Students at Science Leadership Academy put together their school’s very first Cultural Showcase
By Xen Gadsden Science Leadership Academy
Culture is a huge part of any student’s identity. Still, many students feel like they need help properly sharing or expressing themselves and their culture due to school dress codes and other rules placed on them by the school administration. At Science Leadership Academy (SLA), a student-led organization called the Students of Color Association (SOCA) is planning the school’s first Cultural Showcase.
The mission of SOCA is to provide a safe space for students of color who often feel isolated. The Cultural Showcase is a way to address this isolation. It will include dance performances, food vendors, and a fashion show representing various school communities. This event is the first of its kind at SLA. The showcase is in preparation for a larger event, only in its second year, called Culture Day, where students teach each other about their different communities. Teaching about different cultures is incredibly important. It allows for students to be multifaceted and walk away understanding various points of view.
Members of the Science Leadership Academy’s (SLA) Students of Color Association (SOCA) listen to an announcement of the Cultural Showcase, a performance where students can share their cultures with the rest of the school.Carla Luna-Flores (middle) and Cianney Saunders (right) create a set list of songs for the upcoming Fashion Show, a part of the Cultural Showcase.Carla Luna-Flores explains the fashion show with the team responsible for planning it.Torian Ugorji laughs after seeing shocked faces after explaining his performance for the Cultural Showcase. He will be dancing while other performers throw money at him. During a leadership meeting, Noah Callender (left), Manuel Marcos Menendez (middle), and Gabe Solano (right) discuss the budget that SOCA has for the Showcase.Cianney Saunders and Patrice Thomas make plans for their dance performance in the Showcase. Nora Garg, (left) and Paulina Martinez (right) begin practicing the opening of the fashion show in the auditorium where Paulina will be leading the show.Paulina Martinez confidently walks on stage, representing Colombia for the fashion show during the showcase’s third rehearsal.Luan Quy nervously walks onto the stage while representing Vietnam, with Nora Garg cheering him on from behind.Noah Callender smiles at students during the second rehearsal of the fashion show.Noah Callender begins to practice his role of emcee of the showcase in the auditorium during the first rehearsal.Nora Garg explains to Magdalena Johnson and Rosie Smith, who are performing a dance for the showcase, about their time limit.
