FOREVER FIREBIRDS

Yesenia (Garcia) ’91 & John Plock ’90

Yesenia and John started out as neighbors and childhood friends and are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this summer. John is a registered vascular technologist and owns a medical management business. For twenty years, Yesenia worked in biotech doing skin cancer research before dedicating herself to being a full-time mother, which she says has been her most rewarding job ever. The couple resides in Merrick, NY, with their daughters, Mikaela (10) and Sydney (8).

When and how did you meet? We met in second grade. We were next-door neighbors until my family moved across the street. We attended the same grammar school and continued our education together at Kellenberg. John and I dated for six months beginning in the summer of 1988. When John graduated from Kellenberg, he joined the Navy. I graduated a year after him and went on to attend Adelphi University. We rekindled our friendship and started dating again in 1996.

When and where were you married? We were married at St. Mary’s Church in Far Rockaway on August 4, 2001. This church was very special to us because it is where we both received all of our sacraments beginning with Baptism.

What is one of the best lessons you each learned during your time at Kellenberg? We are both in agreement and are so appreciative of the many sacrifices our parents made in order for us to feel safe and receive a great education. We traveled over an hour each way from an innercity neighborhood just to be given the opportunity to look further and reach higher. We learned that through hard work and determination, nothing is beyond your reach.

There are many Firebird alumni who have entered into the covenant of marriage together. What about your time at Kellenberg helped prepare you to make and keep the promise of being “true to your spouse in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health?” Nothing can completely prepare someone for something as complex as the union of two people. Marriage is a dynamic, ever-evolving entity. How is it possible to sow seeds of compassion and integrity - the values crucial to any marriage? How does one explain this to a teenager whose values at the time laid elsewhere? Helping cook meals for people less fortunate at the INN in Hempstead and donating blood are a few of the things that stuck with us. The funny thing is that until this question, we never really thought about it before. How has Kellenberg contributed to our moral character? Well, we still have current blood donor cards, still drop off items and volunteer at food pantries, as well as volunteer at our daughters’ school and at our local church. Traditions began at Kellenberg. Are we perfect? No, far from it – no family is, but not only do we still hold the values strengthened during our time at Kellenberg, but we, as parents, strive to pass the same values onto our daughters.