Branching out in extraordinary ways

Focusing on something that you like is something that many of us do, whether it is journalism, playing a sport, or making art. Kaitlyn Edejer also enjoys doing a variety of things, including creating content, participating in Leadership, and being a coach. Her life is full of exciting opportunities.

Edejer has a solid background in student government from her years in middle school and now uses that knowledge to further expand her leadership skills, serving as Vice President for the Class of 2023.

¨I chose to go into the student government because I came from a Catholic school, and I did student government there,” she said. “It was a place where… I saw a lot of growth in myself, my leadership skills, and my personality. I really just wanted to continue doing student government here at Armijo.” Edejer knows that being vice president means that she has many responsibilities.

“Leadership is one of my lives. I have a lot of lives and Leadership is one of them. Taking on a bigger role in leadership is big deal for me because I like to challenge myself,” she said. As juniors, she and the other members of Leadership have put events together such as homecoming skits, fundraisers, and more, but her role is a little different from the majority of the other members of the Class of 2023.

The Class Officers “all kind of do the same thing,” Edejer said. “Our roles don’t really depict what we do unless we are in ASB (the Associated Student Body). “

She enjoyed being an officer and a member of Leadership for so much of her life. “My advice for anyone who wants to get into the student government is simply to just do it… you grow as a person,” she said. “You also learn about people and social interactions and, in my opinion, you also progress in all levels such as your personal character and you see other people develop. It’s a great experience altogether.”

She has lots of experience being a leader. In middle school, in addition to serving on the student council, she was also valedictorian, graduating with the highest grade point average in her class. “I have also been a spirit leader,” she said. “I have been in charge of the rallies at Armijo, as well as putting together bulletin boards. I was Vice President of my 8th grade Student Council, as well.

Even though COVID affected her negatively, it also affected her positively in a strange way. She said that it gave her more free time to create content on social media. Her schedule was a bit more flexible, so she got presented with many opportunities.

“A lot of my social aspect was lost with my age group during COVID-19. I didn’t really interact with many of my friends and I just lost touch with everyone,” she said. “It was an unprecedented situation so that was expected, so I just worked.” Her work group is not her peer group, and most of them are out of high school at least a few years. “I do a lot of online marketing work, and that is with industry professionals, so I was really surrounded with people who were older and I think I definitely lost a little bit of my social aspect in my age group.”

Being a content creator on social media, taking part in the student government, and being an International Baccalaureate (IB) student means that Edejer doesn’t really have much free time, but she finds time to do what is important to her. She was a gymnast for seven years and now she coaches competitive All-Star Cheer and recreational gymnastics. She also does yoga and is active in acting and modeling with Cast Images Agency. One new thing she has experienced is Zip Lining and she has now enjoyed it and it’s one of her favorite things to do.

While she is at Armijo, she would like to see teachers become more educated about mental health. “I know that IB is stressful and, obviously, that is something you just know when entering the rigor of the course, but sometimes I think that teachers really just overdo it and having a little mental health retreat day and learning about students’ mental health, as well as the mental health of teenagers (would be great),” she said. “I think it would create a better environment for all of us.”

She’s more than halfway through her high school experience, though, even though this has been the first full year she’ll complete on campus, and she has plans for the future… “After high school, I plan to head out to New York. That’s the goal. I want to do marketing and communication as well as studying some PR (Public Relations),” Edejer said.

If you want to check out Edejer’s content, you can find her in all the usual places: Instagram or Tik Tok at Edejeredejer; YouTube at Edejer Edejer.