Noemi Munoz-Negrete, a student at Aptos High, is one of three students in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District accepted into the League of Innovative Students, an initiative involving more than 150 districts in 38 states to expand opportunity for each learner.
Noemi Munoz-Negrete
Also accepted are Jose Lopez and Gabriel Melgoza of Watsonville High.
The league, now hosted through the Center for Inclusive Innovation, brings together 40 students from across the nation who, as part of the 2024 Spring Design Sprint, will choose to collaborate virtually with mentors on meaningful projects.
Noemi, Jose, and Gabriel will be able to deeply explore areas such as equity challenges in education, co-design criteria for equitable EdTech, and develop an inclusive EdTech evaluation model. These projects will not only enhance their research and design-thinking skills but may contribute to shaping the national education landscape.
Noemi Munoz-Negrete of Aptos High School: Noemi applied for the League of Innovative Students to help find solutions to equity issues faced by first-generation students as well as students of color. She strongly feels that schools in low-socioeconomic areas do not have access to the same level of education compared to affluent areas even when they belong to the same school district, furthering the achievement gap.
Noemi has been looking for leadership opportunities in her community so she can advocate and create change. She is excited to share her voice on a national scale.
Jose Lopez-Cruz
Gabriel Melgoza
Her dream is to attend University of Southern California to major in business administration and film.
She has participated in Your Future is Our Business and sge hopes to one day create her own organization to help youth with career exploration. She sees exposing students to career-related activities as important because many students are not sure what field they would like to pursue.
Jose Lopez-Cruz of Watsonville High School: Jose is learning to step out of his comfort zone and greatly enjoys the experience of being a participant of the League of Innovative Students.
He looks forward to majoring in engineering and plans to apply to Caltech.
Gabriel Melgoza of Watsonville High School Gabriel appreciates the opportunity to express his ideas on how to improve student learning outcomes.
He looks forward to majoring in architecture and will apply to UC Berkeley and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.