She walks through the hallway, arm in arm with two friends, giving hugs and waving as she passes through the group of girls waiting to enter the locker room. She gives me a little wave, then says over her shoulder, “One of the best things about ASB!” And yes, walking around the halls during 4th period is fun, but for Raelie Loredo, ASB is quite a bit more than that.
Loredo has been involved in student council for four years, since she was in 7th grade. Currently, she’s the Sophomore Class President; last year, she was the Freshman Class President, and she was also the ASB Vice President at the middle school the year before that. Loredo says being part of student council has helped her find a community, as well as created a ton of fun and a sense of purpose.
Most school events are organized by ASB, such as blood drives, assemblies, dances, and class events, and Loredo has many hopes for this year. Class Competitions, like dodgeball games, are fun for everyone. Fundraising is also important in order to raise money for a prom next year and possibly even for future field trips. Even for a 20-30 person class council working together, that’s a lot of tasks. And a lot of that falls to Loredo, who is, in addition to being class president, also a Special Events Coordinator, working with outside organizations to put on events at CCHS.
But Loredo doesn’t mind. “I feel like sometimes it’s kind of my responsibility to put in my 100% and do something good.”
Loredo knows what she’s capable of and has found a way to apply it in her work with ASB. She has used her talent for organization and her zeal for hard work to help put on, among other things, last year’s CulverTalks, a series of TedTalk-like lectures by CCHS students and teachers in the Robert Frost, which was Loredo’s personal favorite activity. “Planning that and seeing how these events get made made me appreciate ASB,” she says.
Loredo’s can-do attitude has touched more than just ASB. She is also the sophomore class representative in the Asian Cultural Union, a member of the lacrosse team, and also dances and plays piano. Additionally, Loredo often volunteers with Walk ‘n’ Rollers and in the Ballona Creek wetlands. But what she really lit up talking about was crochet. “It’s my favorite hobby right now,” she says. “You get lost in it.” She admits it’s time-consuming, but said she believes a lot of good things are, including ASB. Loredo says she’ll often find herself spending hours organizing what she thought was one little thing for one event. But after seeing the finished product, whether it’s a crocheted doll or a well-attended school dance, all that time pays off.
Loredo’s favorite part of leadership might be “executing well-planned-out events”, but she also stops to remember why she’s doing it all, because in the end, she says, working with some of her best friends, seeing people enjoy events and watching everything go smoothly “pays off.”
