Heroes of CKI
Jessica Alvarado
Year:
Major:
Hometown:
Ethnicity:
Pronouns:
2nd
Undeclared
Vacaville, CA
Mexican
She/Her/Hers
Why did you join Circle K?
I joined because I did Key Club in high school, so I just wanted to continue that, and I didn’t really know anyone coming in here. I mean, I know some people from high school, but I don’t really see them around and I’m not as close to them anymore. Its just to me a way to get in touch with people, a way to make more connections.
Do you have a Circle K moment?
I think when I was debating whether I should be treasurer or not for this club, is when Tiffany Huong, she contacted me and was really into driving me to school so that I could make it to elections. So that was really nice of her to go out of her way to do that for me, so that felt like really appreciated for her doing that.
Why did you want to be treasurer?
Well for a similar reason. I was treasurer in high school and I feel like I didn’t do much and didn’t commit myself to the club as much as I should have because it was a small club and no one was really involved in it. But I didn’t really involve myself in it because I had other responsibilities in high school. So now I want to give back and like redeem myself. And also, Andy nominated me, and if he hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have done it because I’m kind of shy. I was secretly hoping someone would nominate me and so I was really glad he did. And he was shocked to hear that I was actually a treasurer before.
So what college are you in, since you haven’t declared a major?
Letters and science. I was thinking of going into design, which is in the same college, so its not too much of a change and so I just have to take certain required classes and it won’t be too much of a switch.
Do you know what you want to do with that?
I’ve always been interested in clothes and fashion design.
What is your MRP goal for this term?
Platinum, because I just want to aim high. I haven’t been to any service events lately, but I hope to, especially over the summer.
Ok now onto non-CKI related questions. In your immediate family, what is that like? Like how many people do you have?
I have two sisters. One older sister, and one younger sister. And one brother, and older brother.
Who are you closest to?
Definitely my younger sister, because I feel like I can be myself around her and I can tell her everything. Like we finish each other’s sentences. We do everything together and its kind of hard now that I’m away and I’m kind of sad because I might move here it’s going to be hard on her because she’s really little and didn’t want me to leave.
What is something you love about yourself?
I feel like I’m very optimistic. I try to see the positive side of things, but I also try to find a happy medium because you don’t want to be unrealistic with that. That’s what I’ve learned because if your optimistic with everything, its not always going to turn out – you can’t lie to yourself all the time, because you think its going to be too positive and it just doesn’t happen. You have to have a Plan B too. Like its good to be hopeful but be prepared in case something does happen.
What is something you wish you could improve about yourself?
I think advocating for me, just speaking up for myself, because I’m a very closed off person an I really don’t like conflict. I try to avoid conflict. So, I always give in to the other person and just let them have their way instead of trying to collaborate and voice my opinions on what should be right. But I think that’s very problematic, especially if you are a leadership position, so I really want to improve that this year.
That’s a good one. Okay, what’s an embarrassing story you have? Maybe recently?
Um I’m really clumsy. I trip and fall all the time. I guess I can always go back to this one though. I used to go to a charter school and basically in the hallway it was so crammed that we had to do this circle kind of traffic…
Like a bike circle but for walking?
Yeah! Yeah basically and so if your classroom was on your left side, you couldn’t just go to it. You had to go all the way around. So, when I had to do that, there was a pole, because it was on that exit, towards the end of the hallway, and I tripped over that and fell. I was wearing these big old boots because of my uniform. So, I fell in front of everyone! They were asking if I was okay and everything’s, but I was just like “I’m fine.” But it was just so embarrassing because it was in front of everyone.
It’s okay. I’m sure it has happened to many people before. What are some of your hobbies?
well, I really like writing. I keep a journal and that’s my way of escaping, like venting out. It makes me more aware of what I’m doing, my decisions, and how its reflecting off and to see how I can better myself because I’m really all about self-improvement. I try to find ways to find ways to make myself better but to also appreciate my good qualities. So, yeah, I really like writing.
Is it like writing about your day? Or more like stories?
Its more like my feelings or kind of a stream of consciousness. Sometimes I feel like its more structured and sometimes I feel like I just go with whatever pops up in my mind. And I feel like that’s better so that I don’t keep thinking about things. Like what I tend to do, like when I do something bad or a mistake or whatever, I keep replaying it my head and I’m like I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to think about it. So, I write it down. I just bury all those thoughts.