Culturas Unidas Club
Ballet in Philadelphia
BY EMMA SIEPMANN opinions editor MARI SATO
Mia Audova shares her professional ballet experiences
BY EMMA SIEPMANN opinions editor
When thinking about moving away from home, most people think about attending college or even after that. However, one Mac High freshman defied this standard and departed McMinnville when she was an incoming eighth grader. Mia Audova moved across the county to Philadelphia, PA at only 13 years old to pursue her interest in becoming a professional ballet dancer, a scary decision for someone of her age. She attended The Rock School, a pre-professional ballet boarding school where she intensely trained in ballet while doing online school in the moments when she wasn’t dancing. This incredible adventure started in McMinnville and ended back here, when Audova returned to her hometown to attend MHS and live the life of a “normal teenager”. Her dream originated when she was young and wanted to take singing lessons. She enrolled in the musical theater dance/vocal class at Van de Veere Productions in McMinnville. “There was a jazz dance class right after my musical theater class, and I asked my mom to let me take that too. From there, it was recommended that I take ballet also, to build technique for my other classes. That’s when I really got interested in ballet.” After making the decision to attend this prestigious program, she had MIA AUDOVA
to face the reality of moving away from her home, friends, siblings and parents. “It was hard, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I had lots of really good friends and supporters in Philadelphia, so once I settled in, it kind-of felt like they were family. I did miss my parents sometimes, but I was so busy it was hard to be very homesick”. Once she got used to it and dove into boarding school life, she had a great time. Being homeschooled since sixth grade made for quite a change when she returned to public high school, but she’s in favor of MHS. “I love it. I learn better with hands-on projects and materials that I can touch, so online school didn’t work very well for me. I’m relieved to be back at a place where I can really learn.” Besides attending McMinnville High School this year, Audova is swimming on the swim team, like her siblings before her. “I’m so excited to be swimming this year; my family likes to say that it’s in our blood”. She is also ready to relax a bit, focus on school, and hang out with her friends. She plans to take the occasional dance class because she still loves to dance, but will be focusing on other things this year. After such an eventful year, this young dancer is excited to take a break from the pressures of the pre-professional ballet world and live her life like a normal high schooler. Despite the fact that she moved across the country by herself for a year, Mia Audova is really just like every other freshman student at Mac High; she is just a normal 14-year-old who is trying to survive the next four years.
One of Mac High’s less well-known clubs is Culturas Unidas, a club aimed at uniting the different groups, races and cultures within the high school. The club’s advisor and teacher of MHS’s Spanish for Spanish Speakers program, Cecilia Casillas, strives especially to unify the Hispanic students with their peers from other backgrounds. Casillas shared, “It is aimed at being a ‘safe place’ of sorts for our Hispanic students to share their culture and feel empowered within our school environment.” Senior Jaquelin Madrigal, the club’s president, added some of the key components that she wants to tackle this year as well. “I really just want everyone to be involved with school and each other. I want this club to help students at MHS get the full high school experience while they are here.” The vice president, Esmeralda Contreras, also hoped to get more students involved, along with many other goals. “I really would like to see more cultural awareness in our school, which is partially what this club is about. Both the club’s president and vice president joined as freshmen, and were hooked. “I thought it would be a fun way to become more involved in my new school and meet new people,” shared Contreras. They were interested in the concept of what the club stood for, and are now very glad that they ventured to join this club. They originally joined for fun, but their roles have now escalated far beyond that. Madrigal added, “I wanted everyone to experience high school in a positive atmosphere, providing support for students who feel like they are judged for being a minority.” Casillas also included that Culturas Unidas club is not solely for cultural representation, but also for the more traditional side of school. “We strongly emphasize academics as well, helping students with scholarships and college applications.” She made it clear as well that the club is almost entirely student-run, her only job being to meet with the executive board before each meeting and help them decide what to bring up in the meetings. Madrigal agreed, “The officers on the executive board work together to get things done. If one person needs to do a project, though, it is not our advisor; it’s me and the vice president.” Casillas added that, “Really, my main job is to make sure the board has everything they need as well as organizing trips and volunteer opportunities. It’s all up to them, which helps build great leadership skills for our students.” While this club is mostly advertised towards Hispanic students and those from Spanish-speaking homes, Culturas Unidas really does try to live up to its name. “We really want to unite our student body. I want to see everyone involved,” said the club president. For both those from Hispanic backgrounds and our students from many other diverse cultures, this club is an excellent way to learn more about a common culture here at MHS.
The Bruin NOVEMBER 30, 2017 mhsbruin.com
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