Madera High School
Sebastian Zavalza
Trustee Sebastian Zavalza is 17 years old, was born in Palo Alto and now lives in Madera.
Trustee Zavalza went to Lincoln Elementary School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School and is currently a senior at Madera High School. Trustee Zavalza has a great academic profile and is ranked first in his class.
Trustee Zavalza is currently in the MHS’s nursing program and will become a Certified Nursing Assistant by the time he graduates high school. He plans to attend UCLA or UC Davis and major in Biology, then get into medical school and eventually become an Orthopedic Surgeon. Trustee Zavalza is involved in Link Crew, CSF, and the Class of 2023 group. Trustee Zavalza plays soccer and will play his second year on varsity. Trustee Zavalza earned a black belt in karate which he got when he was ten years old.
As a Student Board Member, Trustee Zavalza plans to encourage students who are afraid to voice their opinions. He wants to ensure that every student feels comfortable and confident regardless of their background. He has always been respectful and will continue to respect others and listen to their ideas. He is very honored to hold this position and is excited about the future.
Jossen Garcia, Alternate
Jossen Garcia is a Madera native and a student of Madera Unified since kindergarten. Trustee Garcia has attended Parkwood Elementary and Eastin-Arcola Elementary, but he primarily attended La-Vina Elementary from grades 2-3rd and 5-8th. Now attending Madera High, Trustee Garcia has participated in various clubs and organizations such as CSF (California State Federation), Class of 2023, The Mexican-American Club, Dreamers Club, Link Crew, and Mock Trial, holding leadership positions in the majority of them. As a strong advocate for inclusivity and diversity, Trustee Garcia commits to helping and defending students from all backgrounds, focusing on those marginalized for their identity and/or hindered by financial reasons. It takes more than thoughts or compassion to ensure a better future for the students of Madera Unified; this is why Trustee Garcia will make it his priority for him and the other trustees to vote on actions that set up the proper building blocks for the students of Madera Unified. In time, Trustee Garcia plans to attend a 4-year university in either Los Angeles or New York, where he will major in cinematic arts. Videography — specifically post-production — has been an outlet for him to tell the stories of those ostracized and whose lifestyles have been misinterpreted. Starting the new 2022-23 school year, Trustee Garcia is in the process of creating his own club at Madera High, which will focus on videography and possibly photography as well.
Madera South High School
Genesis Guillen
Madera South High School Trustee Genesis Guillen was born and raised in Madera, California. Trustee Guillen attended La Vina Elementary School and is currently a senior at Madera South High School all located in the Madera Unified School District. Trustee Guillen participates in a variety of clubs such Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Class Club of 2023, Link Crew, and California Scholarship Federation (CSF). In all of her clubs she learns leadership, interpersonal communication, and is reliable.
An outside non-profit organization she is involved in is Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) where she gets to be a mentor to younger students and help them with their activities. With her new position as a Student Board Member for the school year 2022-23, she is working to encourage students to use their voices and provide feedback on what can be changed for the betterment of schools.
Trustee Guillen wants to represent all students and staff members at Madera South High School and ensure that everyone has the potential to thrive. Trustee Guillen also wants to make her school a safe environment to provide honest feedback from students. Trustee Guillen is honored to represent Madera South High School at district board meetings. Moving forward, Trustee Guillen plans to attend Fresno State and major in psychology to become a school psychologist. She hopes to return after graduating from college to work in the district and give back to her community.
Bianca Reyes-Ruiz, Alternate
Madera South High School Trustee Bianca Reyes was born and raised in Madera, California. She attended Sierra Vista Elementary from 1st through 6th grade, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, and is currently a Senior at Madera South High School. Trustee Reyes has been involved in several extracurricular activities during high school. She was a member of the Class of 2023 club, serving as the Junior Class President, Link Crew, Student of the year for English and Spanish, and Future Farmer of America (FFA). With her new position as a Board member for 2022-2023, Trustee Reyes’ purpose is to effectively represent all students in the Madera Unified School District to make them feel welcomed no matter their age, personal struggles, or background. During her time as Student Board Member, she would like to accomplish an organized and well-put-together team of students that would like to incorporate ideas from all groups of students. Creating a plan and implementing the ideas for future generations is a long-term goal she strives for. This would be a groundbreaking process for students, present and future alike.
Trustee Reyes’ greatest hope is to lay the foundation for the future of all Madera Unified Schools to raise the buy-in of students to the idea that our campus is a home away from home. A safe place where students can be creative, have fun, and focus on our common goal of earning a diploma while making memories that will last a lifetime.
Trustee Reyes is extremely honored to represent Madera South High at district board meetings. She hopes to one day give back to her community all the love and support she has received throughout her 17 years in Madera.
TORRES High School
Ingrid Sosa Ramirez
The 2022-23 Student Board Member Ingrid Sosa Ramirez, senior at Matilda Torres High School, was born in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has been a resident of California and part of MUSD since 2017. Trustee Sosa Ramirez has overcome the difficulties of language barriers and wants nothing more than to help those who are going through difficulties by getting to know them and their interests, which she has demonstrated through her involvement in several clubs such as Latinx Culture Club as the Vice-President, as a Committee Chair Member of HOSA, Vice-President of the Science Club, and member of other clubs such as CSF. Trustee Sosa Ramirez is currently dedicating herself to serving her community through particpation in SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco — a youth coalition, leading the movement against tobacco use, and actively addressing tobacco control issues affecting our community through outreach, policy change, and service), as well as serving at the community hospital, doing outreach through the department of public health, and leading initiatives on the site’s mental health project.
The utmost importance of education is the reason why she has taken several honors, AP, and Dual Enrollment courses to prepare for her future in which she seeks to give back to her community by working in the Medical Field and helping those who need it the most. She consistently embraces the words of Ella Fitzgerald, “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
Frank Jerik Santos
Frank Jerik Santos is a 17-year-old who was educated in a Roman Catholic-run by Franciscan Priests during his early elementary years in Manila, Philippines. Additionally, a product of both Fresno and Madera Unified School District, he is currently a senior at Duane E. Furman High School. In his entire student life, he received numerous awards while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Such as the Honor Roll Awards, Two-time Lion of the Month, and Football Coach choice award, among others. Furthermore, he received excellence in customer service in his part-time job in the service industry. Despite all these laurels, he remains grounded as he finds balance in life by going to the gym, helping his parents, and cleaning his home. Through these experiences, he has developed a well-rounded personality, able to accept and embrace diversity, endurance, perseverance, and integrity. He is also a magnet for having a large group of friends wherever he goes, consulting him on academic, familial, or personal matters. His advice is greatly appreciated. As a student board member representing alternative schools for 2022 to 2023, he wants to create a place where every student can access various academic resources while at the same time promoting brotherhood, camaraderie, and accountability to ensure academic success and mental health wellness. This will be achieved in an atmosphere of respect and engagement for students to feel that their views are essential, through upholding individual beliefs and values, while finding common ground as he believes that students are a part of the solution.
