By Keren Philippe
Central Islip High School
Although she is interested in fashion, music and history, Zeydi Guerra discovered that her true path is to become a political journalist and public advocate.
Zeydi, 16, a rising senior at Hempstead High School, was born and raised on Long Island but she visits her family’s home in El Salvador at least twice a year. Her father was born there and fled a civil war, coming to the United States alone.
Her parents are Mayra and Julian Guerra, and she has five siblings, two of whom live with her in Hempstead. The others are scattered about the globe. Returning to El Salvador is important, she said, because that is where most of her family lives.
Not surprisingly she speaks English and Spanish, but she has also studied Latin, and she is now finishing up learning Dutch through apps, conversation and texting.
Her room in the Hempstead house is also home to her chunky pet rabbit, Coco, who is five years old. Besides rabbits her favorite animals are bats, frogs, foxes and hedgehogs.
Zeydi is a big theater kid who loves meeting other theater kids. She is especially fond of musicals by Jonathan Larson, especially “Tick, Tick… Boom!”
When it comes to fashion and decor, Zeydi leans to emo and alt styles. Her room is decorated with posters of her favorite bands. She currently favors indie rock, Spanish rock and emo, from groups like The 1975, Soda Stereo, and The Brobecks. She has a large CD collection to choose from.
“Without music I wouldn’t be here,” she said, referring to difficult times and her aspirations. “It helped me get through so many things. I always have headphones on.”
Her favorite band is The Strokes, which she said helped her make a self-discovery. “Writing about The Strokes,” she said, “made me realize that I wanted to write about the things I’m interested in, which is usually politics since I love history.”
Zeydi also began to write about movies instead of just analyzing them in her head. During her AP Language and Composition class, for which she had to keep a journal, she analyzed her different interests.
Zeydi is attending the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute For High School Journalists to explore a career in media. “I’ve always been interested in having a career in journalism, but I feel as if the program is going to really solidify that decision for me – to really make sure that as I am getting into the real world that this is what I want to do.”
I’ve always been interested in having a career in journalism, but I feel as if the program is going to really solidify that decision for me.”
– Keren Philippe
Besides pursuing journalism, Zeydi knows she wants a career based in public speaking. She’s been doing school announcements in Spanish and English since the second grade and sees that strength as a way to advocate for others. She believes herself to be very confident and opinionated.
So does her choir teacher, Rachel Blackburn, who said “she expresses herself with clarity and thoughtfulness, both in verbal discussions and in her writing.”
Zeydi is sure she wants to continue to be an advocate for others in her future, standing up for what is right.
“I want to be a political journalist,” she decided. “I want to become an advocate for people politically.”