Joangerli Katherine Gonzalez trekked thousands of miles immigrating from South America to the United States when she was 16. Just three years later, she is set to graduate from Flathead High School.  

Gonzalez’s month-and-a-half-long trip across nearly a dozen countries took her through dense jungles and across roaring rivers. She had to camp in the wilderness and at one point hiked for 12 hours straight. What the arduous trip taught her, though, is that she is capable.   

“Even everything that happens, I just take that [as] an experience for me to grow and to understand that ... I will have difficult moments in my life, but I know that I’ve been through that and I’m capable. I can do it, I can try,” she said. 

That is a value the soft-spoken, yet bubbly student from Venezuela held close during her time in Flathead High School. While she entered school as a sophomore, she acquired the credits needed to graduate in just three years.  

But Gonzalez made sure to let none of that time go to waste. She took upper-level courses, sang in choir, coached elementary track, aided incoming Spanish-speaking students and even helped organize a campaign to promote inclusivity for children with disabilities.  

“To be involved is part of who I am,” Gonzalez smiled.  

But gaining the comfort to pursue her many accomplishments was not easy.  

Starting high school is terrifying for any teenager. But when Gonzalez arrived in the Flathead Valley with her family in 2022, she did not know any English.  

She was in a new school in a new country and taking classes in a language she didn’t know. She felt isolated from her peers. While ecstatic to be in, as she described, “big” and “fancy” school, she would often leave class in tears.  

But Gonzalez found solace in her friendship with Kirk Johnston, the school’s Spanish teacher. 

“He was one of the big supports for me,” she said. Gonzalez described a sense of relief being around Johnston, who provided familiarity in an unfamiliar place.  

Gonzalez has since become that same source of comfort for Spanish-speaking students newly enrolling in Flathead High. “This is my job to make them feel good, to make them feel comfortable,” she said.  

She recalled introducing a new Spanish student to a gym game. The student was nervous, but Gonzalez stuck with her to translate the rules. “She was a little bit shy to do it, but I was like, ‘I’m running with you. I’m also shy, but I’m here.'”    

Gonzalez also enjoyed helping elementary girls in the Highlander Track Club open themselves to new experiences during her time as a coach.  

She recalled teaching the girls shotput, which many had not done before. While some were reluctant, she enjoyed watching their faces light up after taking a jab at a new sport.   

“I understand so much that sometimes they have so much fear to try something new,” Gonzalez said.   

When Gonzalez arrived at Flathead, she was amazed by the opportunities and activities offered to girls that were not offered in Venezuela.  

“I wanted to play soccer, but out there it is just for boys. So, you’re limited,” she said. 

Her mindset: Just try the thing. And whether you like it or not, be proud that you gave it a chance.  

“I think it’s the most important thing in life,” she said.  

Flathead counselor Michael Sherman beamed at Gonzalez as he praised her accomplishments.  

“You have been a great example for anyone, little kids or high school students, adults, anybody to have the self-confidence to try new things,” he said to Gonzalez. 

When asked about who inspired her ambition and proclivity for the unknown, she couldn’t help but get emotional thinking of her father.   

“I’m so thankful that he [taught] me how to be strong and capable,” Gonzalez said through tears. 

GONZALEZ WAS 11 when she left her home in Caracas, Venezuela to escape political unrest and extortion. Gonzalez, her stepmom, younger sister and father moved to Peru, but experienced xenophobia during a time when Venezuelans were migrating to the country in swaths. 

“My dad was just so worried for us to be at school,” she said. 

A few years later, they left for the United States. The journey entailed days-long hikes, buses and a three-day trek through the Darién Gap, which Joangerli said was the most difficult part of the trip.  

The Darién Gap is a rugged stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama. While traffic through the passage has largely dwindled since President Donald Trump took office, the treacherous route saw hundreds of thousands of migrants pass through each year.  

Joangerli recalled hiking for 12 hours straight on the first day and spending a night away alone with her stepmom and sister after splitting from her father.  

It was raining, and water had flooded the tent. “I was just so scared,” she said. She remembered crying out for her dad.  

But the next day, she heard her dad calling her from across a river, which she had to cross. The current was strong, and as she made her way across and reached out for a branch, another migrant was holding out from the riverbank. But the current swept her legs from under her.  

“I remember I was just calm. I don’t drink any water either,” she said. The current finally pushed her to the other side of the river where she met up with her family. “I think that was the most scary part for me.”  

While such memories can be uncomfortable to rekindle, Gonzalez sees them as a part of her life.  

“It’s still like a hard experience ... but something you can learn from,” she said.  

After graduating, Gonzalez will study pediatrics at the University of Montana this fall. 

She is also excited to take a global leadership class and learn about issues people are facing around the world and how they can be helped. She is excited to immerse herself in a diverse environment with a wide array of classes to take. 

In a political climate that is targeting particularly Venezuelan immigrants, Gonzalez hopes that her story will show there are immigrants looking for opportunity.  

“We have jobs and we are worker people,” she said. “Sometimes it’s good to listen to people’s reasons of why they left their country.”  

“Here, you have those opportunities that you can make a better life for yourself and your family. I think that’s something that most of the immigrants think about,” she said.  

Flathead High School holds its graduation on May 30 at 7 p.m. at the school’s gym, 644 Fourth Ave. W. About 280 students are set to graduate.  

Reporter Jack Underhill may be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].