As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, El Camino High School senior Kayla Rodriguez (‘24) participated in a student panel organized by the Latino Leaders Coalition of the Bay Area (LLCBA) on October 13, 2023.
The panel was part of a speaker series celebrating and showcasing the diversity of the Bay Area's Latino community.
Kayla is currently enrolled in Skyline College’s Middle College Program and will be the first in her family to attend college.
After she finishes high school in the spring, she plans to start on her associate’s degree at Skyline and study abroad in London through a semester-long program run by the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) and the Northern California Study Abroad Consortium (NCSAC).
She said she’s always wanted to study internationally since she was little.
“I just want to expand my horizons and see what else is out there in the world,” said Kayla. “For me, I want to see the rest of the world and also share my culture and share who I am to other people and other cultures, because. . . that’s how you learn—it’s from other people.”
Kayla’s father is Mexican-American, and her mother is Filipina.
The panel was part of a speaker series celebrating and showcasing the diversity of the Bay Area's Latino community.Kayla is currently enrolled in Skyline College’s Middle College Program and will be the first in her family to attend college.
After she finishes high school in the spring, she plans to start on her associate’s degree at Skyline and study abroad in London through a semester-long program run by the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) and the Northern California Study Abroad Consortium (NCSAC).
She said she’s always wanted to study internationally since she was little.
“I just want to expand my horizons and see what else is out there in the world,” said Kayla. “For me, I want to see the rest of the world and also share my culture and share who I am to other people and other cultures, because. . . that’s how you learn—it’s from other people.”
Kayla’s father is Mexican-American, and her mother is Filipina.
As a student at Skyline Elementary, Westborough Middle School, and now El Camino High, Kayla said she always appreciated the diversity of the schools she attended in South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD).
“Representation is so important, and I think that’s something I really admire and respect about South San Francisco Unified School District is that it’s so diverse and there’s representation for multiple backgrounds.”
She said she always felt comfortable at school and never “less than,” so she was able to focus on her studies.
Now Kayla has big plans for the future.
She said she always felt comfortable at school and never “less than,” so she was able to focus on her studies.
Now Kayla has big plans for the future.
She wants to study biomedical science and specialize in women’s reproductive health after finishing her associate’s degree at Skyline.
“It's important to realize what you want and how to get there,” said Kayla. “Both of my parents did not finish high school, so I think that’s something that really makes me prioritize and focus on my education.”
Skyline’s Middle College Program helps high school students get a head start on college by offering participants the chance to take classes for college credit in a community college setting.
LLCBA is a newly formed organization of San Mateo County Latino school board members and superintendents, which was established to educate, engage, and empower Latino students, families, and educators throughout San Mateo County.
Skyline’s Middle College Program helps high school students get a head start on college by offering participants the chance to take classes for college credit in a community college setting.
LLCBA is a newly formed organization of San Mateo County Latino school board members and superintendents, which was established to educate, engage, and empower Latino students, families, and educators throughout San Mateo County.