SIATech Indio graduate Amarissa began her journey with SIATech in December of 2022. She completed SIATech in March of 2024 when she earned her diploma, three months earlier than she would have at her previous school.
Amarissa shared that before joining the SIATech community, she was bouncing around from school to school both online and in person because none of them felt like the right fit. In her junior year of high school, she thought she had made the decision to drop out and just get a GED. However “they gave me a card promoting SIATech and the rest is history!” said Amarissa.
Amarissa shared her appreciation for Indio site teachers by stating that they were extremely supportive and helpful. “I went through a lot of difficulties in my personal life while I attended SIATech and nothing but support was shown to me by the staff. They always knew how to help and showed me gratitude when I needed it. I cannot thank them enough.”
SIATech prides itself on creating an educational experience that caters to each student's individual needs and allows them to achieve all of their academic goals. Many of our students attend our schools because the traditional setting does not correlate with their schedules or they have encountered certain difficulties that make traditional schools challenging. Our site staff work with students to provide support throughout their entire educational journey.
“I think how personable the staff was made a big difference. They were mentors and professional while still acting as a friend to all of us. You don't really get that at just any school. A lot of students at SIATech have endured hard times in their lives and the staff knew how to 'deal' with it by showing support and providing services that can help us. They do care and my mentor teacher really did impact my life. It's something I'll never forget,” said Amarissa.
One particular Indio staff member who made a huge impact on Snellings was mentor teacher and principal Ms. De La Cruz. “She really understood and supported me through it all. The staff really do care about their students and want to see them succeed academically as well as in every other aspect there is,” said Amarissa.
Amarissa reflected on her time at SIATech: “One of my favorite memories was on my last day at SIATech. It was also the last day of the Paxton Patterson course and our little group that did that course together had a contest to see whose makeshift paper rocket would launch the farthest out in the parking lot. It was funny because a clueless car had run over some of our rockets and we all were laughing so much. That was a great way to end high school.”
While recalling moments from graduation, Amarissa stated that she enjoyed the speeches as each student spoke about how the school had positively impacted them. “Some of the speeches were emotional and really heartfelt. Every student worked so hard to get to the point of graduation so I believe it is something a lot of us will remember."
Amarissa left some words of advice for future students. “Just know that the quicker you complete your courses, the quicker you are to graduation! It all depends on you. When I would get stuck on assignments and didn't want to complete them, that was my biggest motivator. All those assignments paid off in the end.”
Amarissa is currently taking summer courses at her local community college to get a head start and will be starting the Fall semester with six credits. She will be majoring in Biology and plans on transferring to a 4-year university after she receives her associates degree.
“SIATech really made a world of a difference in my life. I would not have graduated high school if I never discovered this school and it's something I'm very grateful I got the opportunity to do."
On behalf of all of SIATech we want to wish a heartfelt congratulations to Amarissa for all of her hard work. Despite the difficulties she faced, she chose to persevere and earned her high school diploma. We know you will continue to do great things and wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors.
Thank you to Amarissa for sharing her story to help inspire more students to continue their education at SIATech. If you are an alum who would also like to submit your story, please do so on our website at https://www.siatechschools.org/stories/