Spring Branch ISD Featured News

 

Have you had one of those moments when you suddenly look around, take stock of where you are, and are amazed at how you got there? For Jimena Tinoco Morales, a junior at Westchester Academy of International Studies in Spring Branch ISD, that feeling of awe has happened often in the past year!

In September, Jimena will be one of only three students to receive the 2019 Rising Star Youth Award from the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living. Her journey to ‘wow’ moments like this began when she took a class from Westchester physical education teacher Ann King. Jimena, a new student to the school, began making friends as she and the other students bonded over games of volleyball and learning to cook healthy foods.

She had no idea that this moment would lead to national speaking opportunities.

“I realized I was developing a pretty nice friend group,” Jimena said of her class experience.

Ms. King also had the class participate in contests posted by Fuel Up to Play60 (FUTP60), a national school health and wellness program launched by the National Football League and the National Dairy Council.

As Jimena got more involved with the FUTP60 challenges, Ms. King recognized her as a growing leader in the program’s activities and goals. King encouraged Jimena to apply to be a student ambassador in the program. She was chosen to attend the organization’s July 2018 summit in Atlanta.

Summit participants rotated to various sessions in team groups, building trust through playing flag football, working together in a healthy snack cook-off competition, networking with dairy farmers and leaders from various supporting companies and organizations, and other activities. Jimena noticed when she was brave enough to put forth her ideas for snack ingredient mixtures and team flag designs, other student ambassadors and advisors looked to her for guidance.

“They were listening to me,” she said with amazement. “I started speaking up more, and then other girls did, too. I realized I was helping others by helping myself.”

One of the rotations involved learning public speaking skills and receiving feedback. Seeing and hearing a young woman speak to a crowd captured Jimena’s attention.

“Her presence in the room was immense,” said Jimena. “I wanted people to hear me like that.”

This session lead Jimena to enter a speaking competition during the Summit to speak on the topic of How Do You Feel About Greatness? During her speech, she ended with a Spanish language quote, which inspired huge applause from the judges, a group of Dairy Council and NFL executives, farmers and industry leaders.  One of 10 winners, Jimena earned $500 in credit to purchase FUTP60 merchandise and another $500 to use for a project at her school.

“I knew then I could make a difference in my school, and bring more Fuel Up involvement to them,” she said.

She used the winnings to fund her sophomore project at Westchester: She observed some students going without food during lunch and breakfast and others not eating all of what was served. She started a project called Shared Table whereby students turn in unopened food and anyone who wants the leftovers can take them. Extra food not taken during lunch is delivered to three locations around the campus for snacking on later in the day.

“It was a rocky start,” said Jimena. “I made fliers to promote healthy habits and the Shared Table program.” As the idea took off and participation increased, students regardless of their economic situations sought after the food. They just wanted a healthy snack.

“Jimena’s success for all of her accomplishments is a result of her commitment, passion and desire to share with others the benefits of healthy lifestyles,” health fitness teacher King said.

Jimena pitched some ideas to DairyMAX, a dairy council and sponsor of FUTP60, for educating fellow students and, in turn their families, about the farm-to-school food pipeline. Her pitch resulted in a $1,500 grant to purchase more food preparation equipment at Westchester so more students might learn how to prepare healthy food, plants for a school garden and fund a field trip to a dairy. (Here is a link to read more about FUTP60 projects at Westchester.)

Her leadership of the food share project and other healthy living educational activities at Westchester earned Jimena one of three 2019 Rising Star Youth Awards from the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living. She will be presented with the award in September during Texas Obesity Awareness Week.

“Jimena’s leadership qualities of confidence, integrity and communication inspire others,” said King.

Jimena is amazed at how much adult leaders are interested in what she has to say! Her inspirational speech at the FUTP60 Summit 2018 also lead to a series of invitations to speak:

• She has shared the DairyMAX and Fuel Up to Play60 messages about healthy living with students at other schools in Houston.
• She spoke in Spanish to leaders of Adelante, a Hispanic professional organization within PepsiCo North America, in their Dallas office. The speech was broadcast to a similar group in New York City.
• She was one of the speakers at the GenYOUth Gala in New York City in November 2018.
• In December 2018 she was back in New York at the United Nations building to speak at a Hispanic Leadership Summit presented by We Are All Human. She received a standing ovation!
• Jimena and her mom both spoke to DairyMAX executives in New Mexico about how much FUTP60 has influenced and changed her life.
• Both will speak again in August at the Choose Well, TX Summit in San Antonio, a collaboration between DairyMAX and It’s Time Texas.
• Jimena has been invited to speak on behalf of DairyMAX on the topic of sustainable nutrition at South by Southwest in Austin next spring. 

Along this amazing journey, Jimena has met celebrities, CEOs and policy makers involved in promoting nutrition and physical activity. These leaders are very interested in hearing the future thinking of young people. She has seen the power of networking – connecting people and ideas to make positive change. 

 

A variety of speakers at the events she attended have inspired Jimena to use her voice to motivate other youth and Latino populations to make the most of their potential and change perspectives away from barriers to what is possible. “I know I have a greater purpose,” said Jimena.

What is next for this accomplished young woman?

 

“I still have two more years at Westchester,” said Jimena. “I have lots of plans and actions in mind.”

For her junior year project, she wants to expand her efforts beyond Westchester. She is networking now to get her ideas solidified for the upcoming school year.

Upon graduation, she hopes to follow her brother, David (a Westchester alumnus), to the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom to major in media products and communication, with a minor in logistics.

“I know I want to eventually work for an organization that empowers youth,” said Jimena. “Eventually, I want to start my own organization.”

This Rising Star certainly has many more Is this really happening to me? moments coming her way.

 

By Becky Wuerth, SBISD Communications

Becky.wuerth@springbranchisd.com