Junior Alyx Prieto leads the GSA in its mission to have a safe learning environment for all.
Leading a school organization is difficult, especially one with as much importance as GSA, but nobody else is more fitting for the job than NHS’s own Alyx Prieto.
Prieto is a genderqueer gynesexual (attracted to the female sex), meaning that they identify with the neutral pronouns of they, them and theirs. (Note: This article models the pronoun preferred by Prieto.)
Prior to the 2014-’15 school year, Prieto was approached by the faculty advisers of GSA with the proposition of being made student leader of the Gay-Straight Alliance, which is more commonly referred to as the Gender-Sexuality Alliance among members of the club. They, along with the help of the student and teacher body, hope to gain more involvement in LGBTQ+ matters, as well as make NHS a safe learning environment for all its people.
“I am not going to give up,” they said, showcasing a determination and personal drive unlike any seen in years before for the club.
Prieto’s commitment is big; but it is made easier with the use of communication within the club, something that many members of the club claim to be an improvement over the prior school year when it was evidently lacking. Without rehashing the past, conflict existed within the GSA last year, but under the guidance of Prieto, who believes to be more on equal footing with the rest of the club as opposed to being on a higher pedestal like most other leaders.
Prieto shared who inspires. “Everyone in the club; it is my main drive,” and then went on to say that high hopes and expectations exist for GSA this year.
Without a doubt, Prieto will work tirelessly until NHS is a safe place for all its students, whether they conform to the conventional identities of the world or not. They will not rest, nor will they concede, until the abuse that LGBTQ+ students must face on a day-to-day basis is no longer an issue in NHS. They will do everything they can to make this dream a reality, they said.
GSA meets almost every Monday at 3:30 p.m. in room 419, and with Alyx Prieto’s help, it will make this school a better place, one day at a time.
