DRAFTING A FUTURE : EXACTING TEACHER HELPS RESEDA HIGH DOMINATE ARCHITECTURE CONTEST.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

Unlike some of his neighborhood peers, 18-year-old Jose Naranjo does not get high on life by toting a gun. Instead, he wields a pen.

The soft-spoken teen picked up drafting at Reseda High School, where he is a senior. His parents chose to send him there, fearful of the gangs that permeate their Los Angeles neighborhood.

Last week, Naranjo and five other teen-agers from the Valley high school were given certificates of commendation by the Los Angeles City Council.

They had won six out of eight architectural drafting prizes in a recent contest sponsored by the Women's Council of the Building Industry Association in Calabasas.

``It was great,'' said Naranjo, who credits his teacher for the win. ``He gives you a lot of confidence. The way he teaches makes you work harder.''

Naranjo is talking about Bela Palagyi, a 30-year veteran at Reseda High.

In the past 25 years, Palagyi's students have been winning architectural drafting competitions locally, regionally and nationally.

``I holler a lot and I demand a lot from the students,'' the Hungarian-born teacher said. ``I challenge the kids more than they think they are capable of doing. I expect them to do it as well as I can and it won't hurt my feelings if they can do it better than I can.''

At the BIA competition, Los Angeles area drafting students were asked to draw plans for a one-story, 2,000-square-foot, single-family house. They had to submit a floor plan and an elevation, the front view of the house that usually includes landscaping.

Six high schools entered the competition. There were 31 entries.

Naranjo won second place in the technical category. First and third places also went to Reseda High students: James Dowgiallo, 17, and Norbert Duba, 18. Julio Zumba, 18, received an honorable mention.

In the creative category, Reseda took first and second place: Gilbert Alajarin, 18, and Khaled Kator, 18. Third place and honorable mention went to Ian Watstein of Cleveland High and Paul Johnson of Oxnard High.

Naranjo drew a Spanish-style house with benches in the front entry and a covered patio in the back. Alajarin took the top prize for creativity for an innovation: A bridge that linked the master bedroom to the pool area.

Awards were cash prizes ranging from $100 to $750.

The Reseda sweep doesn't surprise Ken Stockton, owner of an architectural and general contracting business in Canoga Park, who was Palagyi's student in 1971. He often hires Reseda students, one of whom has been with him for 10 years.

Palagyi ``is really in love with the architectural field,'' Stockton said. ``He motivates the students. . . . He had a way of pushing you to your limit.''

He credits Palagyi for fanning his budding interest in the field, setting him on this path for life.

``He set up my first interview (with an architectural firm),'' said Stockton, 43. ``I was hired on the spot.''

Palagyi motivates students by setting his standards high and caring about his students' personal lives. Many graduates remain his friends, Stockton said.

One time, when word got out that Palagyi wanted to build a garage with a loft, a bunch of his former students got together to help him, Stockton said.

He runs into many former students in the business. He estimates that at least 100 have made architecture or construction their career.

Indeed, Palagyi's efforts are fruitful. But decades of teaching and winning contests does take a toll, the teacher confessed.

``I'm tired,'' Palagyi said.

``It takes a lot of work to direct these young people. Sometimes they want to be directed, sometimes they don't,'' he explained. ``But I overpower them.''

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Photo

PHOTO Drafting teacher Bela Palagyi is joined by students,from left, Khaled Kator, Adrian Lepe, Gustavo Tepetla, Oscar Rivera, James Dowgiallo and Jose Naranjo.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News