Paola

"If you left your current life in order to pursue your dreams, what would you lose?"

"Besides my close relationships with my family and friends honestly I don’t believe I’ll lose anything. If I did leave my current life to pursue my dreams that would be to go and help third world developing countries. In fact if I did decide to pursue my dreams I would gain more than lose. I would gain admiration for the people living in such conditions and I would have the opportunity to see and experience what the definition of working hard and not giving up actually is. We sometimes forget how lucky we are, and that living here we have somewhat of a voice to make changes, though for those people living in extreme poverty they have nothing but themselves. So actually thinking about it I would lose my desire for benefiting myself, and gain the desire to help and impact others."

Shelly

What inspires you to come to work every day?

“ I like being around students. I like knowing that even though I am just a lunch lady, I am supplying you with food that will hopefully get you through the rest of your day and help you to do your work. I also love coming here because I love what this school stands for. I’ve never actually had a job like this and it's very rewarding for me.”

Have you’ve had any other jobs besides food service?

“I have been in food service for 15 years. I catered in Waukesha for all occasions including at weddings and Bar Mitzvahs. I’ve also worked at the Mount Mary Cafe, and opened up the Law School Tory Hill Cafe at Marquette University, running it for 3 years. I went to school at MATC and got a degree in baking and in pastry art. I started off working at the age of 14 as a bus girl for a Jewish country club. I've been an Administrative Assistant, a Certified Pharmacy Technician and also a Personal Assistant to an eye glass manager for Vision Mart.“

When you were younger what did you envision yourself doing?

“I dreamt of owning my own bakery and I still to this day.”

Do you have any hidden talents?

“I am a phenomenal artist with frosting! If you put a pencil in my hand and ask me to draw, forget about it, but if you put a bag of frosting in my hand I could give you whatever it was that your heart desired. I was better at frosting designs than I ever was with charcoal drawings.”

Emmanuel

"What are your plans after high school?" 

"I plan to go to MATC for my college years and then after that I plan to join the peace the peace core 

and move to Portland, Oregon." 

Dan

"When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you have done?"

"Probably. In the literal sense, I do tend to talk a lot and do not lead the most active lifestyle at this point.  In the figurative sense, I think that holds true for most of us; for most, it’s easier to say something than it sometimes is to follow through with something. Even for the best of us out there, I don’t know if it’s realistic to keep every promise or to do each and every thing we say we’re going to do, but that shouldn’t keep people from trying. "

Diana

What’s your life motto and why?

My life motto is to be happy without worrying about what others think. I live by this motto because for a long time, I was worried about what people thought. I was so worried about making everyone else happy instead of focusing on myself. So now, I just worry about myself and I’m trying to be the happiest I can.

Fernando

Do you have any regrets in your life?

My regret is that I never worked hard in my life. I either slacked off on my assignments, I never lived up to my capabilities like I’m able to do. I’ve been told by multiple people that I’m either dumb or stupid and it brings my morale down to the point where I believe them. This makes me tell myself that I’m good for nothing and that leads to more regrets.

How have you learned from this regret?

I haven’t really come to a conclusion yet, I can only imagine what my life would’ve been like and only come up with a potential future.  I think about what my life could’ve been and I think more about what my life will actually be then what it could be. I will not let this drag me down and I’m going to graduate and go to college and I plan on proving everybody who doubted me wrong.

Abel

Do you consider yourself different from everyone else? If so, how are you different?

I consider myself different in the way that everyone else does; each and every single one of us have different qualities and interests that make us unique. However, I would not necessarily put myself under a specific box. My interests are vast and unlike most seen at Veritas. For example, I could talk to you about the new Migos album, discuss the artistry behind a movie such as Solaris (1972), and be able to explain to you why Agustín Lara is one of the most important composers of the 20th century. It's the sort of eccentricity that tickles the fancy, and I'm glad I'm able to possess it.  

Nasha

“What is the best compliment you have received?”

“I’ve been told it was my nice laugh. I think people say that because my laugh is very contagious, and it’s funny, and weird. It makes other people laugh. I don't know…”

Jennifer

What's your favorite type of weather?

Gloomy, rainy, it’s my favorite.

Do you wish the weather would stay like that forever?

Not forever, only once in awhile.

What weather gives you the most stress?

When it is very hot outside, because it’s hard to decide what to wear to not “die” from heat.