He walks down the hall idly, not in a rush at all, unlike his fellow students who hurry to the academic hall. He takes his sweet time waving at friends and stopping for a chat, even as the warning bell rings. The bell ushers all but him to class. Mark Guerra has worked hard for this break; this ability to not worry about the next class. 

Mark has always been a hard worker. His mother instilled in him from a young age.

“I was two years old when she taught me to be an adult,” he said. “Like, I wanted a toy truck, she said, ‘you have to work for it.’” 

Mark said that he used to throw fits at these responses, but slowly got the hang of the principle. He would clean and do all his work, and finally got that toy truck. Just a toy truck, though, didn’t make him happy. He worked harder for more things such as a bigger bed, or McDonald’s nuggets. She taught him grown-up skills like managing money and buying a house. Her philosophy for him was to go above and beyond, and not let anything get in his way. 

“The thing about me is: I see something that’s really hard to do, I’ll find a way to make it easier for me and for others,” he said.

His hard work transferred from small things to the bigger picture: his future.

 “That’s why, when I was a freshman, instead of me taking all these low-level classes, I decided to take college-level classes. And, a lot of the teachers and a lot of my friends were surprised,” he said. “And I passed it all.” 

Mark finished all of his credits early, only participating in two classes this year leaving room for classes like theatre and teacher assistant. He’s proud that once he goes to college he will be ahead of a lot of college students because he worked hard to get it all done now. 

That hardworking spirit his mother taught hasn’t gone anywhere. He never backs down – no matter the task.

“I will take the challenge,” he said. “I don’t care if I get cuts or bruises; I’ll still take the challenge for a better trophy or something. I’ll take it.”