David Pedroza:
CLASS OF 1966
Lincoln High SchoolClass of 1966
Los angeles, CA
David's Story
I was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. My family moved to L.A. in August, 1960. I was 12 years old and did not speak any English. We lived briefly in downtown L.A., and soon after we moved to Echo Park area where we lived for 3 years. I attended Virgil Junior High School. This school, located on Vermont Ave, near North Hollywood, happened to have a very good foreign student program. There were students from all over the world (Europe, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, South Americans) and it was an exciting time for a little boy who had just arrived from Mexico. I had always been a good student and a fighter and learning English was a great challenge for me. It was fun knowing and competing against kids from so many countries. Within 6 months I could understand almost everything and within a year I was moved to regular classes. I was fortunate to have a wonderful home room teacher and counselor, Ms Bowen (only teacher whose name I remember from that school). She had a great influence on me, mostly because she believed in me. I tried harder because of her. Those 3 years I spent in that school were good and most memorable. I graduated from the 9th grade in 1963 and soon after my family move to Lincoln Heights. We lived in Manitou Ave., close to Lincoln HS. I attended Lincoln from 1963-1966. I wish I could say those 3 years there were as meaningful and challenging as the ones I spent in Virgil Jr. HS. Unfortunately, the counseling I received during those years was mediocre at best. I basically cruised through the system and when I graduated I was totally unprepared for the future and for college. After graduation, in 1966, I got a job with an insurance company where I worked for 1 year. I then attended La Sierra College in Riverside, California, for 1 1/2 years. It was there where I found how poorly prepared I was. It was also there where I learned how to study properly and where I formed the base for my future studies. I transferred to LACC and soon after that, 1969, I got drafted to the army where I spent 2 years. I was trained as a medic and was stationed in Fort Bragg North Carolina. Even though, at that time, I wanted to go to Vietnam, the call never came. I stayed in Fort Bragg until I was discharged in 1971. At that time, my family was still poor and struggling to make it financially. I did not know in which direction to go. The one skill that I learned in junior HS, ...Expand for more
and which helped me at this time, was typing. I could type fast and accurately. I got a job at White Memorial Medical Cr. Emergency Room as a receptionist/cashier. It was there where I was influenced by a couple of people who encouraged me to go back to school. I knew that the only way to get out of the cycle of poverty was through education. I went to East LA College where I, eventulally, finished the Respiratory Therapy program. By that time, I was already married. The GI Bill was a great help during that time, but I still had to work almost full time. One year after I finished the RT program, I applied and got accepted to the RN program at ELA College. Here, again, I was influenced by someone that finished the RT program with me. He went into nursing right after he finished RT. We worked together at Glendale Adventist Hospital. He kept insisting that nursing was a better profession. I always thought nursing was a woman's profession. Through his influence, and also through the exposure I had as a respiratory therapist, I decided to give it a try. I finished the program in 1985, started working immediately as a nurse and I never worked as an RT again. I worked two years in a surgical ICU unit and the rest of the time I have worked in emergency rooms. I am presently working in a local hospital in Riverside, Ca. I have approximately 1 year left before I retire. I enjoy being active--running, hiking, bicycle riding. I have run many races but the one I enjoyed the most is the L.A. Marathon. I have run it at least 15 times. I also like to hike. I have a group from the hospital that does many local hikes every year and in September we hike Mount Whitney. It's amazing that even at an advanced age, over 60, this body can still do the long distances. I have been blessed with good health and I thank, mostly, God for that gift, and my parents, for passing the good genes to me. I recently met a couple of ladies at the hospital. They also attended Lincoln and graduated a couple of years before I did. That brought back so many memories. It was so enjoyable talking about the old neighborhood, the old school, and the good times that each one had there. I haven't been back since I graduated. My hope is to one day return and walk around the campus and think about those days that I spent there. The years have flown by so fast, but the memories remain, some good, some bad, but mostly good.
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