The Original THRIVE Leaders
Thrive Leader: Jayden Reyes Sarmiento
Grade: 12th
Why Thrive is Important to Jayden: "It takes one selfless act to inspire another and one inspirational person to enact a movement to uplift a community. Most individuals get through their struggles all alone because of the fear that no one will understand what they are going through. In our current everyday lives we, as a community, as a state, as a nation are going through the worst of all struggles due to the pandemic we are facing. I am just one person, a teen at that, and I made the decision to pursue one selfless act that inspired others to enact a movement to uplift students at GVHS so that we may get through these hard times and Thrive as a community. This is what Thrive means to me, growing and achieving our goals together. It’s not a movement that will change the world but it’s one that’ll change the lives of many students just like me."
Thrive Leader: Gerardo Bernal
Grade: 12th
Why Thrive is Important to Gerardo: "Thrive is for students seeking to improve their academic standings as well as emotional support. Our Thrive meetings focus on personal conversations student to student with the intent of helping each other, both participants and leaders. The goal of Thrive is to discover what problems our participants are having and work to eliminate them. We plan to help by facilitating healthy conversations and provide resources to help our participants. Thrive plans to create deeper connections with its students by creating an environment in which its participants feel comfortable."
Thrive Leader: Manjot Sidhu
Grade: 12th
Why Thrive is Important to Manjot: "When I first heard of the idea for Thrive from Jayden, my initial thought was that this program was to make sure students are receiving academic help along with emotional support, but it's more than that. It's about making students realize how much potential they carry to be successful. After we started carrying out our meetings, I observed that the students coming into Thrive were not only the students who struggled academically, yet they were actually really intelligent and the only thing they needed was someone to motivate them. Thrive is a program where students interact with other students (Thrive Leaders) for basically anything we can help them with during distance learning, but the thing that makes us stand out is that we do everything in our power to understand them. In Thrive we put ourselves in their shoes (the students who come for assistance) and most of the time our conversations make a big difference in their thinking. Our goal for Thrive is to help motivate students in these unpredictable times to the point that they learn how to cope in difficult situations along with succeeding in school and living up to their own personal goals. The main issue for students is the lack of guidance or social interaction and the best part is that it comes from people that have been in their positions and have done it all (Thrive Leaders)."
Thrive Leader: Juan Duran
Grade: 12th
Why Thrive is Important to Juan: "When first hearing about Thrive I loved the idea of this group and I was completely on board. I remember telling Jayden that she didn't have to ask twice. This group is something I am looking forward to seeing how much it grows. Seeing the other Thrive Leaders such Jayden, Gerardo, Manjot, the Administration, and all the new students that need support is the best part of my week. Seeing a smile on someone else's face is what makes me happy. When I see a joyful smile it makes me feel like I am making a difference and pushes me to do more. With this organization I want to spread a positive attitude to everyone that we encounter and just help in any way that I can. Being a Thrive Leader is one of the most positive things that is coming out of this year with the pandemic and things shunting down. I love having not only other Thrive Leaders but three friends I know will be there when I need them. Together I hope we can give everyone a friend to trust in."