HCC STL Foundation High School HLI Bio Book: Class V

High School Hispanic Leadership Institute

Summer 2021 Bio Book

CLASS V Sponsored by:

PAVING THE WAY FOR THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW The HCC STL Foundation has established the High School Hispanic Leadership Institute as a skillsbased leadership training program with the goal to develop the next generation of Hispanic Leaders in the St. Louis community. These individuals will be entering post-secondary institutions and the workforce. Thus, this program will equip them with resources to support their personal and professional development.

The High School Hispanic Leadership Institute focuses on three core competences: leading oneself, leading others and leading an organization. The purpose of the program and these competences is to provide students with tools to establish personal values, improve communication and promote strategic decisionmaking.

The program offers students relevant professional development trainings led by industry professionals and distinguished professors with years of experience in diverse fields and academic settings. Students will also have the opportunity to visit various college campuses each day and connect with university professionals who will be able to share college insight and university specific information.

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HS HLI SESSION SCHEDULE AND TOPICS Monday, June 14 Maximizing Your Cultural Diversity Tuesday, June 15 Redirecting Negative Behavior Effective Communication Wednesday, June 16 DiSC Assessment The Importance of Self - Awareness Thursday, June 17 Professionalism Financial Literacy Friday, June 18 The Brand Called You Saturday, June 19 Presenting with Power Self-Mastery

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ESTHEFANI AGUILAR Esthefani Aguilar will be a Senior at Gateway STEM high school in St. Louis Missouri this August. Esthefani was born in Michoacan Mexico. She now lives in south side St louis.

During her senior year Esthefani will take Ap calculus and English Lit as well as her major in CNA. She is very interested in becoming a pediatrician and helping kids and their families. Esthefani also takes JROTC classes this fall will be her 4th year in the JROTC program. She has volunteered in the Veterans parade downtown.

Last school year she helped her sister get through virtual school.

Esthefani has volunteered outside of school at her local church St Antony of Padua for 6 years and counting. During the summer she volunteer in the church pantry. She was also an athlete in her middle school years. Esthefani played soccer for 2 years as well as volleyball for in her 8th grade year.

When Esthefani is not volunteering she likes to binge watch Netflix shows and run at the park with her family. She also tried baking during quarantine. Esthefani loves vintage and retro designs.

During quarantine she redecorated her room as an 80’s theme. In her own time, she loves to do her makeup as well as making TikTok content.

After graduation Esthefani plans to go to a college in Washington University in St louis. She plans to study medicine in becoming a pediatrician or a nurse midwife. Esthefani always dreamed of helping children and people.

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KAREN BARBOSA Karen Barbosa will be a sophomore at Collinsville High School in Collinsville, Illinois in August. She was born and raised in Caseyville, Illinois.

During her sophomore year, Karen will take advanced classes that include Spanish , English Honors, Algebra Honors, and Chemistry Honors. She has a strong interest in language and reading. Karen tries to be as involved as possible. Due to the pandemic not much was available. She was able to participate in student council, key club, and became president of her class.

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Aside from school activities, Karen is joining HHH Summer Camp another year to be a counselor for preschoolers. During the school year, she assists in an afterschool class. She runs errands or takes over the class when needed. Karen helps with her sister’s pet-sitting business. She feeds, plays, and watches them. Lastly, she plans to attend training to also care for dogs at a shelter.

When Karen is not volunteering, she loves to read, dance, study fashion, run online blogs, or hangout with friends.

After graduating, Karen plans to attend Washington University or The University in Chicago. Although Karen is divided between two career plans, she plans to either pick fashion or psychiatry.

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MARIANA BRICEÑO Mariana Briceño will be a senior in high school this fall. Although she was born in Caracas, Venezuela, she now lives with in South Summit and joyfully call it her second home.

Even though the subjects may be tough, she will keep studying Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Mathematics to improve her GPA as she is strongly interested in the S.T.E.M. area.

Also, Mariana likes to express her feelings through activities like dancing, exercising, baking, and painting.

Since she wants to give back to her community, she hopes to volunteer as a baker in an organization which provides sources (water, food) to malnourished, homeless people.

In addition, she desires to tutor other students in need. She wishes to volunteer with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) as another way to aid the St. Louis’ community.

After graduation, Mariana plans on attending Missouri S&T as a Chemical Engineering student. She also has a string passion for animals and helping other human beings.

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CATALINA ENZ Catalina Enz will be a sophomore at Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield, Missouri. She was born in Columbus Ohio, then moved to Milton Keynes, England, when she was 11 years old, she moved to Rosario, Argentina, and finally she came to live here in Chesterfield, MO in 2017.

She will be taking honors English, AP world history, and possibly honors introduction to engineering and design in 2021/2022.

These subjects are in line with her interest in a career related to design. She enjoyed being a girl Scout for 3 years where she was involved with community projects.

Catalina was supposed to volunteer in a pet shelter, as she is very empathetic towards animals, but due to Covid she wasn’t able to complete that goal. She applied to be a volunteer at a summer camp for kids this year.

Catalina loves painting, drawing, playing the guitar, cooking, and spending time with friends. Although Catalina hasn’t decided what she wants to do after high school yet, she is leaning toward being in a design college studying her passion and eventually becoming an architect or an interior designer.

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SOPHIA FRANCIS Sophia Francis will be a senior at Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, Missouri this fall. When she was two years old, Sophia lived in Colombia for a year, then moved back to St. Louis where she now resides.

Senior year for Sophia will include two AP courses, ACP Novels and AP Statistics. In addition to these academically demanding classes, she has chosen to focus on technology-focused ones such C++ Programming and Broadcast Technology.

In addition to volunteering with her Chamber Choir, Sophia has assisted many different communities in the St. Louis area. She has entertained patients with the World Pediatric Organization as well as cleaned highways and rivers with the Great Rivers Greenway.

To improve her writing skills, Sophia completed the High School Creative Writing Essentials course in partnership with SLUH. If she is not creating a new story, Sophia is most likely mocking horror movies.

Sophia is undecided as to which university she will attend.

However, she is interested in the field of communications and is determined to find the right fit soon.

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CHRISTOPHER GARCIA Christopher Garcia will be a Freshman at Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Missouri this upcoming fall. Born & raised in Saint Louis, he now resides in South City.

During his Senior year of high school, Christopher took several advanced/dual credit courses which included Principles of Microeconomics, Pre-Calculus, and Western Civilization. He also partook in varying extracurriculars at school which include Scholar Bowl, Marianist LIFE Club, and the St. Mary’s Leadership Program.

He’s always had an interest in becoming a leader, thus partaking in these extracurriculars to get to know more about himself.

Aside from extracurriculars and academics, Christopher enjoys volunteering in his local community. He has been a volunteer at the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action (MICA) Project that serves lower class immigrants since August 2019 and has also volunteered at Saint Cecilia Parish. He enjoys volunteering with organizations that coincide with his beliefs, social justice wise.

When Christopher is not volunteering and has spare time, he enjoys reading new literature from around the world, engaging in photography, listening to records on the record player, and traveling around the world.

Christopher has committed to Saint Louis University and plans to major in Political Science on the Pre-Law track in order to fulfill his mission of becoming an immigration attorney.

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NATALIA VELÁZQUEZ GONZÁLEZ Natalia graduated from Gateway Legacy Christian Academy in May and will be a Freshman at Saint Louis Community College this fall.

She was born on June 20, 2003, in Mexico City, but now lives in Saint Louis, Missouri, in the pursuit of finishing her education and the promise of a better future.

Natalia is interested in pursuing a degree in Food Science at Mizzou after completing her generals at Saint Louis Community College.

She has done volunteer service at South City Hospital helping the Spanish speakers fill out forms and explaining all the procedures they will undergo for their Covid-19 vaccines. She has also been volunteering with the “Adopt a Highway” program in community clean-up.

After finishing high school, Natalia will be attending summer classes in the morning at the Community College to obtain credits for college, and in the afternoons, she will be working part-time so she can save money for her college education.

From a very young age, she was interested in cooking, food presentation and the blending of flavors. She belongs to cooking clubs in St. Louis. She is going to start golf classes this summer and seeks to belong to the St. Louis Golf Club.

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ISABEL JIMENEZ-GUTIERREZ Isabel Jimenez-Gutierrez will be a freshman at Lafayette high school in St. Louis, Missouri this fall. Born in St. Louis. Isabel has a passion for all things science. One of her desires is to be a science teacher when she grows up.

She's very excited for biology next year. Isabel also enjoys talking/presenting in front of others. She loves the nervous thrill and loves sharing her ideas.

She has danced at Dance Inc. for two years and is a black belt in tae kwon do. Isabel has always had a special place in her heart for dance ever since she was a little girl and recently started taking dance seriously.

When she's not dancing, she likes to skateboard with her friends or collect crystals. Isabel would love to volunteer as a Big Sister. It's a volunteer group that lets younger troubled kids hang out with someone older to help with their behavior.

After high school, Isabel is still open to experiencing life and wants to continue her research into her career, currently she knows she is passionate about dancing and science. Isabel will attempt to always be open to what life brings to her.

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TANIA PEREZ LANDEIRO Tania Perez Landeiro will be a sophomore at Webster Groves Highschool in St. Louis, Missouri this fall. She was born in Havana, Cuba, and now lives with her family in St. Louis.

During her Middle School years, she was able to take Advanced Math courses like Algebra, and Honors Geometry. She has been interested in taking further advanced classes and hopes to continue her Mathematical field.

Tania is also interested in Fine Arts and has taken Music and personal Art Classes for years. She has also participated in many Art competitions like Paint Webster and the 2017 5th Grade Missouri Arbor Day Poster Contest, which resulted in her winning the Technical Merit Award and People’s choice award. Tania has attended and has taken part in Leadership clubs, and Junior Honor Society programs.

She has also volunteered in programs donating to St. Louis New American Academies to help their students with their needs and has talked about her own experiences coming to America and learning the language.

In her personal time, Tania enjoys cooking, as well as practicing her artistic abilities by painting anything that surrounds her. After graduating, Tania is planning to attend Saint Louis University. She is not certain of what specific field she wants to take but has a field in Arts in mind. Tania wants her career to be led by her passion.

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ZORAYA PIEDRA Zoraya Piedra will be a senior this upcoming fall at McKinley CLA High School in St. Louis Missouri. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, but lived and grew up in St. Louis since she was a kid.

Zoraya has a growing passion to learn more about the S.T.E.M fields, she tries to find opportunities to get more involved and gain new knowledge every day. As a dual enrollment student at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park, she has the opportunity to take some courses that would allow her to explore these fields. For her senior year, she’ll be taking General Chemistry and Introduction to Astronomy.

Zoraya’s main goal this summer is to get more involved with her community. She is a current member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, where she is able to find problems within her community and put her chapter’s solutions into action.

During her spare time, you will find Zoraya working at her parttime job, catching up with her reading, and visiting her family.

After graduation, Zoraya plans to go to Missouri University of Science & Technology. Although she is undecided in which field she will major in, her heart will always be set in Aerospace science.

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ISABEL REHG This fall Isabel Rehg will be a sophomore at the Illinois Math and Science Academy. She was born in Trenton, Illinois and still currently resides there.

Isabel has lived in the metro-east for her whole life. Isabel is passionate about topics such as political science and international relations and has taken courses at her local community college to further pursue her interests.

She is also interested in computer science and codes during school and in her free time. Isabel finds it important to be present within her community and has volunteered at different organizations that work to provide food and necessities to those who need it.

In her free time, Isabel enjoys reading, watching movies, and going hiking with her family around the St. Louis area. After high school, Isabel hopes to attend Washington University in St. Louis to study law.

Isabel hopes as she progresses through high school and university, she can continue to offer support to those in her community and create positive change through the usage of leadership skills.

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ALESSANDRA ROJAS Alessandra Rojas will be a senior at Affton High School in Saint Louis, Missouri this upcoming fall. She was born and raised in Saint Louis, moving around a couple times from here and there knowing the South City and Affton area pretty well. Recently, she moved into a new area in Shrewsbury that she is excited to get to know.

During senior year, Alessandra plans on giving it her all and putting her best effort into ending the school year on a good note, like retaking her ACT. She plans on taking AP Psychology which really interests her, despite the hard curriculum ahead of her. She really likes her English Literature classes as well as History.

During her Senior year she also plans on upping her community service hours required for the A+ program that she’s in. She really enjoys helping others and it comes naturally to her so she will clearly have fun.

After high school she plans on attending community college, still unsure on what career she wants to pursue but she will pursue it with determination and strive.

When she is not working at her family’s restaurant or at her other part time job at Panera she is at home enjoying her time with her family and her dog, Thor. She likes hanging out with her friends going to parks and enjoys going on car rides listening to music and being with her loved. ones.

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BEATRIZ TOURINHO Beatriz Tourinho has just graduated from Marquette High School in St. Louis, MO this spring. She was born in Salvador, Brazil and now lives in St. Louis, which is now her second home. Throughout her time at Marquette, Beatriz has taken multiple honors and advanced classes, such as pre calc, AP Statistics, honors chemistry, and more. She graduated with a cumulative GPA of 4.1 and participated in clubs like student council and key club. She has always loved math and fine arts and intends to further her knowledge with the arts.

Outside of school, Beatriz is very involved with her community, especially the Hispanic community. She works with and volunteers with the nonprofit organization Viva Brasil as a Portuguese teacher to kids and is a part of their digital marketing internship program.

Along with these, Beatriz also volunteers to help Viva Brasil with their community events. She is also very interested in fashion and has had the opportunity of being a part of the Ambassadors program at Nordstrom for a year.

Beatriz has always loved fashion and its concept. She loves studying and researching to have a better understating in such a complex art form. She also has partaken in school fashion shows and fashion program, alongside working in retail. Outside of fashion, she loves spending time with friends and family and traveling to see new places and cultures. Now after graduation, Beatriz plans to spend a semester in Brazil to connect more with her culture and get people. After Brazil, she plans to come back to the US to study Fashion Merchandising.

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LILLIAN VALLINA Lillian Vallina is going into her Senior year at Collinsville High School in Collinsville, Illinois this coming school year. She was born in Maryville, Illinois and has lived in Caseyville, Illinois her entire life.

During her academic career Lillian has taken many advanced courses and is enrolled in AP calculus and AP biology for her senior year. Lillian has a love for mathematics and hopes to later pursue a career evolving mathematics.

Lillian has many different experiences with community involvement.

She has participated in many local food pantry programs. She has also volunteered her time working to raise money for people in crisis or need. In addition, she has taken time to volunteer at her local elementary school.

Her spare time is often filled at Heavenly Rhythm Dance Studio.

Lillian has had a passion for dance from a young age. Currently Lillian is a member of a competitive dance team, and also enjoys teaching classes at her studio and serving on the Leadership Council.

After high school Lillian hopes to attend University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Missouri, or St. Louis University.

She is considering majors from actuarial science to psychology.

Whatever the path, she is sure she wants to work in the S.T.E.M field.

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The HCC STL Foundation was formed in 2009 to accomplish charitable purposes, focusing on the Hispanic community of the metro St. Louis area.

Mission To strengthen Hispanics’ participation in the St. Louis business community through leadership development.

Vision Hispanics fully participate in the St. Louis community.

Goals The Foundation will support specific efforts to achieve the vision: Hispanic-owned businesses succeed.

The number of Hispanic-owned businesses increases.

Non-Hispanic owned businesses hire and promote Hispanic employees.

Hispanic employees have the employment skills to succeed in their careers.

Hispanic students stay in St. Louis for productive careers.

Hispanic students are prepared for a rigorous college curriculum

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THE HCC STL FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS President:

Gilbert Bailon Saint Louis Post Dispatch

Directors:

Martha Garcia Kampen Kampen Consultants LLC

Castor Armesto Spire Energy

Mike Zambrana Pangea Group

Dawn Higgins Nestle-Purina

Kitty Lohrum Fontbonne University

Facundo Oyenard Bayer

Diana Everett Success Promotions

Ness Sandoval Saint Louis University

Claire Schenk Thompson Coburn

Shanell Pharr-Williams Ameren

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TITLE SPONSOR

LEGACY BUILDER

LEADER