Most teenagers have to be talked into leaving their home to attend a military boot camp.
But Isabelle Zaragosa, 18, knew it was her best chance to graduate high school.
After struggling with online school during Covid, Zaragosa earned only three credits as a freshman — half the total needed to stay on track for graduation.
She got out of the habit of attending school regularly and struggled to come back as pandemic restrictions were lifted.
By the end of her sophomore year, Zaragosa knew she needed to change course.
“It was just like yeah, alright, you need to get it together because this is embarrassing to not graduate with your class on time,” she said.
Zaragosa knew of the Oregon Youth Challenge Program, an alternative high school run by the Oregon Military Department in Bend, because she’d had older relatives attend. Her parents almost tried to talk her out of it, she said, worried the program would be too intense. But she persuaded them to enroll, and in January 2023, shipped off to Bend.
“I’ve worked with lots of kids that have gone to OYCP and in every single case it’s because the students have basically run out of other options,” said Christina Lilly, Zaragosa’s counselor at McKay. “There’s adults, either school or parents, (who) are encouraging the student to go.”
The program was intense, starting from the day Zaragosa arrived in Bend.
“You get there with a plastic bag with all your stuff in it …You go sit down in a big conference room … And then they’re like, ‘Alright, say goodbye to your parents. Give them a hug,’” she said.
Then, several school staff, all current or former military, come in.
“They start yelling like, ‘Hurry up!”, you know, “Move on!” she said. “Everyone was like, ‘I regret this.’”
Students in the program follow a strict schedule, waking up around 6 a.m., turning down their beds and falling into line quickly. Failing to follow orders, or not acting quickly enough, earned students push-ups. Zaragosa and her classmates quickly became adept in the military “ma’am sandwich,” punctuating any sentence spoken to an authority figure with “Ma’am, yes, ma’am.”
She attended classes during the day, then workouts after school. The intense physical activity was another aspect she appreciated after gaining weight during Covid.
“You feel really good about yourself too, because you feel really healthy,” she said.
Zaragosa said the military regimen was so intense that classes served almost as a break. With no phone, regular Internet access or other distractions, she was able to focus on school and catch up.
“I really liked the structure. And I liked them telling you what to do,” she said.
She graduated last June from the program and returned to McKay for her senior year.
Lilly said it wasn’t all perfect. Zaragosa still struggled with attendance and was dropped from school multiple times her senior year after failing to attend 10 days in a row.
Zaragosa said she felt pressure from herself to graduate, and sometimes struggled with anxiety which led her to not want to come to school.
“I just felt like I couldn’t make it,” she said.
But she stuck with it.
“Isabelle always comes back in and she doesn’t blame it on anyone else. She takes responsibility,” Lilly said. Where other students’ attitudes are sometimes, “Can you do this for me?” Lilly said she never expects help. She always asks how she can fix her mistakes and do better.
Zaragosa was chosen as McKay’s winner of the 2024 Turnaround Achievement Award, a district award recognizing middle and high school students who have made significant progress after struggling with academics or behavior. She graduated last week.
She said she remained determined in part because her mom and older sister never graduated high school.
Zaragosa works in security for Salem Hospital, recently moving to full-time hours. She’s considering joining the military and still keeps in touch with some of her classmates from OYCP.
While some students dropped out, she said the girls who stuck with the program saw positive change, despite the intensity.
“Everybody ended up loving it,” she said.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
