A philanthropist at heart, Vivian Peña, is always looking for ways to help. She is the Student Council President at Houston Elementary, and she is using her position as leader of her class to get involved in charitable work.
As the holidays approach, she is meeting with her student council group to decide which organization they would like to help.
“We’re trying to find ways to help out people,” says Vivian. “We’re thinking of ideas to donate blankets or clothes that we don’t use.”
Being in student council has helped Vivian develop her involvement at school, and has made her appreciate the amount of support her teachers and administration have given her at Houston.
“All my teachers have been helpful,” says Vivian. “I’m in UIL music memory with Mrs. Gamboa, and she taught me about composers, their songs, and I learned about their lives. I now realize that I like classical music.”
Her exposure to different music through UIL and choir, along with her love of reading manga (Japanese comic books) and listening to J-POP (Japanese pop), has sparked her desire to learn other languages.
“I want to learn other languages, so if I’m ever in a foreign country, I won’t be lost.
Right now I’m trying to learn Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.”
She hopes that her fascination for learning new things will help her as she looks forward to entering the sixth grade at Coakley Middle School and continues to focus on keeping her grades up.
“I’m working on achieving my goals in life, to be a good student and to get a good education.”