A Rose for the Resendezes

“I found him so engaging, like he would just talk, and I couldn’t stop listening to him speak because there was something very attractive about that.”  – Melody Resendez

“She always genuinely cares about how I feel and what I’m thinking at any given time, and she wants to hear about it, but I’m really bad at communicating it.” – Jon Resendez

From high school sweethearts to a married couple, education specialist Melody Resendez and social studies department chair Jon Resendez have endured everything together. Their love for each other’s presence allowed them to attend college together, work alongside each other at several restaurants and eventually share their passion for teaching at Portola High. After high school, they wanted to develop themselves and pushed each other to pursue their respective passions, even if it meant sacrificing spending time together.

Love from Across the World

“My dad, every single morning he goes to a cafe and drinks coffee and eats bagels, and he reads the newspaper. And he always takes a picture and sends it to us on our group chat and says ‘Good Morning.’ I think that makes us feel we’re still with him, even though we’re not.” -Ashley Kwon

All her life, sophomore Ashley Kwon lived in Seoul, South Korea with her mom, dad and older twin brothers. When she moved to Irvine in eighth grade, her dad stayed behind for his work. Kwon and her dad find ways to make the distance feel shorter with daily FaceTime calls, at nighttime for her and in the morning before work for him, and “Good Morning” texts from either ends of the world.

A Love-ly Melody

“Music, for some reason, has a direct connection to emotion that other things don’t have… In music, if you play a chord the right way, you automatically convey the emotion… we have inherently gotten some sort of understanding that each chord means something different.” -Derrick Peng

Similar to some Irvine students, senior Derrick Peng’s relationship with music started at an early age with a piano and a sheet of classical music. But, upon discovering the Beatles and listening to the likes of composer John Cage, his interest shifted toward the rhythms and beats associated with classical percussion instruments and drum sets. Holding the Portola High record for the most music classes enrolled in at one time, Peng has immersed himself in his music, becoming involved with composing and producing.