Many people have never been down the streets of Globeville. If they’ve noticed it at all, they’ve only seen Globeville spreading out beneath them when they’re whizzing by on the elevated section of Interstate 70.
For me, Globeville is home.
My mother died when I was 5 years old, so I’ve been raised mostly by my grandparents in their house, which sits less than a block from I-70.
In 2004, The Denver Post called my neighborhood “the state’s most polluted urban ZIP code.”
It’s true that there are a lot of factories and exhaust fumes from the traffic, but that hasn’t stifled my dreams.
After reading Tina Griego’s columns several years ago about the rebirth of North High School, which almost all of my family members had attended, I took a tour of North and immediately knew it was a place where I could succeed.
I had big ideas and Denver Public Schools allowed me to grow. I joined the DPS student Board of Education as a junior, where I had the privilege of representing the district’s 75,000 students.
I founded North’s Ethics Club, which is dedicated to serving the community. We ran a canned food drive for the homeless, raked leaves to raise money for a scholarship, and volunteered for Project Angel Heart, which delivers meals to people with life-threatening illnesses. I also joined the North swim team. We didn’t win very often, but my coach, Mary St. Clair, taught us the value of sportsmanship.
I read in school about how Mayor Robert Speer beautified Denver with tree-lined boulevards, including the one that bears his name.
The surviving trees planted a century ago are now giants that serve as monuments to his leadership. Not only do these trees look beautiful but they also make our community healthier.
Unfortunately, Globeville is a long way from the parks and public buildings that Speer helped build with his City Beautiful movement.
In our neighborhood, trees are harder to find.
So, four years ago, I took matters into my own hands and bought a little sapling and planted it in our yard. It was a skinny and bare little tree — it didn’t even reach my shoulders — but I knew that if we took good care of it, it could some day produce thousands of green leaves, with its branches reaching for the sun and shading our house.
Like the sapling, I started my life small and vulnerable. I needed help to grow strong and tall — physically and mentally.
My mother and then my grandparents tended to me. But I also got help from my teachers, counselors and coaches along the way.
I told Coach St. Clair that I wanted to be mayor. She surprised me by writing my name on her ballot for the Denver mayoral election in 2007. She gave me a photocopy. I was in 10th grade at the time and I still keep the copy today. I plan on hanging it in the mayor’s office someday and proudly declaring it was my coach who gave me my first vote. It was her way of showing that she had confidence in me and knew I could succeed.
The tree I planted at our house is now about 15 feet tall. It will grow even taller and stronger, but it is not so vulnerable anymore.
I will keep visiting it as I return home over the years. It will remind me of my dreams and all the people who have helped me realize them.
This is based on comments North High School Senior Isaac Solano made last month at the Denver Public Schools Foundation’s annual Achieve gala, which raised $900,000 for the district. Solano was selected to speak as an outstanding representative of the students who attend the district. Solano, who was introduced at the event by Mayor John Hickenlooper, thanked his grandparents, who attended the event. Solano will enroll in the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall and is a Gates Millennium Scholar.
