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Elizabeth Gonzalez, 20 Latinitas Under 20

January 9, 2012 By latinitasadmin 1 Comment

Name: Elizabeth Gonzalez
College: Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Maine)
Age: 19
Hometown: El Paso, Texas

Volunteer Experience:
She has volunteered extensively throughout her life with the following groups: Animal Rescue League, Corpus Christi Church Can Food Drive, La Posada Home Inc. Shelter for Battered Woman, Ascarate Park Environmental clean up, DaVita Kat Walk and Latinitas Magazine Writer & Mentor.

Honors:
She recently won 3rd place in the Future Business Leaders of America for her community service project. In addition, Elizabeth has participated in the Science Bowl and in UIL competitions in current events and vocabulary. Elizabeth’s biggest accomplishment was being accepted into the The Princeton Journalism Program. This is a highly competitive summer writing camp, and Elizabeth was selected out of national competition.

What challenges has she overcome?:
“One of the biggest obstacles I have overcome is myself. To explain that more clearly it is a more personal obstacle rather than a physical one. When I grew out of my shell and realized that the only one stopping myself was me, I was able to face my fears and achieve aspects I wouldn’t have believed I was able to do so before. I gained a new confidence, really saw my goals more clearly and set out to accomplish them. I became more sociable and outgoing. I participated in school activities seeing that there really was nothing to be afraid of. I guess getting out of my comfort zone has been my greatest obstacle.”

What makes her a leader?
Elizabeth Elizabeth is a smart and diligent student highly committed to furthering her abilities through education. Elizabeth has been challenging herself by taking advanced college courses throughout her high school career as a student at the EPCC Valle Verde Early College High School. She is not afraid to tackle new challenges. She was granted admission into the rigorous early college program at the El Paso Community College and has gained 54 hours of college credit. She has also been on the Dean’s list. She is committed to continually developing her skills and always learning.

Elizabeth is the definition of a role model. She inspires her peers to try their best when put in front of an obstacle. As a member of the Latinitas Leadership Institute, she played a key role in organizing a youth-led girl empowerment conference for middle school girls in our program. She also mentored younger girls enrolled in our after-school programs, summer camps and leadership institute by guiding small team activities and serving on leadership panels. As an intern and reporter for our digital magazine she has written informative articles for publication on topics such as culture, education and art. Throughout her involvement with our group, she has demonstrated a commitment to contributing her talents to help further our mission and to help motivate other Latinitas. Because of her dedication to volunteering, she was chosen for the city-wide Mayor’s Top 100 Teens group. She recently won 3rd place in the Future Business Leaders of America for her community service project. Furthermore, she has volunteered extensively throughout her life with groups such as Latinitas, Animal Rescue League, Corpus Christi Church Can Food Drive, Corpus Christi Saints Festival, La Posada Shelter for Battered Woman and community clean-ups.

What extra-curricular activities is she involved in?

She has taken on leadership roles within her school and is willing to take on new challenges. She is deeply passionate about giving back to her community and bringing awareness to community issues. She writes for her school newspaper and aspires to be a journalist. Her hobbies include photography, writing and watching independent movies. Elizabeth is involved in numerous extra-curricular activities on her campus and in the community. Her involvement includes serving as the Secretary of Student Council, the President of the Environmental Club, President of the National English Honor Society, a youth mentor for Club Latinitas, a member of the Teen Leadership Institute and a member of the National Honor Society.

How is she a good example and positive role model to other girls?
Her proudest achievement has been her positive influence on the education of her younger cousins. Her educational achievements in being accepted into the Valle Verde Early College High School and her plans to continue her college education have served as inspiration for her younger family members. “This is something really unplanned, so that definitely motivates me to strive and hope to show them to make better decisions, and hope to do so for younger girls as well,” shares Elizabeth.

Nominated by: Alicia Rascon

Filed Under: Her History, Leading Latinas, Teens

Blogger Sara Inés Calderón

December 20, 2011 By lauradonnelly Leave a Comment

Latina Bloguera What was the origin of NewsTaco.com? Why did you start it?

NewsTaco.com grew out of a frustration with not being able to either see ourselves or our communities reflected in the news, but also wanting to get a little bit more out of the news, namely a clue as to what was happening with Latinos across the country.

I and the other co-founders wanted to provide a platform for Latinos across the country to be informed, to meet each other, inform each other and share their unique perspectives.

What do you reference from middle and high school when generating and seeking content for News Taco?

Definitely one of the big drivers for me personally with regard to News Taco is the feeling I had when I was in eighth grade that I didn’t have anyone who was “like me” to look up to. Even in high school, when I was searching for Latino rock bands (this is before there was iTunes and Facebook, mind you) I felt like I wanted to be able to imagine myself in bigger and better spaces by seeing a role model who I could relate to. So there’s definitely that.

As far as high school, I had a great English teacher — Mr. Sullivan — who really taught me about the idea of writing as a science. The idea that the words could be constructed and manipulated, that writing didn’t just happen, really transformed my life at that point.  Of course, I didn’t truly grasp how much his class changed my life until much later, when I was a professional journalist, but these experiences when you are young do count for so much.

What is your overall mission with the site/blog?’

We brand ourselves as “The Latino Daily” because we want to be the go to place for news and information from a Latino perspective. The name News Taco has offended some people, but what we explain on our site (http://www.newstaco.com/about/) is that we chose the name because we wanted the website to be a taco for your mind, for your heart, in the sense that the tacos you eat for food nourish you in just the right way. For example, nothing makes me feel quite as at home and comforted and as happy as a taquito de frijole; we wanted to capture that magic with News Taco.

What has been the most rewarding part of creating your own media?

What’s truly surprised me with regard to News Taco is that my favorite part of the entire enterprise has been to promote other Latino writers and artists across the country. I thought I would enjoy writing and generating my own content, but what I’ve truly appreciated was being able to meet and work with Latina and Latino writers from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Arizona, Texas and everywhere in between.

There’s so much talent out there, and as I’ve begun working with all of these talented Latinos, I’ve realized that this is truly one of News Taco’s core values: to be a platform to promote Latinos across the country. Thus, the most rewarding part of generating my own media has been giving a voice to other Latinos who needed a platform and watching them grow as writers and in popularity.

What’s on the horizon for news taco? Audio? more video?

We’re definitely hoping to do more. More video would be great, more news, more writers, more perspective, more offerings. We’re hoping to be able to offer more networking opportunities for the News Taco community and then going into 2012 we’re planning on extensive coverage pertaining to Latino voters.

Where are you from? Name a few personal interests you have.
My family is from Eagle Pass, Texas, but I grew up mostly in LA. I then graduated high school in San Antonio, spent time professionally in Brownsville, Austin and again San Antonio, and am now back in LA.

I love lots of things, but work too much these days to pursue any of them, ha ha!  I like martial arts, reading novels, dangly earrings (I have an extensive collection), museums, action movies, good conversation and spending time with my loved ones. I come from a long line of homebodies. :0

Filed Under: Leading Latinas

My Hero

February 20, 2011 By Latinitas Readers Leave a Comment

Rachel Gomez, age 15
My hero is my dad. He is somewhat tall and has short black hair. My dad and I like to cook, play basketball and create art. He helps me by motivating me to try new things. One of the things I like about him is that even though I annoy him sometimes he is always there to help me. He makes me feel special by giving me money and letting me do stuff with my friends. He likes to watch TV, mostly soccer. I look up to him because he teaches me how to be a respectful person and tells me how life really is, which prepares me for when I go out in the real world. My dad is a chef and he likes his job. My favorite memories of him are when he teaches me how to cook.

Sami Cerna age 15
My hero is Anahi (Mia); she’s Mexican and a professional singer. She has light brown hair, blue eyes, and a light completion. Anahi and I have many things in common; like we both love to sing, we like to act, and we love the color pink! She helps me because her songs help me when I’m feeling sad, mad, and happy. They calm me down. I like her because she is a really good singer. She makes me feel special because I can relate to her songs, even though I’ve never met her. I think she is unique because she dresses the way she wants to and acts the way she wants, not caring what people say. Her hobbies are shopping, dancing, singing, acting, and modeling. Her favorite things are: Disney characters like Tinker Bell, her favorite music is pop. I look up to her because she is a very strong woman. She was anorexic but she knew she had to fight it and she did. Her job is a singer, actress, and model.

By Katrina Garza, age 15
My hero would have to be my mom, because she has such a generous heart. She will give and give till she has nothing left. And even then she will still give somebody the shirt off of her back if need be. She is a pretty chill person to hang out with. She is like me pretty much except a little shorter. She teaches me the things I need to know and things I don’t know yet. I love hanging out with my mama and even though we can get on each other’s nerves she still my mama and will love me till the earth stops spinning. I can always count on her to be there for me no matter what time of day it is or what it’s I’ve done. My mama will text me while I’m in class and I have to watch out for the teacher so I don’t get caught. I remember one time she told me to be careful and watch out where I was going and what happens? She ends up stubbing her toe. It was really funny. I love my mama and I wrote this so she could go to work and brag about her kid writes papers about her. Just kidding, I will always love my mama for being her.

February 2011

Filed Under: Her History, Leading Latinas