juan Jos Torres

Landa donated five

hectares of land in Jurica to build

present campus

JFK a Story

of Success

COVER STORY

O ne cannot count, nor tell of all the wonderful things that have been done by this community over these past fourty years to benefit the children and young men and women of this community.

Members of this large JFK community and many benefactors have contributed financial resources, organizational skills, materials and knowhow to help the school when needed.

Our school began with the desire to provide the best possible education to American, Mexi-can and international students and we con-tinue to carry on with that mission. We proudly possess the reputation as the best school in the area with a commitment to tradition and innovation.

We are now a mature school; one that has developed and grown over time. We started with 30 students. We now serve 1,400 students. We started with an elementary school; now we

serve all grade levels through high school.We started with a small faculty; now we have

over 170 teachers and 100 others working on the staff in one capacity or another. We started with small quarters in an old house; we now have modern facilities located on over five hectares of land.

A sense of community with a spirit of sharing and collaboration has helped to make us strong.

A feeling of belonging, a strong sense of fam-ily if you wish has always been present. This sense of community is one of our enduring strengths.

Collaboration is another key to our success. The school has received untold assistance from people past and present. The community has benefited greatly from all of this group effort.

To all of you, thank you for being part of our story of success.

Mirtha Stappung M.Ed. M.A. General Director

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Board of Directors formed

American certification

(SACS/CASI) process begins

School Accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS/CASI)

Inauguration of new facilities in Jurica

Bilingual business

school started First Book Fair and

Oktoberfest

Business and English Institutes separate from the JFK

First Parent Association is formed

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Construction begins on High School section

High School classes begin

School purchases land adjacent to the school

Pre-school incorporated by SEP

School accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB)

Mrs. Carmen Corzo de Ruiz honored with the Ignacio Altamirano medal for her 50 years of dedicated work as a teacher

30th Anniversary celebration

Construction of additional Middle School classrooms begins

High School classroom construction completed Auditorium construction begins

School Within A School (SWAS) program begins. The program is designed for foreign students who have limited knowledge of English or Spanish

First High School graduation with 11 students

New Middle School facilities completed

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Tricycle path project completed

Pre-School entrance modernized

40th Anniversary Celebration

Pre-School administrative offices and multi-purpose room completed

Completion of Science

and Technology facilities and new

High School offices

John F. Kennedy Model of Education completed

First floor of new

library completed

Auditorium

completed

First synthetic grass installed on campus

Full Library Media Center inaugurated

A SCHOOL TREASURESPORTS

Ceci Ponce A Long Time

Teacher

Sports Activities with our Little Ones in Early Childhood Education

By: Karla Ros

How long have you been here and in the Pre-school athletic program?

This is my nineteenth year. I was a founder of the program together with an enthusiastic teacher from the USA and some parents. I am proud to coordinate these activities. This is my school and I love it a lot.

How has this program developed?The program had two activities in 1989.

Today we have six to choose from. There have been many advances in the coaching depart-ment. I am pleased to work with others in a collaborative way; always with the needs of students being our highest priority.

There have been a lot of positive improve-ments. Much attention is now given to our school mission, vision, and philosophy. Our fields improved with synthetic grass. Our ma-jor soccer field is better and the track allows for track and field events.

We have improved offices inside the audito-rium. The auditorium has also allowed us to sponsor larger events and to have an excellent gym for basketball and volleyball.

Do you have an experience about students that you might share?

I am amused as I help children learn t-ball. They sometimes run to third base rather than first, running the field backwards! Or, they run around the field, coming back thinking they have made a home run!

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All Jaguars feel very proud of the High School Soccer Teams (Juvenile C Boys and Girls

Category) for their outstanding participation during the ASOMEX Tournament in Puebla.

The girls won the ASOMEX championship and the boys team the second place. These two

teams were also honored with the coveted SPORTSMANSHIP trophy.

From February 1-3 the twelfth annual ASOMEX 2008 Volleyball tournament was held at our school with American schools from other cit-ies such as Torren, Guadalajara, Puebla and Monterrey attending. Local schools, including the International School of Quertaro, Colegio Salesiano, and Colegio Alamos also were in attendance. We are proud of the teamwork, co-operation and enthusiasm demonstrated by all.

In March an intramural basketball tournament was held in the High School section. This tournament was full of emotion and skill on the part of the participants. The friendships helped. The games gave everyone a chance to see the incredible skills our students have and how they can put their soul into each play, and into each point. Congratulations!

Asomex Puebla Soccer

Tournament

Asomex 2008 Volleyball Tournament

Intramural Basketball Wow its amazing, two trophies in one tournament.!

So many students

with sports

in their hearts.

I jump like

Michael Jordan!

The dream of many children and adolescents is to become professional soccer players. This dream motivates many of our students to participate in soccer intramural tournaments in each section. The games are full of emotion, display of technique, and most of all, an incred-ible focus upon achieving the victory.

Intramural Soccer

I play with my

dream in my legs!

SPORTS BITS

GO JFK GO

20 21

The Highest Expression of Kennedy Spirit

12 Constanza Ballesteros Jimnez13 Susanne Schenkel14 Karla Tapia Mendoza15 Montserrat Vega Ariztegui16 Laura Zaleta Lastra

The John F. Kennedy School Jazz and Cheer-leader groups require a great deal of dedication and commitment from its members. They train two times per week in the afternoon with their talented teachers; Angie Pascaln and Marina Ramrez. Students from ages four to thirteen participate.

Their work involves an obligation to attend workshops and a dedication to personal im-provement. No previous experience in dancing or movement is required in order to join the groups. Our jazz and cheerleader groups are known for their joyous presentations, enthusi-asm and positive outlook on life. These groups are very competitive, but they never forget that they are ambassadors of the school. They wear their special outfits with JFK pride!

4 Mariela Granados Jimnez5 Shannon Lewis Greenbaum6 Ana Mara Gonzlez Rangel7 Alicia Brcena del Peral8 Sara Julia Schenkel9 Sofa Gonzlez Rangel10 Marian Bottle Len (Team Captain)11 Sofa Trpaga Gallagher

CheerleadersJazz Dance Students1 Alejandra Hernndez Gmez2 Laura Rosauliana Fiorot3 Mara Montes Uribe17 Eliza Zenteno Muuzuri18 Ana Sofa Rbago Hernndez19 Pamela Tapia Mendoza20 Silvia Uliana Fiorot21 Marisol Sibaja Gutirrez22 Mnica Hernndez Gmez23 Natalia Erdmann Coronado

22 23

The Art Program of the

International Baccalaureate

(IB)

In mid-May the final work of each of the students who studied the Art Program of the International Baccalaureate presented their work to their assessor, and later to the public at the school. Photography, sculpture, stained glass, drawing and painting were some of the techniques used as ways of expression.

I was a student of the photography workshop and really enjoyed the creative process of each of my classmates, and my own process as well. Through the photographic art we shared dreams, emotions and experiences.

The first step in the work process consisted in the selection of a theme of personal interest.

Once the theme was selected we worked on the photographs we wanted to develop using different techniques.

The theme I selected was Vive Mxico. Step-by-step I saw I really enjoyed taking pho-tographs of people and Mexican objects.

With these images I try to transmit what Mexico means to me and how valuable it is.

An Example of Sensibility, Creativity and Dedication

By Jimena Fernndez Csar

With these images I try to transmit what Mexico means to me and how valuable it is.

StudentsTHEY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY

Our

Each year approximately seventy students finish their High School Education at the Ken-nedy and begin a new period of their lives. At first, choosing the career you want to study is not an easy decision that you can make from night to morning. Many people say that your future depends on this decision, which is one of the most important ones in our lives. By this time of the school year most of us have already made a selection. But how can we know if it is the right one? How can we know if we are not going to regret the career we chose or of the place in which we want to study?

Many people will be asking us what the feel-ings at this moment of our lives are. I want to share my point of view with you. Have you ever felt that you had endless opportunities and that you didnt know which one to choose? I see it that way, many options, opportunities, decisions to be made. Many times since we were young, we knew what we really liked and that helped in that moment to choose what we

Good Bye or So Long? thought was right.The decision is more difficult when there are

many feelings and emotions. On one side, it is amazing to know that at last you are going to be dedicated only to what you like. Goodbye to all who helped us to be persons and that now become our wings to reach our dream. Emotions do not only involve subjects we stud-ied and careers we will have. But also, what will the new school be like without our friends?

Here is where there is another reflection. What is it going to become of my friends in two, five or ten years? Which of them will I con-tinue to see? Which of them will I recognize, through time, in the most important positions of the country? Will we all be really what we thought in High School? Will we achieve all our dreams? Is this a goodbye or a so long?

We cannot answer this last question until time passes by. But time is an ally, not an en-emy. There is no long distance, no time, and no different interests a good friendship cannot surpass.

All graduates have these and more questions that still dont have an answer. But it is in us to find them. We will achieve all this because we have a place in common to which we always can come back to remember: our school, John F. Kennedy.

By Mara Marn

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WHAT ARE WE UP TO?

On The Move

This Tricycle Park has been a dream for many individuals for several years. It has been a dream to create a space for children to help them develop skills as an extension of class-room learning. With the purchase of tricycles in the past few years we have seen improve-ment in motor, social interaction, and language skills and we know this tricycle park will further enhance more.

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with the Parents Association for the past three years towards this goal. It has been with their support that together we could initiate and finish this Tricycle Park.

As Henry Ford once stated: Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.

Enjoying our new Tricycle Park This facility was built through the combined efforts of the School with generous donations from families, teachers, principals, local business and other members of the JFKcommunity.

By Denise Humphries, M. Ed., M.A.

AlumniCONNECTING WITH ALUMNI

JKF Alumni NetworkWe are convinced that an important element of the uniqueness of JFK is our alumni.

It is their human and professional skills, char-acter and abilities which we see in this special difference in our alumni.

The school is implementing a strategic plan to support the development of our Alumni Network.

To achieve this plan, we are working in the following activities: The publication of this magazine; The creation of a new Web page designed specifically for alumni; Providing school tours; Inviting local alumni to become part of special sporting teams; The organi-zation of annual meetings, and finally, the participation and support from the school in class reunions.

This is only the beginning. We are sure that working together we can provide new avenues of support for the Kennedy community. These efforts should bring more information to you about our activities and give you new ways to connect with your classmates.

We know that it would have been useful when you were a graduating student to know that there was an alumni community group avail-able to support your education. We will give

increased support to new generations through these efforts.

We have the most important elements to ensure successmore than 1000 alumni who are men and women of different nationalities, successful in many different professions. There are more than fourty years of JFK history. This history includes all of you as alumni. Your needs as students were the focus of our efforts.

The first challenge for the JFK Alumni Net-work is to know where our alumni are. We need to find them in order to widen our communica-tion abilities. The Web page is the tool we have designed to achieve it. http://alumni.jfk.edu.mx

We invite you to visit this page, register your data and use it.

If you do not have your password, we invite you to get in touch with Mnica Duarte by phone at 218 0075, Ext. 1006 or to send an e-mail to: mduarte@jfk.edu.mx .

We are counting on your support and partici-pation in order to build a more useful website for alumni.

Community Relationships CoordinationEscuela John F. Kennedy, A. C.

The first challenge for the JFK Alumni Network is to know where our alumni are. We need to find them in order to widen our commu-nication abilities.

JFK

26 27

An unexpected encounter with a young man entering the school with a box full of lettuce caught my attention. Who can this be? Why was he giving us samples of his lettuce and tomatoes?

I knew just who to go to to find out more about him. Betty Borrego works for Miss Mirtha, our General Director, as her Secretary, and when you want information about something related to the school (like learning the identity of the person with the lettuce) Betty is the one to ask. She has been working at the school for more than 15 years and knows everything! I found out that his name is Guillaume and that he is an alumni of JFK.

I decided then and there to learn more about Guillaume. I called and asked him for an interview for the first edition of our new JFK Times. He accepted my invitation and the following interview helps us to know him better.

Guillaume, what do you remember of the school from your younger years?

I remember that I used to play a lot in the big play fields with my friends. I remember lots of painting and art. I remember the computer classes with Enrique.

At that time we used to change groups each year, getting to know everybody, having different friends. It was a great time.

Do you have any special memories of teachers? All teachers had an impact on me in some way. They gave me classes, they taught me and I learned from them. I remember Mr. Weiss, and Miss Mirtha who were my teachers. I remember

Hydroponic vegetables to your door

It was a great time

Alumni Feature

Guillaume Francisco Minero

agronomist( s o o n )

By Mnica Duarte

CLASS OF 2005

28 29

soning abilities. I remember with great delight the Science Fairs; all of my projects had to do with plants, and plants and more plants.

By the time I got to High School it was a time for me to make a choice about my college major. In looking into the field of Agronomy, I got in touch with Eng. Mario Steta who was a father in the school, had children here, was a Board of Directors member and was heavily involved, at that time, in the development and maintenance of green houses in Pre-school. His advice was very valuable for me.

Do you have any advice for our High School students?

Have confidence that this school is a very good one that really prepares students to enter any college or university in the world and they can be certain that they will pass the admission examinations.

Take advantage of the contacts that the school has all over the World and also be sure and take advantage of the College and Career counseling that is provided by the school.

How did you start your business?My dad works in a greenhouse where organic

lettuce is produced. One day I asked him to bring me some samples with the idea of giving them free to our neighbors. Little by little they started to purchase them from me and with that strategy of giving away free samples, and with word of mouth recommendations, my business has grown and I am able to deliver a wider variety of products. Right now I sell and

...with word of mouth recom-mendations, my business has grown...

Miss Flor and Miss Corzo, Mark, the Elemen-tary School Principal was also my teacher. Adrian, the High School Principal taught me in Middle School and High School.

Are you are still in touch with friends from the JFK?

Yes, with some. I also hear a lot about other members of my class that I was not a special friend with when I was in school. One of them has just gotten married, another has a baby, some are studying in Europe and others in the United States. Some of us are here in Quer-taro. We certainly are in touch in one way or another and not only with people from my class but also from other generations.

Are you currently studying in college?I am studying Agronomy at the Tec de Mon-

terrey in Quertaro.

Why did you choose this major?My father is an agronomist and that had a lot

to do with my decision. When I was a child I spent a lot of time with him on business trips to different fields and ranches. I spent a lot of time in open spaces and that was wonderful.

Now that you are involved in agronomy, what is your workday like?

It is great to keep moving from place to place. I often find myself in open spaces and that is very relaxing. It is wonderful to be so close to growing things and knowing that I am helping to get these natural products to families. I feel like I am helping to feed the world.

How did the school help you to decide on a career in Agronomy?

I learned how to investigate in a scientific manner, how to think critically, and use my rea-

I feel like I am helping to feed the world

30 31

distribute lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. All of these are hydroponics prod-ucts that are grown in greenhouses of local producers.

I currently distribute my products to over one-hundred and fifty houses in Jurica and Juriquilla, and provide these products to two restaurants.

What is special or different about your business?

I work directly with the person who produces the products that I am offering. I know their greenhouses, their production methods and their quality standards. I know that what I sell are certified products fit for exportation on the world market.

I maintain fixed prices all the year long. My prices do not fluctuate according to the market.

I deliver them directly to peoples homes. Most of all I am interested in providing healthy products to families and local businesses. Organic products are a growing market in Mexico.

What are your future plans?I plan to invest more time and money in my

business in order to help it grow over time. In the future I plan to travel to different coun-

tries to learn different production methods related to growing plants so that I can improve methods here at home.

What do you think about the schools efforts to increase contact with JFK alumni?

I think its great. The fact that we all studied at the same school and shared so much in our backgrounds can give us confidence to connect with each other. This applies even if that person was not a personal friend when we attended JFK. This will give us a chance to

reconnect and even get to know others who I was not even that close to, or didnt know, when I was a student at JFK

What would you like to see happening as we develop our JFK alumni community?

Well, this is a new idea and I really dont know what to expect. Maybe yearly reunions would be nice. This would give me a chance to see everyone once-in-a-while. I am very supportive of this effort and will help as I can to develop the alumni community.

Maybe yearly reunions would be nice

94HS

Patricia herrera herasI studied Industrial Engineering in ITESM Campus Queretaro. Im a brand manager at Kelloggs.I remember Miss Corzo, Miss Susy, Miss Flor, Paty Shimada, Miss Blanca, Miss Patsy, Sari, Robert Solot, Miss Young, Miss Maricruz, Miss Vivian, I live in Queretaro, and Im married with 2 children.

97HS

alejandro saboro GuerreroI have an International Commerce Degree from ITESM Generation 2002. I live in Monter-rey, NL. I am a Manager, working as Business Counselor in the branch of foreign commerce at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. I am married and have a daughter.

98HS

ana laura aguilarI obtained a Marketing Degree at the ITESM Campus Quertaro.I work as Associated Senior, Zucaritas in Kellogg Company Mxico. Im single

WHAT IS EVERYBODY DOING NOW?Class Notes

alfonso Daz mijaresI studied for an International Trade Degree at Tecnolgico de Monterrey Campus Quertaro.I also earned a Masters Degree in Promotional Marketing from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, (Madrid, Spain 2006.) At present I live in Queretaro and work for Carpenter Technologies. My job is Customer Service Representative. Carpenter Technolo-gies is a company that produces and sells Met-als and Specialty Alloys.I am single.

csar rodolfo martnez Garza corderaI graduated from Law School at the Universi-dad Autnoma de Quertaro in 2004. I live in Quertaro.I founded a Law Firm with three of my class-mates named MHMG Abogados, S.C., where I am a Senior partner. I recently married and do not have children.

Javier Garca-lascurainAfter JFK, I studied Industrial Engineering and Systems at the Tec de Monterrey Campus Quertaro and graduated in 2005. Since 1999 I have maintained an active career as professional pianist, mainly giving recitals, sometimes as orchestra soloist. I am also dedi-cated to teaching and to chamber music.Since September of this year, I am studying for a degree in Piano. At present I live in Qubec, Canada..

32 33

I received a call from Kelloggs de Mxico saying they accepted me to work with them. At present, I am giving private nutrition counseling.While studying at JFK my favorite teachers were Roger (Philosophy), Fraga (Medicine) and Paulina de la Mora (Chemistry). I had a very good relationship with them and they taught me things that at present I apply in my career.

Juan carlos Bolaos GmezAfter I graduated from the JFK I began studies at the Universidad Autnoma de Quertaro.Presently, I am studying Biotechnology.

06HS

mara Guadalupe lugoI live in Mexico City.I am studying International Business Admin-istration.

Xalli cristina Ziga carlozI am 20 years old and I am studying for a Visual Arts degree at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plsticas (ENAP).I aspire to practice the profession of Illustra-tion which is a career that does not exist as such, in Mexico. I am trying to obtain a schol-arship for a foreign program through UNAM. I was part of the soccer team in High School. I was the Secretary of the Student Body and class leader. I obtained one of the ten best averages of the generation and I also received an award from the United States Government for my academic achievements. lorena torresIm studying Marketing at the UVM. Im still living in Quertaro. Im working in a publicity agency.

melisa soto san romnI am studying International Business at the Universidad Anhuac.

christoph schmidtIn August 2007 I began my first semester studying Medicine at the Tec de Monterrey in Monterrey.

C L A S S N O T E S

02HS

Ximena serranoI obtained a Communications Sciences Degree from UVM Quertaro.I am getting married in June, 2008 after a 7 year courtship.When I graduated, I worked as Assistant to the Academic Secretary of UPQ (Universidad Poli-tcnica de Quertaro). Afterwards, I worked in A Cuadro Producciones as the Manager of the Administrative Area. My life changed com-pletely when I started as Counselor for Mary Kay Cosmetics. At present I spend 100% of my time in my own business, and preparing for my career. After my wedding I will start my studies in Administration and Company Management.

04HS

aline turrent eggletonI graduated with honors from JFK with a 9.4 average.At present, I am studying the last year to receive my nutrition degree from the Univer-sidad Autnoma de Quertaro and I have a 9.3 average and again will graduate with honors.

C L A S S N O T E S

07HS

aide martnezI have a Tennis scholarship at Indiana Institute of Technology, Fort Wayne, IN.

76eduardo cervantesI went to the Tecnolgico de Monterrey and then graduated in 1988 from the University of Texas at Austin with a Masters in Statistics and another in Business Administration.I work in Internet Technology and have been an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley since 1997.I am semi-retired after founding the first Internet Retail company in the world called nSale.com which went public (NASD:ONSL). I founded three more companies after that, which I sold to corporations like Amazon.com, Cisco Sytems and Accenture. Today I invest with two partners in Internet based companies around the world.I am the Chief Executive Officer of ClearPath Global Management, a Venture Capital com-pany based in the SIlicon Valley, California.I split my time between San Francisco, Califor-nia and Barcelona, SpainI got married in 2000 and have three children; 4 year old twins, David and Isabel, and a three years old, Anna.

34 35

88 Jorge villarreal villafuerteI am Director de Fomento Industrial for the State of Quertaro.I am married to Denalih Torres Urquiza (a teacher at JKF) and I have a child who is studying kinder 2.

90alexis herreraII went to an open school for high school. I received a BA in Marketing in Mexico, then, received a Certificate in Internet Marketing at the UBC in Vancouver. I later was granted an MSc in Management Research at the Univer-sity of Oxford in the UK.I work with ServiBar and also have an online bisiness, www.todatuboda.com and I own a consulting company called HG Marketing and Research.I am married to a Colombian and we are ex-pecting Sofi.... a beautiful little girl!

94 Bessie BriseoI studied high school and obtained an Inter-national Trade Degree from ITESM Campus Quertaro.At present I am living in Madrid, studying for a Masters Degree in Human Resources. Let me tell you that even though I live in Madrid, I keep in touch with people I met through the Kennedy School. Here in Madrid there is a little community of kennedianos of different generations.

95Katia monique muoz serranoI am a Marketing Analyst at Fedex Express EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India) Headquarters. Bachelor in International Business (ITESM Queretaro), MBA (Vlerick Leuven Gent School, Belgium).I have worked in the logistics sector, mainly in operations, and currently in marketing.Winner of 2007 Inbev Award, provided to the MBA student with the best entrepreneurial and soft skills.I recently met Miss Delia, my teacher of First Grade (when I was 6, more than 21 years ago!). We coincidentally saw each other in Ranas Archaeological Site. She remembered me! I am in touch with some of my friends: Mariloli Gonzalez, Valeria Fagiolani, Ana Luisa Torres, Nancy Medina, Lucy Soto. I am single.

C L A S S N O T E S

82

leticia marroqun GmezI studied Communications at ITESM-Edo. Mexico. I live in the Estado de Mxico. I am a high school and college teacher.I married in 1989; I have a 13 year-old daughter.

87

Jos antonio valdez czaresI attended the Marine Military Academy after JFK, then I returned and studied Law at UVM in Juriquilla. I live in Queretaro.I am a labor lawyer; I am a partner at CBS Abogados.I just got married to Beatriz Ramos on May 18, 2007.

C L A S S N O T E S

?mauricio surez PachecoI am 39 years old and married to Anglica Loy (Ex- Kennedy too). We have three chil-dren: Mauricio, Natalia and Daniela. I have an Architectural degree from ITESM. I also am completing studies in Landscape Architecture. About a year ago, I began studying Ecological Architecture and Biological Architecture. I still remember my red sweater with blue pants we used as a uniform and the flag honors yard that impressed me the first time I saw it because of its Mesoamerican evocation.

Jos manuel aguilera snchezI am a Doctor with postgraduate specialization in Pediatric Orthopedics and Traumatology.I live in Quertaro. I studied in Santiago de Chile and Sydney Australia. Im married and I dont have any children.

sherry voyzey hippThirty-four years ago I was a young student teacher at your school. I cant believe how dif-ferent and wonderful the school looks. The principal was Mr. Null, called the Director then. He came to Mexico City to pick me up for the long ride to San Miquel de Allende where I stayed with Mrs. French and her son Bennett. It was January 2, 1973 and some of the best times and memories occurred over the next 3 months.I graduated from Pennsylvania State Univer-sity way back then and was lucky enough to be chosen to do my student teaching there. What a wonderful experience!

37

84

class reunion These reunions of JFK alumni make me con-sider how important it was for me and for my classmates, to have studied in a leader school.Marco Montero

Thank you to all for the good memories and for the ones that are to be built in the future.Alejandro F. Cabrera

The best memories. Thank you JFKHildegard Frei

To remember is to live. Thank you to all.Jos G. Del Hoyo

To be in JFK was a experience that it is worth-while to repeat with my children.Gabriel Ballesteros

REUNIONS & SNAPSHOTS

82visit from members of the class

We were pleased to have the visit of three alumni of the 1982 graduation class. Enthusi-astic about their visit and remembering old times, Leticia Marroquin, Elda Nora Esponda and Lara Lyall walked around the Campus for a remembrance tour.

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We always welcome

alumni that may wish

return to school for a visit.

Come re-experience

some memories of your

time with us. You are

a fundamental part of

the success story of the

John F. Kennedy School.

You are always welcome.

Your success and willing

membership in the Grand

Kennedy Community is

also our success.

To Remember

is to Live Again

Years pass, life goes on. All of a sudden we remember that a long time ago we occupied a desk in 1A. That the teacher in third grade spoke Spanish with difficulty or that the chem-istry professor helped us to make our imagina-tion fly.

Memories, many memories. Years pass and so much experience is kept in our memory: names, faces, surnames and anecdotes of friends with whom we grew, and with whom we enjoyed so many moments, both inside and outside the school.

Many alumni from JFK continue to remain in touch and periodically they meet to cel-ebrate life and to share. The school wants to be present; to participate and open its doors to all alumni.

We want to be part of the further construction of a wonderful community of ex-Kennedy stu-dents, or as we call them alumni, that enriches the personal lives of those who are integrated into it; the lives of our students, of our Direc-tors, teachers and friends.

We hope that the JFK Times magazine will become an important connecting link that can help us, and you, to keep in contact with each of the generations, and all of the individuals who have passed through the JFK.

We invite you to write, to share photographs, anecdotes, news, events and information about class reunions that you may be organizing.

38 39

97

91

class reunion

Visiting the school after so many years has been great. If JFK can follow up on this, we can surely come back with our grandchildren. Barbara Biestro (Barbie)

The school is cool and super changed. It is incredible to meet you after 16 years. Hope we can do it frequently.Tani Marine

JFK is a super important part of my formation. It was incredible to see you again and to recognize our school. Thank you to my JFK friends who have been an important part of my life.Vanesa Aguilera

I liked very much to know the Kennedy. This is my mothers school. It is very big and beautiful.Paula Contreras Aguilera

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR We hope that this section of the maga-zine will be a rich collection of com-ments from the community. We publish in English. The editors may, from time to time, edit comments in consideration of space, content, language or grammar. We will attempt to publish submissions in the next edition, but time constraints may result in delays.

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97

class reunion

Reunion of friends and classmates motivated some to travel from Monterrey and from as far away as Australia for the good times.

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