Crystal Valles Co-Chair
Crystal Denise Valles is a senior at Theodore Roosevelt High School. She is the Valedictorian of her class and still manages to have time for extracurricular activities. Crystal was co-captain of Roosevelt’s Varsity Volleyball Team, helping lead her team to semifinals. Her outstanding academic standing is reflected in the rigorous courses she has taken throughout high school: 7 Advanced Placement classes including Calculus AB/ BC and Spanish Literature / Language. Crystal’s current goals include pursuing higher education in the fields of mathematics and teaching. As one of the Project Managers for the Girls Build LA project, Crystal’s key goal is to ensure that her teammates complete their tasks by a particular deadline and that the project runs smoothly. Her leadership skills is a strength she contributes to the team, for she is open to helping her teammates whenever they need assistance. Participating in the GBLA challenge is a venture that greatly impacted Crystal; she expressed, “This project excites me because we chose a topic that we are all very passionate and strong hearted about. All the girls have the qualifications and drive to accomplish such project together.” Alondra Martinez File Manager
Alondra is a proud senior at Roosevelt High School, whose ambition drives her to succeed in her academics everyday. She is also a passionate scholar athlete who is part of the cross country team. She describes cross country as “ my way of dealing with any stress and [it] puts me in a good mood.” Last year her team won 4th place at Eastern League Finals, which she considers an accomplishment because of the hard work she put into practicing everyday. With graduation approaching, Alondra envisions to continue her path of success into her higher-education goals. Her spirit of compassion and service led her to shadow various hospitals to experience the medical career. Thus, she hopes to pursue a medical career and intends to apply to nursing programs all over California; she hopes to receive acceptance letters soon! Her role as File Management Leader for the Girls Build L.A project is to keep files and passwords in order, an important role because it keeps her teammates organized and ready to work to get tasks completed. Alondra is optimistic of the amazing endeavors her team will accomplish throughout this year in GBLA. |
Xianna Alvarez New Member
Xianna was born in Nevada and grew up in Boyle Heights. She is currently attending Roosevelt High School. She is an incoming Freshman that previously attended Hollenbeck Middle School, where she was recognized for running the 2016 Los Angeles Marathon. Xianna is a very hardworking and dedicated girl. She doesn't give up on anything she puts her mind to, no matter how difficult things get. She keeps going and tries to go above and beyond in anything she does. She is very motivated to do the best she can in school. Along with attending Roosevelt High School, she also attends East Los Angeles College (ELAC). Since the sixth grade, Xianna has taken 4 courses: Chicano Studies, Kinesiology, Anthropology, and Health. She is a new member to the Girls Build LA project, but is very excited for the amazing things her group and herself will be able to accomplish throughout the year. Stacy Gandarilla Treasurer
Stacy Gandarilla, an undocumented student, embodies resilience. Though the realities of being undocumented is a major factor that limits her access to higher education, Stacy continues to break down barriers and systems. Thus, instead of being discouraged, she is driven to never give up even when events in life become difficult. Instead of putting all her schooling years of hard work to waste, Stacy finds opportunities to work towards her academic goals: She works for unpaid internships; she became part of the Hiring Committee at Roosevelt High School; she is a member of College Track, a program that allowed her to help undocumented students with useful resources needed for college; she holds a position in the school’s Leadership (ASB) Council. Her extensive academic and extracurricular resume reveal her ambition for a better future. Stacy is applying to USC, UC Berkeley and Cal Poly Pomona, all in hopes to become an entrepreneur after majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Computer Science. It is all falling into place for her, an undocumented girl pursuing a higher education. |
Selena Arredondo Treasurer
Selena Arredondo is an active student at Roosevelt High School. She carries on a sense of pride for her school, not just through spirit but also through sports. She is Captain of the volleyball team, which she has participated in during her 4 years at Roosevelt. Through the dedication and hard work of Selena’s team, the Volleyball team went to semi-finals. She was also a part of the softball and soccer team. Sports, however, are not the only activities Selena is interested in; she has many hobbies, such as, playing musical instruments and drawing. Moreover, her strengths as a scholar make Selena a unique role model to her peers. Her friendliness and commitment to help others are characteristics she hopes to inspire the younger generation of girls. Her own success is one way she hopes to encourage girls to be powerful leaders and spread positivity to overcome any female stereotypes. Through her participation in Girls Build LA she hopes to make a difference in the Boyle Heights community. Ashley Ramos Social Media Producer
Ashley Ramos was born and raised in Boyle Heights, a community in the East Los Angeles area. She is a senior at Roosevelt High School where she has embodied the characteristics of a well-rounded student. Ashley takes on rigorous courses like AP Statistics and AP Spanish Language, while also participating in several clubs and programs. She is a member of Amnesty International and Keystone, and interns with Voto Latino and College Track. Her diligence has led Ashley to maintain a 3.5 GPA. Despite academic and personal responsibilities, Ashley addresses them with a friendly and humorous personality. As the Social Media Leader for the GBLA project, Ashley captures photographs of the events and activities the team participates in. She is ambitious to accomplish her goal to attend a 4 year university where she hopes to discover what she is passionate about. Ashley knows she is capable of accomplishing this because of her adaptability to whatever obstacles she may face in college. |
Deanna Rodriguez Co-Chair
Deana Rodriguez is a senior at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. She is an outgoing, honest, and passionate person who is not afraid to speak her mind and fight for what she believes is right. To achieve her career and personal self-care goals, Deana tries to implement good faith and hard work into her daily lifestyle, and in effect it works best for her. The positive outcomes of her mindset and lifestyle are shown in her attitude toward difficult situations and how she approaches them.She is a passionate person who involves herself completely to address any projects she believes are significant. Her commitment carries over to her after school activities, where she is involved in:Students Taking Action, a club that advocates for student rights and connects the black and brown community; Skills USA, a competition where she will be delivering a speech and be tested on criminal justice where is also very involved in; Pilot Internship Program with LAUSD. Overall she is a hardworking, honest, and dedicated person who utilized her skills to serve as the GBLA Video Designer. Darlyn Ayala Secretary
Darlyn Ayala is a senior in Roosevelt High School and was born and raised in Los Angeles California. Over the years Darlyn has challenged herself academically by taking AP classes. Her future plans consist of going to a 4 year university to study environmental science. Her ultimate goal is to save the planet. She is currently the secretary in the GBLA project. There are a lot of inspirational people at Roosevelt High School from the students to the staff but Darlyn sticks out. She’s everything from smart to outgoing. The reason I believe Darlyn is the most inspirational person at Roosevelt High is honestly not because of her grades or her extracurricular activities but her dedication to Roosevelt High. She travels 30 miles everyday to come to school and still gets good grades. Darlyn acts like it’s not a big deal but I know it is. She leaves her house at 6:30am and gets home at around 7-8pm. Somehow she still manages to keep her grades up and stay active around school. If that isn’t dedication then I don’t know what is. Darlyn inspires me to try my hardest no matter how tough I think my situation is. |
Honey Perez |