In honor of Alisal’s 60th Anniversary, this is the 11th in an ongoing series of staff/alumni profiles.

If 40 years ago you were to ask Rosalina Cabrera what she wanted to do in the future, teaching would not be it. Teaching wasn’t even on her radar. However, when the opportunity to help and give back to her community came up, she took and ran with it. 

When she was a student at Alisal, Cabrera was involved in many clubs and sports before she graduated in 1989. She was in California Scholarship Federation, cross country, track and field, ASB as class secretary, and American Field Service (exchange students). 

In American Field Service, she would help host exchange students. The exchange students would be hosted at different schools every month. They learned about American culture and sometimes they would even have county wide events. “I enjoyed meeting students from other countries,” she said. “I enjoyed hearing about other countries and hanging out with my friends too.” 

From the time she was part of American Field Service programs she managed to learn a lot. She is a 1st generation immigrant, so she wasn’t used to American customs. She was learning just as much as the exchange students. “They were doing it for them, but I was kinda learning and experiencing those activities too.”

Some great memories that Cabrera has of her high school career are Ethnic nights, visiting different schools, and being incredibly stressed since she was part of ASB which were the organizers. “I was a class secretary, for me it was a huge deal because we were putting on the events,” she said. The event organization stress was caused because they didn’t have resources that are now available. “Even during our homecoming parade, we didn’t have access to the bigger vehicles or flatbeds.”  

Once she graduated she moved onto schools such as Stanford for her undergraduate and San Jose State University for her master’s degree. She has a bachelor’s in American Studies, a master’s in Education and a master’s in Educational Leadership. 

At first she didn’t intend to work in education. “At Stanford, I actually was going to be an International Studies major,” she said. “I wanted to work at an embassy.” 

Cabrera got inspired with education when she taught literature to adults at Stanford through a program called the Stanford Literacy Improvement Project. She worked with field workers and Stanford employees. They were taught how to read and they learned basic English. “When I taught an adult how to read and I saw him recognize his own name, that was the catalyst that turned my road into education,” she said.

After earning her master’s, she taught government and US History at Sequoia High School and was involved in many educational programs. At Sequoia, she was an intern for half a year before she was hired. She would intern in the morning before having class in the evening at Stanford..  

She was close with her students since they were 5-6 years apart. This caused a strong bond.  “I would be able to walk them outside and have class be there,” she says. “Being close in age with my students was great, they all came to my college graduation.”

Cabrera returned to Alisal in 1994. There were many factors she took into consideration when she was deciding to come back. The first reason was gratitude. “I wanted to give back, almost like paying it forward.” The second reason was her family. She wanted to be close to her parents.  

Upon returning to Alisal as a teacher, she felt odd and there were many things she had to adjust to. The majority of the adjustments she had made were working with her old teachers. “To me they were demi-gods,” she said. “Working together gave them more humanity.” She started to realize they weren’t just a person stuck in a classroom, they were  real people. She got to know them, not just as her teachers. 

Even with all the time that has passed, Cabrera doesn’t think too much has changed from when she attended. She thought there was a major change in demographics. When she was a student she would see a lot of African Americans, Asians, Caucasians, and Mexican Americans. “I think we’ve become a little more homogenous in terms of our school makeup.”

Inclusivity stayed the same. She saw all types of students being able to join clubs, sports, events, and being able to be part of the school community regardless of their economical or social status.  “Just based on equipment I think that sports that fundraise help out.”

Alisal is history in her family, as 5 generations of her family have attended Alisal. Her 4 daughters have attended and one of her daughters, Tori, is currently working as the wrestling coach. Cabrera has also had nieces, nephews, and grand nephews who have attended as students. “It felt really good to kinda cement the idea of family at Alisal making it seem like a safe haven.”

She feels that there is no place like Alisal. She would not work in a different school. So far she’s been 31 years at Alisal and she’s planning on retiring from here. “I was going to try to beat Ms. Albano, but I think I’ll retire before she does,” she said. “I hope to be here at least another 4 years.”