From MPUSD Student to Guiding Future Graduates: Marina High’s Mario Grau Helps Students Chart Their Path Beyond High School

For Marina High School College and Career Specialist Mario Grau, helping students plan their futures is both professional work and personal purpose.

A proud MPUSD alumnus, Grau attended Crumpton Elementary, Los Arboles Middle School, and Seaside High School before enlisting in the United States Navy, where he served for 12 years and completed six deployments around the world. After returning to the Monterey Peninsula, finishing his degree at CSU Monterey Bay, and coaching basketball at Marina High, Grau was encouraged to apply for a newly created position that would become central to student success on campus.

Five years later, he is a familiar face to every Marina High student and a key guide in helping them navigate life after graduation.

While academic counselors focus on ensuring students meet graduation requirements, Grau’s role centers on what comes next.

“My job is to help students figure out what they want to do after high school and then help them build a plan to get there,” Grau said. “That could be college, the trades, the military, or another pathway altogether.”

Drawing from his own experiences in community college, a four-year university, and military service, Grau provides real-world insight to students many of whom are first-generation college-goers. He works with students as early as ninth grade and remains a consistent resource through senior year, helping with college and scholarship applications, career exploration, military options, and trade pathways.

Students can stop by his office, email him, or schedule one-on-one appointments, and Grau also visits every English class annually to ensure all students understand their options and available supports.

One of Grau’s largest responsibilities is overseeing Marina High School’s robust dual enrollment program in partnership with Monterey Peninsula College.

Currently, about 320 Marina High students take at least one MPC course many taking several. Ten MPC classes are taught directly on the Marina High campus by college professors, allowing students to experience college-level rigor in a familiar environment.

“The stigma of how difficult college classes can be goes away once students take that first course,” Grau said.

The results are impressive. Last year, only 10 students countywide earned either an associate’s degree or completed their general education requirements while still in high school six of those students were from Marina High.

Beyond academic rigor, dual enrollment provides significant financial benefits. All courses are transferable to UC and CSU campuses, saving families tens of thousands of dollars in tuition and allowing some students to enter college with junior standing.

Grau says some of his most rewarding moments come in the spring, when seniors receive college acceptances and finalize their plans. Marina High consistently sees students accepted to top universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA, and last year celebrated its first Harvard acceptance in a decade.

But Grau is equally committed when plans don’t go as expected.

“When one door closes, another opens,” he tells students. “There are so many great options out there, and many students end up happier than they ever imagined.”

In addition to his college and career work, Grau remains deeply involved in campus life. He is an assistant varsity basketball coach, advisor to the Black Student Union, co-advisor for the SOL Club, and frequently supports student-led outreach and cultural events, including upcoming visits to elementary schools for Black History Month.

He is also a Marina High parent with his twin daughters are freshmen on campus, giving him an even deeper connection to the school community.

What motivates Grau most, he says, is the students themselves.

“They have so much energy and ambition,” he said. “Sometimes they just need help figuring out which direction to go. When they come back excited because they passed a class or connected with a mentor, that’s what makes this job special.”

From MPUSD student to Navy veteran to college and career specialist, Mario Grau’s journey mirrors the very pathways he now helps Marina High students imagine and achieve for themselves.