Live Long & Prosper: The Love Cup

Good morning and welcome back to West Leadership Academy!

The purpose of this blog is to inform our community about what YESS has done this past month. You will read about the following items:

1. What We Did -- Self Care: The Love Cup / Restorative Cup

2. Student Spotlight -- The Baeza's

3. What’s Next -- Financial Literacy

What We Did: The Love Cup

It is my belief that everyone has a purpose. With that purpose, comes individuals pouring love, care, attention into the things that matter to them. What also comes with a purpose comes stress that drains your life. That stress may come in many forms. For the purposes of our students, we used the following items:

1. Family

2. Friendships

3. Work/School

4. Money/Finances

I would like to also add that stress does not only come in these forms. Our students are unique individuals with their own circumstances that may cause stress in their own lives. Below, are some of our student’s responses that we would like to display for all of you to see.

The Restorative Cup

One of the other components that we wanted to share with our students is the ability to recognize how they are all able to bounce back from the everyday stress of life. Once again, the purpose of this exercise is to empower students to seek solutions to their life that they may not have thought about beforehand. I do not want our students to live a life that is full of stress without knowing how to try and rejuvenate themselves. We showed them 4 potential areas where they can restore their energy levels:

1. Emotional Space: Taking care of the soul

2. Physical Space: Taking care of the body

3. Intellectual Space: Taking care of the mind

4. Spiritual Space: Taking care of the spirit

Here are a few examples from our students of how they are taking care of themselves:

Student Spotlight:

I want to take a moment to spotlight three students/siblings this month. The 3 students are Angel Baeza, Angelo Baeza, and Ezekiel Baeza. I have had the privilege of watching them grow right in front of me, both in-person and online. They all share similar qualities and values, but each one of them is unique in their own way.

I want to start with Ezekiel. I first met Zeke when he was playing football for West 3 years ago. As an outside linebacker, he was very ferocious and physical on the field. Outside of the field, there was this kind-hearted individual who always seeks to be cordial and approachable with everyone he interacts with. In class, he’s a natural speaker who is not afraid of the spotlight. I can always count on him to be the center of attention via the chat where he encourages participation when I clearly need it.

My interactions with Angel have been very intuitive since I first met her 2 years ago. Angel brings curiosity to the table, as well as vulnerability with her actions and her words. Her willingness to speak about mental health in her class shows that she has a clear purpose in advocating for those who are afraid to speak about it. Not only that, she has demonstrated she’s a natural leader and an advocate in stepping up in situations where the voice of others needs to be heard.

Last but not least, Angelo. I first met Angelo in my first year in the role. He was very nice, kindhearted, and also caring to everyone he interacted with. I saw several instances where he simply sat and listened to those who had stories to share with him. I can see now that he’s a great listener, with a clear intent to understand the other person. I can count on him to also get the conversation started when I am at the end of my rope and need a line from the kids when it’s the end of the day, and their brains are fried.

This family is very special. It is very clear to me that all three of them have big hearts, who are willing to make everyone and everything feel welcome and included. My classes are better because I have all three of them there, waiting for the opportunity to assert themselves and speak for what they believe in. I believe that the platform that we have created together has given them an outlet to do just that.

Thank you, all three of you. Keep being who you are. The world needs people like you.

What’s Next: YESS & Ednium Alumni Collective: Financial Literacy & Building Wealth Initiative

The month of April will be dedicated to a new initiative here at West Leadership Academy. I am proud to announce that the Mentor Leadership Team and I have partnered with the Ednium Alumni Collective, and two of their members: TeRay Esquibel and Bryant Burciaga. Both of them have financial industry experience, and I fully trust them to come into the class to share their experiences with our students.

Here is an introduction to who Ednium is. You can read more about them here.

The purpose of Unit 4 is to mobilize our students to be financially literate in the decisions they will make as they navigate their next steps once they graduate. By the end of the unit, our students will have been exposed to the following skills:

Next month, you will read about what our students learned, their experiences, and their takeaways from the unit. We hope you come back and read about it.

I want to thank all of you for your time spent reading this blog. West Leadership Academy is full of amazing students who have passionate hearts, and it is our job to empower them to reach their full potential. With the team in place, I believe we are doing just that.

Happy reading, y'all.

Cowboys, out.