By Tinsae Lopez, College Student, Advocate, RVLA Graduate
Last summer, I graduated as valedictorian of Rainier Valley Leadership Academy’s Class of 2024. That night, with others in my graduating class I was able to see how far we had come since the COVID-19 pandemic completely upended our education. Now, I’m a sophomore in college actively pursuing a career and building a network that spans my community and future livelihood. Some people say that young people aren’t capable of anything other than scrolling on our phones and playing video games. I’m living proof that isn’t true, and the foundation of my accomplishments are with my family, my friends, and my education at a charter public school, Rainier Valley Leadership Academy.
Working hard, making connections, and being accountable are significant building blocks of my success to-date. When the pandemic kept me and my classmates out of school, it was easy to drift from my schoolwork. But once quarantine ended, I realized that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to reengage on all aspects of my life – the physical, mental and spiritual. So I did. Rainier Valley Leadership Academy (RVLA), like charter public schools across Washington, is intended to meet the specific needs of the students from the community where it is located. It was the right publicschool option for me. I was given the opportunity to get on track and live up to the high expectations I set for myself. After the disconnect of the pandemic, I had a lot of work to do. But I finished high school as valedictorian and with college credits toward my 4-year degree. My high school experience at RVLA was a runway from which I took flight.
In high school I realized that seeing people for who they are and making connections that build people up was something that came naturally to me. As a student at a school where individuality is welcomed, I had an opportunity to understand that everyone’s life is complex and that a diversity of perspectives is a good thing. The confidence to both observe and be part of different communities is with me today, and still growing. At my college, I take time when I can to observe the student body association, seeing my peers as leaders with influence. Alongside a few like-minded people who are in to fitness, we have formed a weightlifting club where health is the purpose, but meeting others, providing motivation, and building community has been one of the best outcomes. The openness to others around me, the confidence to see a new person and wonder about them, instead of fearing them – these are qualities developed more fully for me while I was at RVLA and I believe they will serve me throughout my life.
Understanding that I am the person responsible for my own success helps propel me forward. I’m in the driver’s seat. At RVLA I was given the opportunity to speak on behalf of my school at a charter public school conference and also in front of people representing one of the biggest private foundations in the world. I had to be thoughtful about what I wanted to share and I had to prepare. I was the person accountable for how I was perceived and remembered. These experiences helped me to build on my skills. Now, I’m on a Teacher Evaluation Committee at my college and the principles of accountability come to mind when I think about someone who has a job educating others. As a person who benefited from a school where my needs were met and my talents were recognized, I feel a kind of obligation to encourage that level of responsibility for instructors in other places. I graduated from RVLA academically prepared for college, but also with life skills, and experiences that showed me I can do whatever I decide to do. All Washington’s students serve to be this confident when they finish high school.
There are a lot of people who are really concerned about public education. In many ways this is a report on what I’ve been doing since I graduated from a public high school. But I hope that for my family, former classmates, teachers, advisors and members of my community, including elected officials that represent me in the legislature and in congress, it is clear that public education didn’t fail me. In fact, my public education via a charter public school was the perfect fit. Every student deserves a chance at a school where they are seen and respected for all they are and all they will be. For me, that opportunity was my public education at Rainier Valley Leadership Academy.
