Royals 19

&&& &&&&& &&& is where I have spent all 4 years of my high school career. During my time here, I’ve learned the importance of being a leader and not a follower. My goal when leaving middle school was to continue to be involved in clubs and organizations that are beneficial to my education. Sports were also one of my main focuses because they pushed me to better myself and to stay disciplined. I achieved this goal by sacrificing any other extracurriculars that didn’t help me in some way of fashion. At first it was difficult to do this because I had so many things going on in my life at once, but I knew it was the right decision. Doing this furthered my drive to not only join these clubs, but to also make a difference to them in any form of leadership that I could.

My most important leadership experience out of all the organizations though was my role in BLA, a group my school was able to develop this school year. BLA stands for Black Leaders of America. Being a part of BLA changed my perspective in many ways while being at my school. For instance, I learned the demographics for my school and how that has affected many students. Our population in &&&&&&&&&&& is predominantly Hispanic and has been for the last decade. Next in line are Caucasian students, and then lastly are African American students, which only make up about 11% of the student body. Due to this, many students have felt isolated and as if they can’t be themselves because of stereotypes. It at times has been difficult not being able to have a family-dynamic in school because of these demographics.

BLA was started to unite black students to potentially make a difference in our school. Even though BLA is led by African American students, it is not secluded just to this race. Allies are always welcome to support the lives of our black student body and to help change the racial stereotype as well. When our club was founded, I was blessed with the opportunity to be elected as vice president. After all the trials of our “election” I was awarded this role and have never taken it lightly. Since this club is predominantly black and student led, it has been hard at times to get support from some administrators, teachers, and even students. Though this is true, we never let this get in the way of the work we were trying to get done. Even through all the obstacles our sponsors, the president, and I the vice president have made an effort to never back down. To me this is my greatest leadership role because in all the other clubs I’ve been in, I’ve never had to fight this strongly to make something happen. BLA this year was granted the opportunity to show the importance of black history month in our school and not just the trauma of being African American, but the blessing that comes with it as well. We hosted a black history month pep assembly with a guest appearance from Bryan B. Shynin, did a spirit week for the month, and hosted a welcome breakfast during finals for interested students.

I love the change I am seeing within my high school because of this club and how much closer it has made me to my fellow black peers. They are now more than just another black student in my class, they’re family. What I’ve learned the most while participating in BLA is to stand up not just for yourself, but also for anyone who is on your team. Teamwork makes the dreamwork, so support plays a big factor in success. Being able to have a voice within the club as vice president was an amazing feeling. My group members would come to me for advice and ask for any guidance they may have needed, whether it be club related or not. That’s the most important part out of all of this to me. Making a difference and finding love and support through people who are like you does great things for the human mind. I’m inspired now more than ever to further my education after high school and even after my undergraduate years because I see where leadership can take you. I want to continue to be a role model to my younger siblings and anyone who may have their eyes on me, to prove that they can do it too. My education has always been very important to me in all of my years of schooling, but being a part of a group who I consider to be prestigious makes it that much more meaningful. The acceptance from this club that I have received truly inspires me to take my education to the next level and continue to join organizations like this while I am at an institution. I’m very grateful to have been a part of Black Leaders of America and to be a leader within my school.