A great return for Student Voice
Janae Burgess and Gianna Rafael closing the assembly (Alexa Rios, The Puma Prensa)
By Natalia Woods, staff writer
As the lights in the theater dim and the music fades out, Juniors Janae Burgess and Gianna Rafael enter the stage, preluding the two-hour show of musical performances, inspirational speeches, and even a comedy act. Students from every grade level spent their English classes on November 16 and 17 watching the second annual Student Voice Assembly and the inspiring messages students wish to share. Embellished with a variety of lively art styles, the show was a major success with a wide range of performances and artists, and content that everyone was able to resonate with and enjoy.
This year’s Student Voice Assembly has been a wonderful opportunity for Carrillo students to express their ideas and experiences with one another. The assembly showcased a variety of acts that talented MCHS worked hard to create, surrounding this year’s theme of the Masterful Communicator. The assembly was started in early 2023 by former students Joy Maitiro, Parece Morovat, and Gemma Ahern. During their senior year at MCHS, these students founded this club to allow students to share their ideas and experiences about relevant issues in the world. The idea came from the desire to continue letting students express themselves, as Ahern explains after seeing the MLK assembly, she and the other founders all decided “they couldn’t let the essence of the tradition die out.” The club has been continued this year by juniors Gianna Rafael and Janae Burgess, who did a wonderful job organizing the assembly. Student Voice Club advisor Margaret Bradylong explained that “being able to see kids find their voice and see their confidence grow in sharing their message” is what makes this club so special here at Carrillo.
The assembly started off with Senior Gabriella Torres, who performed a spirited recitation of the “Song of the Shattering Vessels” by Peter Cole. This poem touched on the necessity for change in our world, and was a powerful start to the rest of the assembly. As the only instrumental solo in the assembly, senior Joey Manfredi took the stage with his original piano improvisation. It was his second year participating in the Student Voice club, with last year’s performance also being an original piano piece. Manfredi explained that he decided to return because he thought it was a great way to make friends and have everyone come together to communicate their feelings. “The world would be a much better place if everyone appreciated art a little more,” said Manfredi. Following this performance was Ricardo Bolanos with his speech focusing on his immigration story and what he shared was “the strange wisdom of life.” Bolanos touched on how immigration changed his perspective on life, and how grateful he is for everything that has happened to him. He also hoped to encourage people to appreciate their background and how they got to where they are in life. “Not everyone is an immigrant,” explained Bolanos, “So it's important to reach out to those people that have stories similar to mine, and to give them a voice.” Bolanos concluded his inspiring message with his motto, “Appreciate the crazy, remember, and chase your goals.”
Different clubs at MCHS were also featured in the assembly, including the Craft and Design Club, as well as the Citizen Science Club. President June Kim shared his collection of “Teen Man,” which centered around the motto “I’m a teen, not a tin.” Other collections were featured as well, like “La Promenade,” and “Tied.” The Citizen Science Club also shared an inspiring message about appreciating nature, with Presidents Beatrice Pezzolo and Kira Melton explaining the beauty of how everything in nature coexists.
Another astonishing performance that stood out was Sophia Nguyen’s stand-up comedy act. Nguyen’s stand-up comedy act was called “I Guess They Were Wrong.” Nguyen shared relatable stories about family and self-identity struggles, entertaining the crowd with her comedic anecdotes. She concluded with an inspiring message about self-love and confidence, and how important it is to be a Masterful Communicator.
Following this act was the jazz group, the Jazz Apostles, who performed a rendition of “A Night in Tunisia,” originally composed by Dizzy Gillespie. This jazz combo consisting of Kapil Dave, Miles Johnston, Simon Righetti, Ishan Shardha, and Tony Li was inspired to join the club after watching the original assembly last spring. Sharda explained the significance of the song they chose to play, saying, “It brings prominence to the many struggles that Dizzy Gillespie faced as an African-American.” He added that “the song portrays how a story can be told through jazz.” This jazz composition also hopes to participate in the assembly next year.
To conclude the assembly, Cate Bisbee gave a heartening speech about positivity, encouraging people to try to stop focusing on the negative in life and appreciate the small moments. She reminded everyone that even the simple act of remembering to breathe can add value to our lives. “We all spend every day in the same rhythm, just complaining about all that we need to do,” said Bisbee. “But it's amazing. Life is so beautiful and yet we forget that.”
Overall, the second annual Student Voice Assembly was, yet again, a big success among the student body of MCHS, and presidents Burgess and Rafael hope that this tradition will stand for many more years to come. The club also plans to make changes within the school and wants to focus on having student voices heard, whatever that may look like. As Burgess said, “Our student body is what makes Maria Carrillo so special… it's incredibly important to share the different opinions at this school and represent the voice that is not often heard.”