Kayla
Portrait with Sara Stathas
Description: A young lady sits confidently on a chair with a blue background. She wears bright red pumps with a casual outfit. On the floor sits a duffel travel bag and the words on the page read, “Travel, Dream, Impact.”
Portrait with Nick Collura
“When I look at my portrait, I see confidence. That’s how I feel - strong, happy, and confident. I'm a person that really likes to help others and impact them. You can always come to me when you need help. I like the title of the book in my portrait since it's talking about adventure. I really like to find new things and I want other people to also do the same. I guess you can say I believe in that. Traveling is one thing that is adventurous, but also just trying new things in life.
In middle school, I started to try new things and that's when everything started for me. At that time, I felt really comfortable in my small school community and it helped me to experiment. I'm really good at math, so I tried computer programming and I really liked it and then that led me to do robotics. I’ve gotten really good at coding too. I like how just one code can lead to so much more. You do the math, you find the code, and then that code can do so many things. What's inspiring about math is that you can find the same answer using so many different ways. There's so many different ways. And that's how life is. There's many different ways to get where you want. You find the answer to something and it leads you to something else.
It can be difficult for women to do things that are supposedly meant for men. We have to be better and put much more effort into it and we don't get recognized for it. It’s like, “Oh yeah, she's smart. Okay. And?,” but then they see a man do the same thing as the woman did they're like, “Oh, let's give him an award!”
I am a proud Latina from a Mexican family. My mom's from León, Guanajuato and my dad's from Cuernavacas, Morelos. My parents helped me feel proud. I always got the message that you should never be embarrassed for who you are and where you come from. I am very proud. Some people think Latinos just party people and we don't work. Then they say that we’re just taking other people's jobs. We work hard and we fill in the jobs that other people don’t want to do. So what do they mean? We don’t work and we take people’s jobs? That's what really frustrates me. I want others to see that I've earned my position. I'm proud of being a great student.
Someone I admire a lot is my mom. She's my inspiration. An important memory for me was this mother daughter retreat we went on for my quince. Ever since then, I feel like, “Wow, my mom really thinks of me like this and not just because I am her daughter.” Before that, we didn't talk as much about how we felt–– but after that we are more open to each other. I learned a lot about her too. I learned that at times she can be soft. She is always trying to show that she's happy, but I know that there's time where she's frustrated and needs a break. We had a moment together where we really connected. I remember that moment.
I would describe myself as a timid person when I am first meeting people. Even so, I think it’s important to smile. People would say I am always smiling. I laugh a lot, even when I don’t know why. I guess you could say I’m just a happy person, and that’s also how I hope to impact people as well. With that said, I want people to see that I am a strong person. I am a fighter. I guess you could say I’m a happy fighter.”
Milwaukee, 2020