Greetings!

Hello! My name is Aaliyah Watson but you can call me Leah! I am a Junior and have been participating in Leadership since my freshman year. While I didn’t fully join Leadership until my Sophomore year, I continuously attended and helped at events that were planned, despite not being in the class. I even woke up at 6:00 AM just to attend Leadership in the Library! It was then that I truly fell in love with the program and everything we do. I vividly remember the first ever event I participated in, that being my Freshman Homecoming skit! It was there that I met my two best friends, met everyone that I am lucky enough to call my close friends, and even met the most amazing role models and leaders. Since then, I’ve had a love for Leadership and have done my absolute best to display that love and spread it throughout the school.

Some More Info About Me!

I am currently 17 years old, with my star sign being a Sagittarius! I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and lived there until the age of 10, when I moved to California! I attended many different schools from a Performing Arts School, to being homeschooled. I’ve definitely had my fair share of learning experiences! I’ve been attending Armijo since my Freshman year and while it’s definitely been a struggle with the ongoing Pandemic, I wouldn’t trade anything as I believe everything happens for a reason. Currently, I am our school’s National Honors Society Secretary, I am one of the SPED Commissioner’s, I am on the school’s Winterguard team, and also on the Badminton team! I have two cats who I love dearly, and I’m 90% sure that I will become a crazy cat lady in my future. I love Harry Styles, BTS, and Spiderman! I also love photography and in my freetime, I mainly nap and scroll on tiktok (definitely not the best hobby). I love getting to know people and making new friends. However, I often struggle with taking the initiative and opening up to new people. I am actually very shy, but I try to push myself out of my comfort zone and make new friends and new relationships. One of the things that has helped me the most with my shyness is Leadership. When everyone around you is also opening up, it’s much easier to go and join the crowd. While it is something I definitely still have to work on, it has improved so much! I hope this helped you get to know me a little bit better and I can’t wait to show you even more about me and what I want to accomplish next year!

My Passion!

Since middle school, I have helped and assisted in the Special Education Classes at both of my schools. My mother being a Special Education teacher at my middle school allowed me to help out and assist in all types of events and even taught me how to teach, lead, and guide in a Special Education classroom. Ever since then, I have been passionate about SPED relations, activities, and tutoring. I don’t see these students as lesser than nor do I see them as unable to do certain tasks. Sometimes people do need a little extra guidance, and that is ok, everyone deals with it at some point in their lives. I want to create a space where Special Education students can feel comfortable and be themselves. I’ve met some of the best and funniest people after volunteering and helping out in SPED events. I have made such amazing relationships with these students, the para educators, and even other leadership students also helping at the same event. I am lucky to have the opportunity to be one of the SPED commissioners here at Armijo. However, I will admit that I have not done everything in my power to make Armijo a more welcoming and safe space for SPED students. This is why one of the areas I want to focus on next year is SPED relations, relationships, and assistance. I feel as though leadership as a whole could be incorporating and participating in many more SPED events and I hope to apply this mindset next year.