​NE​WS & EVENTS​

Germán Padilla

Es un gran orgullo compartir los logros de nuestro ex-alumno Germán Padilla, quien cursó con nosotros 7 años de su educación, desde 1ro de Kinder hasta 4to de Primaria. Su familia se mudó a SD razón por la cual no pudo graduarse de BAI.

Sin embargo, Germán continua en contacto con algunos de sus compañeros y asistió hace 3 años a nuestra reunión de ex-alumnos. Hace dos días nos enteramos de que Germán ha sido seleccionado por la NASA para trabajar en Houston, en sus proyectos espaciales! A continuación transcribimos los mensajes de Germán a su servidora.

Message from Germán Padilla:

Hi Miss Lilian, it’s good to hear from you! Yes, I was hired to work as a Propulsion Systems Flight Controller in Mission Control at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston and I’ll be starting in a couple of weeks! I’ll be training for the Artemis Program (to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024) and then eventually (hopefully) help fly that mission in a couple of years!

I remember the kindergarten playground a lot, playing Power Rangers with Jordi, Ulises, Kathia and Olaya, haha. I also remember all the Assemblies and the Honor Guard as well as those dances we did when it was our class' turn to perform.

I remember playing soccer during recess, and I also fondly remember the “Mini Olimpiadas." I also remember all of my teachers. I just have fond memories of having fun and learning lots and really liking all of my teachers and friends; I was very sad when we moved to San Diego for that reason.

I think going to British American Institute was a great experience because I made friends that I still hangout with today and of course learned English from a very young age, which definitely contributed to my success in getting into a good high school, great college for undergrad and also great graduate school, and of course, eventually my job!

I graduated last May 15 from University of Southern California with a Masters degree in ASTRONAUTICAL ENGINEERING.

A LETTER FROM DIEGO ANTONIO LÓPEZ PRIDA

Dear Miss Lilian:

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British American Institute, changed my life.

I was taught very useful life lessons, like never giving up and to always work hard.

I had difficulties in kindergarten, but Miss Lillian decided to give me a second chance. I dedicated more time to school and practiced my English.

Years later, as I was graduating from 6th grade they were calling out the best three students of the generation and I was the third one!

I remember how Miss Lillian was proud of me because of my dedication and discipline, and for not giving up. 

Miss Lilian, you will always be in my heart for teaching me never to give up!

Diego Antonio López Prida”

ANA KAREN VALDIVIA CASAS

Con gusto compartimos los logros de nuestra ex-alumna Ana Karen Valdivia, quien obtuvo una mención honorífica por su labor como CHEF.

La felicitamos y deseamos todo tipo de éxito!

You go, girl! Reach for the stars Ana Karen!

A LETTER FROM MARÍA JOSÉ NOVELO RUIZ

"Dear Miss Lilian,

Hi! How are you? Things are going great over here. This weekend I am moving to Tijuana.  I got offered a position as Jr. Chemical Engineer at an  American  biomedical company called Nx/Stage Mexico.

After reviewing the job offers with my  friends working in other companies with a biomedical focus, they were surprised that after after having recently graduated, I was being offered a higher position inside a lab, that would most likely require someone with experience. I have none in the industry.

I concluded that my English skills and the fact that I attended UCRiverside (also because of my English skills) were important factors in the selection for the position.

So, once again, I thank you for this. You are an important part of my formation. It is important that you and your teachers know the impact you have had in your students' life.

Always,

María José Novelo Ruiz

A LETTER FROM EDUARDO HURTADO

It is with great pride that we share with you a letter written by one of our first students to have graduated from our institute. We are sincerely grateful for his words and very proud of his achievements!

“To Miss Lilian and all current alumni and parents,

Throughout my life my parents have told me a really blunt but true thing “Your only inheritance is your education”. That’s why I think that their most important investment where my years at British American Institute.

During my kindergarten years I remember being the happiest child alive, everyone made you feel welcome, I never felt uncared for or unloved. As much as I can remember from those days, and from a toddler's memory, I can say that the quality of the teachers (ergo of the education), was top notch. I cannot remember a day since then that I don’t understand English and as of now I can say that it is one of the corner stones of my academic life.

Elementary school was, I think, the foundation of my actual being. In the academic aspect I can say it was superb, we had not only the basics such as science, history, maths, etcetera, but the detail given to our humanity still brings me joy.

Elementary taught me to be the best in everything I could, to know my weaknesses and not give because of them, but to excel. My teachers were compassionate and actually cared for our integrity as human beings. This period of 6 years, as I already mentioned, made me the adult I am now. II learned to be tolerant of other ideologies, religions, genders, sexualities, to the point that I celebrated the individuality of everyone from a very young age.

Sadly, Junior High was a dream that never came true, so we had to migrate to other schools. Nonetheless, with the upbringing I had, there was no doubt I could excel wherever I went; and not just me, most of my generation, in whichever school they attended, excelled as the top of the class or even of their generation.

My wonderful time in BAI has always been on my mind. Interestingly enough, while at my University I realized the profound effect that attending BAI left in me. 

I don’t want to sound vapid or egotistic, but the drive that everyone at British American Institute carved in me ( the staff, teachers, my own peers), fueled my thirst for knowledge and being the very best. 

As I said, I don’t want to sound as a person with a narcissistic disorder, but because of that upbringing, I was capable of starting and finishing Med School with an honorary mention. I was able to treat and care my patients with the utmost respect and humanity during my year of internship.

I am currently finishing my year of Social Service in a National Institute of Research in Mexico City, and obtaining my degree as General Physician. 

Maybe this letter seems as if I'm boasting about every achievement of my life, but it is written to convey the deep and vast changes a school can make to each of its students. This has been my case, as I am sure it is for all the alumni of British American Institute.

Lastly, I would like to thank Miss Lilian for having the vision of opening a school that not only teaches the basic subjects, but also, compassion, respect, love, tolerance, a drive for something else and always that Je ne sais quoi that characterizes British American Institute.

With Love”

Eduardo Hurtado Cordova
Generation 1999-2006

A LETTER FROM JUAN ANTONIO LOPEZ PRIDA

“Dear Miss Lilian,

As you know, I studied at British American Institute  since Kindergarten, and all through Elementary school.

Being BAI, the place where I spent most of my life up until the age of 12, I can surely say it shaped me. 

Rather than saying that BAI changed my life, it built up my life, right from scratch. It not only  made me proficient in the English language, a skill that by itself has opened many doors for me, but it also gave me a very high quality education. 

I can still remember boasting that we always used American text books intended for a higher grade than the one we were taking. Let that settle in, not only were our text books in English and made for American students, they were also intended for a higher grade. For  example, when we were in 3rd grade we had texts books that were made for the 4th grade, so on and so forth. 

Upon entering middle school, you could easily say that the “British American kids” had better quality of education than the other kids that came from different elementary schools; we were very much ahead of everyone else in most subjects. And even though reading text books in Spanish and having all the teachers teach class in Spanish was hard to get used to at first, we had a very solid structure regarding our elementary education, and that is the most important building block, having had an outstanding Kindergarten and Elementary  education.

 Up until today, with little time left from becoming a physician, I still ruminate on my memory of the time spent at BAI and all the knowledge gained back in elementary school. 

No doubt, during my time in BAI, I received the highest quality education ever (even in comparison with the rest of my academic life). I had  the best teachers and made my best friends, which I still keep today. 

All of these things shaped me. I would like to stress,  once again that BAI didn’t merely change my life, it made me who I am today.  

I am very proud to say that I am a “British American kid”. 

Juan Antonio Lopez Prida “

LUIS FRANCISCO GALLEGO

It is always a pleasure to share with you our alumni's achievements. Luis Francisco Gallego Padilla, is a multi-talented young man, who continues to take advantage of his multiple attributes in Sciences as well as the Arts. 

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Ever since he was a little boy Luis Francisco showed great promise as ac actor, and was characterized by a great personality. Today he is studying High School at Instituto México. He has continued to perform in several plays in our city, the most recent being KIWI, at El Teatro de las Tablas.

In addition, he was representing Instituto Mexico at the National Biology Olympiad.

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He has taken intensive music courses in the State of California and in Barcelona, ​​distinguishing himself for his talent not only as an instrumentalist, but as a composer.

It is a great satisfaction to have contributed to the formation of Luis Francisco and to have awakened in him a taste for the fine arts. We are confident that you will continue on the path of success, we wish you the best and good luck!

Es siempre un placer compatir con ustedes los logros de nuestros ex alumnos. Uno de ellos, Luis Francisco Gallego Padilla, es un jovencito multi talentoso, que continua abriéndose camino con sus múltiples atributos, en las Ciencias y las Artes.

Luis Francisco se destacó desde pequeño por su talento como actor y por su gran personalidad.
Hoy estudia Prepa en el Instituto México. Ha continuado actuando en varias obras de teatro en nuestra ciudad, siendo la más reciente KIWI, en El Teatro de las Tablas.

Además, fue representando al Instituto México a la Olimpiada Nacional de Biología. Ha tomado cursos intensivos de música en el Estado de California y en Barcelona, distinguiéndose por su talento no solo como instrumentista, sino como compositor.

Es una gran satisfacción haber contribuido a la formación de Luis Francisco y haber despertado en él el gusto por las bella artes.
Estamos seguros de que continuará por el camino del éxito, le deseamos lo mejor y mucha suerte!