EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)\u2014 Eastwood Knolls International School social studies teacher Paula Perales and Eastwood High School sophomore Danity Martinez are preparing for the trip of a lifetime.<\/p>\n
This summer, they\u2019ll be traveling to Washington, D.C., and Normandy, France, as part of the 2026 Albert H. Small Normandy Institute. The duo was among 15 student-teacher pairs selected nationwide. They are the only ones selected from Texas and the entire Southwest.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll participate in an intensive college-level study of the Normandy Campaign of 1944. They\u2019ve already started working on research and participating in lectures.<\/p>\n
Both are ready to embark on this unforgettable voyage this June.<\/p>\n
“I didn\u2019t have high hopes. I didn’t think we were going to make it, but when she sent it, me and my mom were really excited,\u201d Danity said.<\/p>\n
Perales said she chose Danity because of her close connection to her family. Perales previously taught Danity\u2019s two older sisters.<\/p>\n
“She really trusted me with the position, and she really wanted me to be a part of it with her. And I’ve always loved history. It’s one of my favorite subjects. So I didn’t hesitate, and I jumped at the chance to be with her,\u201d the sophomore explained.<\/p>\n
Danity said she\u2019s excited to immerse herself in the history and experience historical landmarks up close.<\/p>\n
Both said that being selected to participate in this competitive, prestigious program is an honor.<\/p>\n
Danity and Perales have the task of exploring the life of Pvt. Jose Isabel Alvarado, who was born in Smeltertown. The duo explained to ABC-7 that his remains were never brought back to El Paso, and he was buried in Normandy. During their upcoming trip, they will be able to present a eulogy in honor of Alvarado.<\/p>\n
“You know, they deserved, you know, to be honored. They deserve to be remembered. And I think that’s my going away is that I get to live this experience, honor their lives and their sacrifice and their service,\u201d said Perales.<\/p>\n
The team will also visit historical sites in Washington, D.C., and Normandy, France.<\/p>\n
“So that way we can truly understand the cost of freedom, military service, and democracy of our country,\u201d Perales added.<\/p>\n
Both are eager to represent El Paso during this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.<\/p>\n
“I hope that I can do my best to honor El Paso and my school. Very nervous, but I’m excited because I know that I worked really hard for this,\u201d Danity said.<\/p>\n
“Kind of watching as, like, a parent watching their kid grow up and going through this experience. I think seeing her excitement, seeing her understanding, and her connection to this is going to be like the cherry on top for me as her teacher,\u201d Perales added.<\/p>\n
All participating members have been meeting virtually. The Albert H. Small Normandy Institute is covering all course materials and travel expenses.<\/p>\n
If you have a Good Vibes Only story, please e-mail rosemary.garcia@kvia.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)\u2014 Eastwood Knolls International School social studies teacher Paula Perales and Eastwood High School sophomore…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-213072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}