Featured
Graduate
Zebulon Montgomery Pike was marked as
a suspicious person from the moment he showed up in
the Southwest. Pike had been sent by the government
of the United States to map and explore the western
territories, and crossed the international border
into sovereign Spanish territory in the San Luis Valley
of what was then northern New Mexico. His men built
an armed stockade there and raised the U.S. flag over
it. Looking upon Pike as a trespasser and a spy, the
New Mexico Spanish soldiers arrested him and his men
and escorted them down to Chihuahua, Mexico, the headquarters
of the Spanish military commandante.
As they passed through Alburquerque, Pike and his
captors dined with the priest of the San Felipe de
Neri church, and looked around at the community. One
of the first tourists to Alburquerque, Pike later
reported that the Spanish people of the community
were exceedingly kind, generous and hard working.
The Spanish eventually released Pike and the published
version of his trip “Exploratory Travels through
the Western Territories, 1805-1807, by Order of the
Government”.
But Pike may have had a more lasting impact on the
city he passed through than he intended. His map of
the trip drops the letter “r” from Alburquerque
and labels the friendly community, Albuquerque, the
misspelling of its original name that persists today.
The city was named after the Duke of Alburquerque,
viceroy of New Spain and remains fourth on the list
of Most Misspelled Cities.
Meet a young lady from Albuquerque that knows here
three “rs” thanks to Citizens’ High
School. This is one of our greatest success stories.
Please meet Ms. Amber Bricker.
Amber is now enrolled in college not just pursuing
a baccalaureate degree, but a PHD in psychology. One
may be tempted to dismiss her goal with a “yeah
right”, as she has heard before. She heard it
when she dropped out of high school for the second
time. No one gave her a chance of ever earning a high
school diploma after that decision. Amber defied the
odds and earned a fully accredited high school diploma
from Citizens’ High School this past October.
Amber is a passionate individual with a zest for
knowledge. Unfortunately for her, she allowed peer
influences to shape decisions for her that caused
many problems. Amber discovered that being a high
school drop out with a spotty record does not look
to good on a resume. After dropping out of school
the second time, she was fortunate to find a job in
the local library. While working there, her supervisor
saw raw potential in her as well as the passion previously
mentioned. Together they researched possible solutions
to Amber’s drop-out status. Ms. Bricker liked
what Citizens’ had to offer. Our tuition, payment
options, and curriculum won her over. Amber finally
got serious about school and buckled down. She worked
very hard and completed three and a half academic
years in two years time. She graduated with honors
much to the dismay of the nay say’ers.
We here at Citizens’ High School have every
confidence that someday you will address Ms. Amber
Bricker as Doctor Bricker. We are proud of her not
only for earning a diploma, but for taking control
of her life and being responsible for her decisions.
Any high school’er will tell you the power peer
pressure can have. For rejecting this power, we award
the future doctor of psychology
Graduate of the Month for March 2006
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