Diversity "DREAM" Award Honorees 2007-2008

The 2007-2008 Diversity "DREAM" Award honorees were nominated by their peers. The text of the original nominations appears below.

William Davis (left) and Vince Eberly (right)       were awarded 2008 Diversity DREAM Awards.

William Davis
Student, Central Valley High School

Last January, William was elected ASB President on a platform of unity and change. William wanted to see all the students at CVHS feel comfortable in the halls, and he wanted to do this by making sure they felt comfortable in their own skin. William is seen every day hanging out with all different crowds. He sits and chats and celebrates their victories in life. There isn’t a person at CV who doesn’t respect William for his willingness to appreciate and accept all people. 

William reaches out to those students who don’t usually get the recognition of existence. Because of his outstretched hand, we had the most diverse group at our CV Winter Camp this year. We had exchange students, new students, ELD students, and many others. These students now come to Student Council, get involved in our school activities, and bring suggestions to us about how to make others in their groups feel more welcomed. On top of all of this, William is the first African American ASB President ever at Central Valley High School, an honor for CVHS and Central Valley School District.

Vince Eberly
ELD Teacher, Central Valley High School

As the ELD teacher, Vince is in constant contact with students from literally every corner of the earth. His classroom looks like a mini UN with representatives of many countries, cultures, and ethnicities. Through it all, Vince demonstrates and demands respect for all aspects of diversity. Because of his caring and supportive attitude, many of his students grow and develop into productive students as they assimilate into American culture. Vince’s support and respect does not just affect his own students. Through his promotion of the different cultures the ELD program brings to our school, Vince has increased the awareness and appreciation of diversity throughout our entire school. By highlighting the different cultural holidays, customs, and celebrations, Vince has made our predominately Caucasian, Judeo-Christian student body more appreciative and understanding of the multicultural richness each individual can bring into any level of our school society. As a prime example, Vince emails all of our staff a few days before Ramadan alerting them that they may observe tiredness or hunger in our Muslim students because of fasting during the day.

Vince’s influence goes beyond the walls of CV High School. He promotes multicultural differences through his active participation on many school district, community, and state committees that support English learning students. Whether he is teaching in the classroom, coordinating a multicultural event, sitting on a committee, or skydiving into our football stadium with the game ball at homecoming, Vince always demonstrates enthusiasm, respect, and dignity in all of his dealings with EVERYONE. Vince’s authentic love for all people and his deep respect for multicultural differences not only make him a viable candidate for being selected for the DREAM Award, they demand it!