Lily Larsen Adolescent Teen Activist
- Details
- Category: Featured Teen
- Published on Monday, 14 August 2017 13:23
- Written by Phil America
Born and raised in Mid-City LA, 17-year-old Lily Larsen is not your average young person. Unlike most people you know, she spends more time in community meetings than on social media. Growing up in a socially engaged family she saw the issues her neighborhood faced, big and small, and decided to do something about it. From a young age she has worked tirelessly to bring a youthful voice to the landscape of her neighborhood and Los Angeles. With five generations of Los Angelinos behind her, she has no plan to leave. We sat down to talk with her about everything from ageism to her favorite place to eat. In a time when the nation is as divisive as it’s ever been, Larsen is pulling the community together and getting other people her age to do the same.I want to talk to you first about the neighborhood. You are born and raised in Mid-City?
Lily: Yes my ancestors, five generations, are from West Adams.
How would you describe the neighborhood to someone who’s not from here?
Lily: That’s a good question. When I tell my friends from outside, they don’t really know where it is. Or they associate it only with LACMA. It’s more than that. Whenever I ride my bike I smell different foods and hear different music. To me it’s like fireworks. There’s always something going on. There is a mix of everything and it’s a representation of Los Angeles as a whole.
Right. Other areas are not as multicultural.
Lily: I love it here. I’m really grateful to have been raised here. Growing up we didn’t have any resources,so we just played in the street. There was no community center. So my mom [Blair Baron Larsen featured in our Dec 2012 issue]started the LA Drama Club. It’s a free Shakespeare club where kids learn Shakespeare and the social justice aspects of it. It’s in West Adams and it’s a summer program. We built this theater troop just from the kids on the block.
So would you say your mom is the one who got you into being active in the community?
Lily: Yes. I attended my first protest when I was five. I was actually wearing this shirt that says "Democracy is not a spectator sport." Since then I’ve been doing activist-related stuff. My mom is an actress, so we mixed the activism and theater.
Art and culture is a great way to open the door to social justice-related issues for people.
Exactly. Art saves lives. Kids I knew were getting sent to jail at 10 years old and we got a lot of them into the Shakespeare program and it changed their lives.
It’s incredible how powerful art and culture can be. Tell me about your work in this community.
I currently serve on Mayor Garcetti’s Youth Council. I served on it for East LA and currently serve on it for South LA. I’m working on being the Central Area Youth Representative for the city of LA. I’m involved with the Mid-City Neighborhood Council. I noticed that there was no youth position and no youth voices being heard. I just got elected in. Most teens in my neighborhood don’t even know that they have the power to make changes in their own neighborhood.
Tell us about the other great work you are involved in around the city.
I’m working on a community cleanup in Watts. I’m working on a festival called the Express Your Roots To Future Generations. There is so much. There needs to be a way to get the teens and youth in communities more connected. I don’t even know kids who live five blocks from me. I want to figure out how to get some murals down Washington Blvd. and a community garden.
What do you think adults need to do to help the youth be more involved in the community and what does the youth need to do to get the adults to help them more?
I think adults need to have trust in the youth and know that the youth wants to have a foot in their community to make change. There is a lot of ageism that goes on and the youth aren’t taken seriously. The youth needs to know that they can get involved and to not be scared. They are the future of the community. The youth is the community.
What could people moving here do to better the community?
Get to know everyone in the neighborhood. Support the
community. Support small businesses.
I recently moved here so that’s great advice.
Understanding your neighbors and not excluding anyone is
important.
Do you have a favorite restaurant around here?
Atomic Cafe was great but it closed. Now I like Las Anayas, Honey Bees House of Breakfast and Delicious Pizza all on Adams Blvd.
Check out Lilys blog at www.adolescentactivist.com
Teens Overcoming Hardships Share at The Blu Elefant
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- Category: Featured Teen
- Published on Tuesday, 20 December 2016 16:56
- Written by Amber Rogers
Veliz felt it necessary to provide this platform because she also faced many obstacles before achieving success. At the age of 17 she came to the United States from Venezuela to pursue a career in acting. She faced countless obstacles at the start of her career. She was told that her roles would be very limited due to the fact she was a Latina. This was the driving force behind her road to success.
“I began writing, producing, and directing,” said Veliz. “I offered parts to people of all backgrounds. I focused on helping independent film makers and empowering communities of color.”
Here are a few of their stories:
Edgar Pena an honor student was brave enough to share his story. Pena was born in Los Angeles after his parents moved here from Central America. His father worked 12-hour shifts in order to provide for his family. Because of this he was unable to establish the bond he needed with his father. His mother didn’t speak English so it was hard for her to provide him with the help he needed in school. Because of this and the lack of support he received from his teachers, he struggled in school in his early years.
“I considered my two closest friends my role models,” said Pena.
As he and his friends got older, the neighborhood in which they lived began to pose obstacles. It was gang and drug infested and looked to take over the young boys lives. With these major influences, Pena and his friends experimented with alcohol and drugs.
Pena attended Emerson middle school, which was unsafe to travel to from his home. One day he was jumped by gang members.
“After I was beat up I laid there and kept asking why this happened to me,” said an emotional Pena. “My view of life changed at that moment. I knew I did not want to end up like these people.”
He decided to leave the drugs and alcohol alone after this experience. His friends on the other hand became consumed by these substances. Because of this, he decided to make one of the hardest decisions of his life and separate himself from the two.
“After losing them I felt alone,” said Pena. “I lost my two closest friends, and my role models. I had no one else to look to for support.”
But after attending Math and Science College Preparatory High School, he started making friends and getting the support he’s always needed from his teachers. He quickly made his way to the top three of his class.
“I’m proving everyone who called me a failure wrong,” said Pena.
He is currently applying to various colleges and is looking forward to a successful future.
Jackie Martinez is another student who had an inspirational story to share. Before she began to tell her story she was immediately moved to tears. After about five minutes she was able to recollect and read her autobiography.
Along with her family, Martinez was born in Toluca, Mexico. Her father had come to the Los Angeles to get a better job and save money to arrange for the arrival of the rest of the family. After two years of being apart, when she was six her father sent for the family. He arranged for them to be divided between families returning to the states for a small fee. Unfortunately the journey would not be an easy one.
“When we arrived at the border we were asked for identification and how each of us were related,” said Martinez. “I was asked my name in English but I had no idea what I was being asked. My fake family forgot that I did not speak English. They were immediately arrested and I was sent to an orphanage.”
In this orphanage she recalls being treated very harshly by the staff. When all hope was lost, her mother somehow found where she was and picked her up. They traveled to Tijuana to begin a journey to Los Angeles. Martinez remembers the journey being very rigorous.
“We sometimes went without eating for days, we walked for hours at a time, we had to climb mountains, and cross rivers,” said Martinez. “My mother has heart disease so it made it hard to complete the journey. At the age of six I leaned independence and maturity.”
After a long trip, Martinez and her mother made it to Los Angeles where they moved into a one-bedroom apartment with her father and siblings who had also made it. They had to share a kitchen and bathroom with a man who owned a home next to them. They struggled financially for most of her early life.
She fast-forwarded to her high school experience where she became class president and volunteered to do community work. She made her way to the top of her class and now focuses on helping other students who are undocumented.
“I feel there are immigration laws to intimidate undocumented people, so we need to work harder,” said a teary-eyed Martinez.
Bryan Alvarez’s parents made the trip from Guatemala to Los Angeles to look for better jobs and to provide him with a quality education. Because his parents worked so much, he spent most of his time with his babysitter.
As he got older he spent most of his time at school because he didn’t feel comfortable at home.
“I called it my second home,” said Alvarez. “I joined many after school program so that I could spend most of my time at school instead of at home.”
He was often bullied at school, and this led him to contemplate suicide. It was hard for him to make friends until he attended Math and Science Academy College Preparatory High School. His friends in high school are the only people he considered family. He was inspired by many of his teachers to further his education.
“I am going to college so that I can get a better job and never have to struggle like this again,” said Alvarez.
Yudith Sanchez shared her story of longing to have her father in her life. At 10-years-old her father was drunk and arrested for acting violently toward her mother. He was undocumented so after his arrest he was sent back to Mexico. Just a little girl, Sanchez wasn’t told the reality of the situation.
“Everyday after school I would run outside and hope it would be my father picking me up,” said Sanchez.
After many years of disappointment, she received a phone call from her father who told her he was in Mexico and wasn’t coming back. A heartbroken Sanchez couldn’t understand why, and her heart was torn more when her father told her that they would never survive without him.
“He kind of rubbed it in our faces that me and my mom wouldn’t make it without him,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez took those words and used them to fuel her aspiration of graduating high school, going to college, and getting a good job. She is currently applying to different colleges.
The last student was Aaron Perkins. Growing up he faced bullying because of his size, and race. He moved from school to school which made it difficult for him to make friends. He dealt with being an outcast while his twin sister was always popular.
He was able to get through his early years by joining L.A.’s Best which was an after school enrichment program.
“When the bell rang I would run as fast as I could to the after school program.” Said Perkins. “This was my safe haven from the bullies at my school.”
Perkins was disappointed in the school system. There was a lack of resources and support from teachers. This led him to become to go to and become very proactive at Math and Science College Preparatory High School where he mentors students.
“I encourage my peers and youth to speak out against bullying,” said Perkins. “I also encourage my peers to do everything it takes to become everything they want to be.”
Chemil Durant & Kathleen Glynn Speechmakers
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- Category: Featured Teen
- Published on Friday, 01 May 2015 15:36
- Written by Kevin Glynn
The Legion contest for high school students has been running for over 75 years and has awarded over $3 million in scholarships. It aims to instill in high school students a greater knowledge and appreciation of our Constitution, to develop leadership qualities, to develop the ability to think and speak clearly and to prepare them for the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.Congratulations Neighborhood News Featured Teens!!
Edward Roberts Jr.
- Details
- Category: Featured Teen
- Published on Monday, 17 August 2015 22:23
- Written by Press Release
In honor of Cedars-Sinai being the official medical center of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the hospital invited former patients from their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and their families to a Sunday’s night game against the San Francisco Giants. One of their former patients, Edward Roberts Jr., who lives in the Pico-Fairfax area, was selected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Roberts was born 19 years ago, weighing one pound seven ounces when he arrived at just 24 weeks. Today he is a tap dancer, pianist and athletic trainer as well as a business student at Bethune Cookman University in Florida. He credits his success to Cedars-Sinai’s NICU, part of the Maxine Dunitz Children’s Health Center, and to his parents, who followed their doctor’s advice and made sure that he received extensive early interventions to strengthen his weak muscles.
Roberts’ parents had no idea that the music therapy and dance therapy he received as a child would lead to a lifetime interest in tap dancing. Roberts says he wants to tell parents of other preemies to “keep the faith and your babies will make it just like I was able to make it.”
Roberts said that throwing out a ceremonial pitch was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” His parents were able to stay on the field during the singing of the national anthem. Roberts was joined on the field by Cedars-Sinai philanthropist Maxine Dunitz, and Charles F. Simmons, Jr., MD, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Neonatology.Going forward, Cedars-Sinai will be promoting the partnership with the Dodgers by distributing co-branded Dodgers/Cedars-Sinai knit caps to all babies born at the hospital.
Mom Edward Jr. Charles Simmons Jr.MD Dad
Lorraine Edwards Robert Sr.
Harvey
Harvey
Walking a Tight Line: Teens Extracurriculars and Academics
- Details
- Category: Featured Teen
- Published on Thursday, 13 February 2014 16:33
- Written by Michelle Mendieta, L.A. High Reporter
Evelyn Lopez
is in Color Guard. This requires her to stay after school for several hours and even give up some of her Saturdays. How is she able to keep the legacy of her school going, while not ruining her own? “I take advantage of the days we don’t have practice, so I can get ahead in school work and even though I’m tired after practice, I force myself to do my homework since it was my decision to be in color guard, even if that means sleeping late,” she says.
Lopez’s determined mindset allows her to have a clear view of her goals and not blur anything out. This way, she knows her priorities and nothing gets left out. Lopez’s willpower motivates her, as well as keeps out any negative thoughts that might become obstacles.
Students, clarifying goals will let you know what you need to focus on.
Jasmin Han,
Student Body Vice President, and President of Junior Council is another student putting in tremendous amount of work, yet she still manages to stay on her “A” game. Being an officer is something that requires a lot of time on its own, especially when one is an officer for more than one major council. Time is always the problem for students like Han or Lopez. When it comes to school work, there never seems to be enough time. But, Han proves this idea wrong. “Balance? No way, it is a struggle 24/7. I find that keeping a schedule helps organize everything. I’m always exhausted, but because I enjoy everything I do, my hectic life doesn’t feel like a burden,” says Han.
Instead of picking too many extra curricular activities, she chose those that she knows she enjoys. Therefore, she does not consider it extra work. A strong characteristic like this is what makes her both a great leader and student.
Lopez and Han are just two of the many students attending Los Angeles Senior High School who successfully manage their academics as well as their extracurricular activities. Sometimes the amount of work they have to do seems impossible, but with the right mentality and focus, the students are able to overcome any obstacle.
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