January 6 – Washington, D.C. – A year ago, as part of her Reach Higher initiative, Michelle Obama announced a new public awareness campaign, Better Make Room, to target Generation Z, or young people ages 14–19, to celebrate education, change the national conversation, and reach students directly where they are and give them a space to create content while also navigating the college-going process. Now, Better Make Room needs students to help the First Lady build this movement from the ground up. A student advisory board has been selected to kick off that initiative.
Laura Muñoz, a Mater Academy Charter High School graduate, took part in the movement when it was first launched. Now, Ms. Muñoz – a freshman at Brown University — has been named one of 17 members of the Better Make Room student advisory board. The Board’s mission is to: (1) create a college-going, college-persisting and college-graduating culture at their schools; and (2) connect fellow students to any information and resources they might need to succeed. They wake up every day with a mission, working towards a vision that sees every student at their school enrolling in and completing their education past high school — whether that’s a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year college or university. She is a Cuban woman, a Miami girl, a believer in the endless power of dreams, a relentless list-maker, a daughter of immigrants, a mentor, a feminist, a budding Historian, and a Brunonian. She is a believer in the profound influence of education and a lover of knowledge.
Ms. Muñoz is the freshman liaison for First-Gens@Brown and the freshman representative for the Latin American Student Organization at Brown University. While attending Mater Academy Charter High School in Miami-Dade, she was member of the National Honor Society and the French Honor Society and founded and directed Mater’s National Honor Society Mentoring Initiative – a program that supports eighth graders in their transition to high school.
“We are incredibly proud of Laura and I am thrilled to see our alumnus continue to do great things,” said Judith Marty, Principal, Mater Academy Charter High School. Mater Academy is a charter middle/high school is located in Hialeah Gardens.
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