Aliento Features: Britney Vera
Introduce yourself!
Hello! My name is Britney Vera. I am an incoming senior at Mesa High School. I was born in Mesa, Arizona and am a daughter of immigrant parents who migrated to the U.S. in 1998, therefore I’m in a mixed status family. I love to journal, work out, and do my makeup!
How did you hear about the Aliento Fellowship, and why did you choose Aliento?
I heard about ALIENTO through a friend named Denise Garcia. She was formally in the fellowship program before me. I met the CEO of Aliento, Reyna Montoya, on a day of action when we went to the Capitol which Denise brought me along to. There we talked with members of out Arizona legislature about instate tuition for Dreamers. I knew I wanted to get involved instantly and Denise referred me to join the fellowship program of the year 2020-2021. I’m also president of Aliento @ MHS club.
Britney at the AZ Capitol along with Denise Garcia and other classmates
What are some of the things you’ve learned as a fellow? Why was it important?
Through the fellowship program I had many opportunities to learn new things such as planning meetings, public speaking, and taking lead. I got many skills like communication, collaboration, and organization skills. I know these skills will help me in my professional career.
What are some moments within the fellowship that you are most proud of?
I am most proud of Election Day and everything that led up to that day such as phone banking parties. I made it to many of those phone banking parties! We all connected even though it was online, we all had such a fun time. On E-day itself everybody had a goal of getting five people to help volunteer and I got five people exactly!
Besides Aliento, what else were you involved with at school? What did you do?
At School I wasn’t very involved in other clubs because I was a remote student, so it was hard to participate since they were mostly in-person. However I had a team of four that I would meet online with for the Aliento @ MHS club.
Would you recommend the fellowship? Why?
I would totally recommend this fellowship program! The people you get to work with are amazing. You also get so many skills that you will use in real life. You get to be part of change!
What’s next for you?
I am now going to be a senior at Mesa High School. I am going to be the Student Body Secretary. I will be focusing on applying for scholarships to attend University and pushing hard through my last year.
