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Congratulations to the Young Women's Leadership Academy

Class of 2021!

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Young Women’s Leadership Academy Graduation
Wednesday, June 9 @ 7 p.m. 
Alamo Stadium
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujj7g4TyVhw

YWLA Class of 2021 Valedictorian
Caroline Evangelista

In her own words...

Two warring sides battled within me, and both won. 

The story begins with nine-year-old me who only knew that 1+1=2, and that phonics was pronounced ‘f-onics’ and not ‘p-onics’. I knew I was bilingual in English and Portuguese but wondered why my classmates didn’t know where Brazil was. I barely knew who the current US president was, but could read at a high school level. I was a writer, but didn’t know it yet.

When I settled down in the US after an early life of missionary work and traveling, I was baffled by the simplicity of a “regular” life. We were always on the road in Brazil, or in a different country, so having to sit at a desk for eight hours a day at American school did not bode well with me. My usual story writing sessions turned into a hectic 7am routine that left no time for creativity, which led me to write my stories during math and science lessons that I could barely sit through. I would share my collection of short stories with my classmates, and then translate them into Portugese for my parents.

 For the first few years after we arrived in the US, we were poor. Since we didn’t have a green card, my parents couldn’t work “official” jobs, leading my dad to work at our church that didn’t pay him very well. WIC and food stamps were terms I knew much too well, and our tiny apartment was buzzing with rodents and rats. Besides the obvious struggle of waking up next to a herd of cockroaches, I had a miserable internal yearning to go back home and travel. I wanted to relive the days in Brazil when I would wake up and smell Pão de Queijo from the local market. I wanted to see the cluttered streets of Campo Belo and my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents again. Ultimately, I was afraid that I would be stuck here forever; to me, this was not the final destination.

The longer I stayed, however, the more I fell into an American way of life. When I was 12, we all finally got our green cards, and my parents got better jobs and could provide better food, school supplies, and even rented a new house - one with fewer rodents. School became my priority, leaving less room to worry about my identity or how much I missed my previous life. My Portuguese began to diminish, and while I still understood my parents, speaking and writing required more brainwork than before. This angered me: Why was I starting to forget everything that made me unique? Brazil was my thing, and it would always be; why couldn’t I control my inevitable descent into an American life?  

In my sophomore year, I enrolled in a creative writing class on a whim, which reintroduced me to the wonderful world of words. For a while, I had forgotten how refreshing it was. Writing became a new refuge from my own conflicting identities, for with it, I didn’t have to succumb to any negative image of myself that I believed; I could design my own person. I could invent entire worlds with a stroke of a pen, and that pleased me, for control was something I lacked. I was transported into a reality of my own, as if I could be the director of my own movie, controlling the characters while also maintaining an air of surprise and suspense. It was as if the words on the page reciprocated my emotions, and I couldn’t have felt more understood.

My newfound love for writing presented me with the fact that I’m not who I thought I was. I’m not fully Brazilian, nor am I fully American: I am both, which makes me unique either way. Brazil was the beginning of my story - they were chapters of my life that explained how I came to be. However, America is my future - chapters of my life that are yet to be written, and a story that I can create on my own. Through writing, I was able to change my self-perception, and I believe I can change the entire world through words. I believe that home is a place you build on your own; it exists outside where you came from or where you are. To me, home is a pen and paper, my friends and family, and the pleasure I get from helping those who need it. Home is who I am, and I will keep writing my own story until the book is closed, and I finally put down my pen.

Senior Class Officers
Sandra Jane Mata-President
Karla Hernandez-Vice President
Jade Anguiano-Secretary
Kaitlyn Lomas-Treasurer
Cristina Naranjo-Historian
Nadia Gonzales-Community Service Chair
Citlali Moya-Event Coordinator
Mia Pena-Spirit Chair

Class Song
“History”
by One Direction

Class Motto
“There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.”
-Bosa Sebele

 

School Colors
Navy, Red, White

School Mascot 
Cardinal

YWLA Pledge
I challenge you to watch your thoughts, they become your words
Watch your words, they become your actions
Watch your actions, they become your habits
Watch your habits, they become your character
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

Young Women's Leadership Academy
Class of 2021

Valedictorian
Caroline Evangelista

Salutatorian
Nadia Gonzales

YWLA 2021 Top Graduates (Summa Cum Laude)

 Brenna Brown
Armani Carreon
Sophia Godinez

YWLA 2021 Top Graduates (Magna Cum Laude)

Yareli Aleman
Savannah Gonzalez
Citlali Moya
Mya Barrera
Jaelyn Hernandez
Jessica Olivas
Madeline Cepeda
Karla Hernandez
Natalia Ortiz
T’Kaila Curtis
Nina Hernandez
Dynasty Perez
Dumari De Leon
Esmeralda Herrera
Bennett Smith
Emily De Leon
Katarina Lazo
Julie Tift
Shreya Dheenan
Sandra Mata
Ariale Vargas

YWLA 2021 Top Graduates (Cum Laude)

Jade Anguiano
Anna Isabel Hernandez
Cristina Naranjo
Jacqueline Campos
Autumn Kretzschmar
Mari Ochoa
Denise Dominguez
Kaitlyn Lomas
Crystal Polanco
Claudia Garai
Nayeli Lopez-Romero
Summer Salazar
Mariyah Garcia
Elianna Meza
Larissa Terrazas

 

Graduation Candidates

Yareli Eunice Aleman
Jade Andrea Anguiano
Mya Isabella Barrera
Brenna Kate Brown
Jacqueline Paige Campos
Armani Abygail Carreon
Madeline Grace Cepeda
T’Kaila Alarice LeBreAnTi Curtis
Dumari De Leon
Emily De Leon
Shreya Dheenan
Denise Renee Dominguez
Caroline Evangelista
Claudia Marie Garai
Mariyah Lorraine Garcia
Nayeli Isabel Garcia
Sophia Elisa Godinez
Nadia Elise Gonzales
Savannah Nicole Gonzalez
Anna Isabel Hernandez
Jaelyn Elizabeth Hernandez
Karla Hernandez
Nina Gabriela Hernandez
Esmeralda Del Carmen Herrera
Autumn Kretzschmar
Katarina Elese Lazo
Kaitlyn Peaches Lomas
Nayeli Lopez-Romero
Sandra Jane Mata
Elianna Janelle Meza
Citlali Sofia Moya
Isabella Christine Muñoz
Cristina Naranjo
Viviana Rose Niño
Mari Cruz Ochoa
Jessica Michelle Olivas
Natalia Azucena Ortiz
Mia Marie Peña
Dynasty Sky Perez
Crystal Rose Polanco
Summer Oralia Salazar
Bennett Smith
Larissa Noemi Terrazas
Julie Marie Tift
Ariale Lynne Vargas

San Antonio Independent School District

Board Of Trustees

Patti Radle............President

Arthur V. Valdez............Vice President

Leticia Ozuna............Trustee

Sarah Sorensen............Trustee

Alicia Sebastian-Perry............Trustee

Christina Martinez............Trustee

Ed Garza............Trustee

Superintendent of Schools

Pedro Martinez

Deputy Superintendent  ~ Office of Academics

Patricia Salzmann

Associate Superintendent of Talent and Innovation

Mohammed Choudhury

Young Women's Leadership Academy Head of Schools

Delia McLerran 

Young Women's Leadership Principal

Regina Arzamendi

Copyright © {{YEAR}} San Antonio Independent School District. All rights reserved.

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