Welcome to the Puente Family!

My name is Lupe Avila and I will be your Puente English teacher for your 9th and 10th grade years.  I wanted to start off by giving you a sense of who I am and why I love what I do.

I was born and raised in sunny San Diego, California.  I grew up building sand castles on the beach and eating carne asada tacos at my uncle’s restaurant in Mission Beach.  Some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around sports!  I grew up in a football and baseball town, so I am a huge fan of the San Diego Chargers and remain a Charger Girl even now that they are in Los Angeles. I have traded in the Padres and embraced the Angels!  I also love my L.A. Lakers because when I grew up in San Diego, we had the Clippers, and really, who wanted to admit they were a Clippers fan?  

When I was 16, I moved to Riverside and became a student at Poly High School. Poly looked a little different then.  We didn’t have the 2500 students we have now and our cultural diversity was a lot less diverse!  I felt out of place from my San Diego home, but over time I grew to love Riverside, especially the sweet smell of orange blossoms that bloom in the early spring.  After high school, I attended Riverside Community College and then California State University, San Bernardino where I majored in journalism.  I wanted to be the next morning news anchor at KTLA, but then I realized that waking up to go to work at 3:00 in the morning is NOT my idea of a good time. 

I transferred to UC Riverside after two years and changed my major to English and Ethnic Studies.  During this time, I began volunteering in my daughter’s kindergarten class and fell in love with teaching.  I truly feel joy when I see kids learning!  I loved the thought of being able to make a difference in children’s lives and helping them achieve their goals and dreams.  After college, I began my teaching career at Pachappa Elementary (GO TIGERS!). After five years, I had the opportunity to open a brand new middle school in the small town of Nuevo, right outside of Lake Perris.  I spent four years at Mountain Shadows Middle School teaching English and Social Studies to 7th and 8th graders.  I enjoyed middle school, but I was ready for a new challenge, so back to Poly I came! 

To me, Poly is my home.  I married my husband, Ruben (also a Poly graduate) and we both work here on campus.  Our oldest daughter, Alyssa, graduated from Poly in 2008 and we now have three other kids who are proud Poly graduates as well.  Our son, Ruben ( we call him "RJ") is a graduate of the class of 2014, and is pursuing a career in Music Mixing & Sound Editing by majoring in Music and Communications. He currently attends RCC, and plans to transfer to Cal Poly Pomona. Our middle child, Alex Victoria, is a member of the Poly Class of 2015 and she attends Cal State San Bernardino where she is pursuing a degree and teaching credential in elementary education.  We also have a daughter, Maya, who was a proud member of the Poly Class of 2017. Maya now resides in paradise (heaven) after a ten-month battle with Lupus SLE.  She passed away on July 17, 2013, but we know she is our angel and my inspiration to always strive to make the world a better place.  Our family is completed by our youngest daughter, Brianna, who has grown up in the Green & Orange and graduated from Poly in the Class of 2020. Brianna is pursuing a Hospitality Management degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she is also a proud member of the National Championship "Rebel Girls & Co." Dance Team. Finally, I am a GRANDMA! Our daughter, Alex Victoria, gave birth to our first grandchild, Makoa Alexander, on June 3rd, 2020. He is a little ball of energy with a contagious smile and spirited personality, and he truly brings me nothing but sheer joy! On January 13th, our second grandson made his appearance! His name is Maverick Jae and, like his brother, his smile and energy are contagious! I absolutely adore being their "Lala," and one day they  will be the next in the long line of Poly Bears in our family! 

And there you have it... We are truly a Poly PRIDE kind of Family!

As each one of you begins to write your “book” on life, I ask you to reflect on this, “When Poly High School becomes a chapter in your life story, how will it be written? What stories will you tell? What legacy will you leave?” Thank you for allowing me to play a part in your journey and I hope that through this process, you will learn just how much each of you will play a special part in my Poly High School chapters!