LETTER: The Best Part of MHS is the Community

First of all I just want to thank each and every one of you for providing me with a community that was, and continues to be so welcoming and supporting. As some of you may know, I was not born here. I hailed from what has now become the infamous “Worst Town in America” according to Forbes magazine, Stockton, Calif.

When I moved here I will admit that I did harbor some of the common misconceptions about Malibu. Those being that everyone was enormously wealthy, a movie star, with hundreds of cars, and perfectly straight teeth. Now, to be fair we do have our movie stars, cars, and straight teeth; but the thing that separates the Malibu that people imagine, and the one we live in today is simple. The community. I have never felt more welcomed and supported by a group of individuals than I have during my time in Malibu.

The main reason why I felt so welcome was because of the quality educators that our community is so fortunate to have. Which is why I want to thank each and every teacher who was so unfortunate as to have me as a student. I want to thank you for not only educating me, but also for instilling in me both the desire to advance myself academically, and the work ethic necessary to achieve this advancement.

Over the course of my experience, I have listened to friends from other schools complain about how difficult it was to get help from their teachers, both before, during, and after class. It was after listening to these complaints that I realized how blessed we are in Malibu to have such wonderful teachers. Not only do the teachers seek to help the students in any way they can, various administrative and faculty members also go out of there way to make sure that students are adjusting, and sometimes just to check in. One such individual, Nedra Ford, has been such a large part of what I have become today that it would be a total injustice if I did not mention her here.

Throughout my time at Malibu High school Mrs. Ford would consistently take time out of her busy schedule to talk with me, and the conversations we had provided me with the solid framework that I built my life upon. Mrs. Ford is as much of the reason for the person that I am today as my own parents. This is what makes Malibu so unique, how often is it that overburdened, public servants take time out of their day to make sure that those under their care are able to adjust to their new surroundings?

This is essentially what differentiates Malibu High School from any other school that I have ever visited or heard about. The people that work at MHS are some of the most compassionate people in the field of education, and this fervor shows not only in their teachings, but in their interactions with their students. By combining impassioned teaching with and eagerness to help in any way possible, Malibu High School has created a rare place where it is in fact more difficult not to learn, than to learn.

Reflecting on my time at MHS, I will miss the people, I will miss my friends, I will miss the weather (No low 70’s winter in Michigan), but most of all I will miss the seemingly ever present mindset of a willingness to do anything necessary to help myself or my peers to succeed to our fullest potential.

Drake Baglietto
’s Co-ASB Student Body President
University of Michigan Class of 2016