Back Bay/Monte Vista High was lifeline for Nathan Bautista who overcame obstacles to graduate early
Nathan Bautista was living in South L.A. in February 2019, hanging around with friends and shirking the usual responsibilities of high school when something happened that would change the course of his life forever.
His childhood friend, Daniel, 15, was shot and killed while walking home from school in what neighborhood residents believe may have been a set-up by local gang members. Bautista, now 18, recalls the fear he felt when hearing the news.
“That really opened my eyes to what I was doing,” he recalled. “If that could happen to him, it could happen to me.”
After all, his own outlook wasn’t much better. Surrounded by bad influences, he barely attended classes and his grades were tanking as a result.
“I felt hopeless, because how could I ever get out of this?” he said. “I really wanted to do good. [But] I thought there was no hope for me.”
That’s when his family decided to act. Mom, Sylvia Perez, sent her son to live with her sister, Jennifer Ureña, and brother-in-law, Rick Ureña, in Newport Beach. There, he could attend Back Bay/Monte Vista High School, a continuation school with an independent study program for students overcoming setbacks that often impede academic success.
“I wanted him to leave here ASAP. I wanted him to leave the friends he was hanging around with,” Perez said. “Every day I would pray, ‘Lord, please protect him.’ I’m just so happy God opened that door.”
Bautista came to the Costa Mesa campus late in his junior year. Under the guidance of Back Bay/Monte Vista counselor Loc Tran, he began the grueling work of recovering the units he would need to graduate on track.
“I could tell from our very first conversation he was ready for change,” Tran recalled. “We gave him six thick packets of work to do that summer, and he finished them all. Failing was not an option for him.”
Honoring this year’s graduating seniors from high schools in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Laguna Beach and other parts of Orange County.
Bautista lived with his aunt and uncle — who have six children of their own but made up a bunk bed for the teen — and worked day and night to bring up his grades.
Whenever he needed to be alone to think, meditate or study, he’d retreat to a reservoir across the street from the school — being in nature was a new experience for him, and he found it helped him stay calm and think clearly.
“That summer was actually the hardest for me, because I had to do a lot of work,” Bautista said. “But I was dedicated to doing it because I wanted to change.”
And change he did. Consulting with Tran on a near-daily basis to keep track of his progress, the teen earned so many credits he graduated months ahead of his peers, earning mostly A’s and B’s. Back Bay/Monte Vista is having a virtual graduation ceremony on YouTube at 2 p.m. Monday, and Bautista plans to watch it with his family.
“One year ago, I never thought of completing high school, and now I’ve done things I never thought I could do. I want to see what more I can do.”
— Nathan Baustista, Back Back/Monte Vista High School senior
Today, he’s back in Los Angeles with Perez and her husband, Mike Bayona, a father figure to him. In the fall he will attend Rio Hondo College, where he hopes to learn drafting and architecture.
His dream is to work side by side with Bayona, a construction worker, building homes in countries in need of housing. It’s a dream his old teachers used to doubt he’d accomplish, given his grades and standing, but these days he’s feeling hopeful.
“I feel like what happened to my friend was a way for me to wake up. I thank God for that,” he said. “One year ago, I never thought of completing high school, and now I’ve done things I never thought I could do. I want to see what more I can do.”
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