This piece placed second for middle school submissions in the 2017-18 Ánimo Voices Competition, which invited students to write about innovators, upstanders, visionaries, or rebels that have made a difference in their local or broader communities. The competition was an opportunity to motivate, recognize,...

 Ms. Maria, a current ARC staff member at Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School supervising the 8th grade students, talks about her career journey so far.  We discover the many negatives and positives she must face in her career. Not only that but a main goal or dream that she strives to achieve.  I...

In Mexico, Rebeca was living with her parents until she got together with her husband. She had a child and along with her husband, they decided to go to the U.S so they can have a better life and job because of crisis in Mexico. Then she had two other girls and so she continued her life here in LA and...

In 2017, Brenda left LA to go live in Bakersfield. Along with her, she took many memories and the good and bad times she had spent with her family and relatives in LA. Growing up, Brenda had always stayed indoors since her parents couldn't take her out. The reason for this was she has some special...

Alexander Alcantar was a troublemaker as a kid. He wasn't so good at school and he would steal many things. Now, he is twenty years old and is a high-school drop out and talks about how difficult life can be. Alexander still has many dreams and goals to accomplish. Although he is a high-school dropout...

Patricia Alvarez went to Animo Jackie Robinson Charter High School. Patricia graduated from Animo Jackie Robinson three years ago. She is in the class of 2017. She went on a college trip for a week in her junior year of high school. Patricia went to many colleges and universities. Patricia fell in love...

In 2005, Anayeli Ugarte found out she was pregnant. Her life abruptly changed when her daughter came into her life. But she still loves her kids the same, even if she wasn't able to follow her dreams.    Anayeli went through more struggles than she should have at 16-17 years old. But she...

Katherine Cooke is a teacher at Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School. She teaches both drama and Read 180. She had many influences in her life which were her parents and her sister. She was not rich.  To buy food, she had to count out coins from a bucket of change. Her dad was her teacher. She...

Juan Sigala didn’t have much money as a kid. He wasn’t very good in school either.   He would play in the street, not worrying about the things we have to worry about now. Even if there was nothing to play with they would still find a way.   His dream was to build a family....

Alejandra Castillo, who attended Animo Jefferson from 2012-2015, graduated on Saturday as valedictorian at Animo Ralph Bunche High School.   While at Animo Jefferson, Alejandra wrote for the Bulldog Bugle, publishing 21 stories while on staff and serving as co-managing editor while in eighth...