Editor’s note: This feature is dedicated to profiling Van Horn High School Alumni and updating locals on what became of them after graduation. The Advocate welcomes information for publication on VHHS Alumni and will try to highlight two Van Horn Eagles every week.
“Being a Van Horn High School graduate is an experience that has made me into the strong, confident, and happy–go-lucky woman that I have grown to be; I belong to the class of 1987”. Ivonne Rivera is mostly known to her friends and family by the name of “Bonnie”. She is the daughter of Bernardo and Ruth Rivera. Days after graduation, she started college at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. After spending a couple of years there she started feeling like there was something missing and needed to explore and find herself. Bonnie discerned that she needed to take a break. She moved to Oklahoma City, but while there, she found her life lacking “sustenance”, and desired a change of pace. This is where she found herself joining the Army, enjoying the challenges that came with all of it and meeting wonderful people. Once finished, she realized she needed to complete her college degree, so finish she did, at The University of Texas Pan American located in Edinburg, Texas. Bonnie now resides in McAllen, Texas and teaches at Palmview High School, a part of the La Joya Independent School District in South Texas. Teaching Freshman English along with Reading and End of Course classes has been an adventure that she loves, and all thanks to our very own Pam Young. Ms. Young has been her inspiration and “muse”; it is with great thanks to her and her “magical” and refreshing ways of teaching that made Bonnie appreciate learning and helped in choosing to pursue this profession. Ms. Young is one of the best teachers that she has had the pleasure of knowing. Bonnie has been happily teaching and helping mold our future and will continue to enjoy her life living in McAllen with her two cats, Dusty and Bandit, and sharing her love for life with her beloved significant other of 14 plus years.
