Perseverance and hard work produce a success story

EVERETT — Manny Flores almost didn’t make it.

During his freshman year at Everett High School, he kept considering dropping out. He had a job at Subway, and felt school wasn’t worth the effort.

“My teachers didn’t think I was serious,” the 18-year-old said. “I was.”

Then, a school counselor took notice of him. Lillian Ortiz-Self convinced Flores to join the Latin Image Club at the end of freshman year.

The group gave the teen a sense of self-worth. He started getting A’s and B’s instead of C’s and D’s. He enrolled in harder classes. He joined other clubs.

Now, Flores has won two scholarships and is getting ready to attend the University of Washington. He plans to study mechanical engineering and hopes to one day work for the Boeing Co.

Ortiz-Self said that Hispanics like Flores can face a tough road, since higher education isn’t always stressed in their families. Neither of Flores’ parents went to college right after high school.

“He broke that stereotype,” she said. “He’s an amazing young man.”

Flores is looking forward to college, in part because he’ll be able to focus on classes. Right now, he splits his time between his job at Subway, homework, his family and school clubs.

“I really don’t have time for anything else,” he said. “The latest I sleep in is like 7 on the weekends.”

He credits the Latin Image Club with turning him into an active volunteer. He serves on the club’s executive council. He also is a member of Interact, a school group that organizes food drives and other community projects.

Flores is proud of his grades. He pulled his grade point average up to 3.0 after squeaking by freshman year. But he points to his work with other students through extracurricular activities as his biggest accomplishment.

“I didn’t just pass classes,” he said. “I did something else. I did something so people remember me. I helped other kids.”

The teen gives a frank assessment of what life would be like had Ortiz-Self overlooked him.

“I wouldn’t be in school now,” he said. “I wouldn’t. I’d just be working at Subway.”

Graduates 2010