She’s got the spirit, and she has the brains. Between school, clubs, and work, junior Ailema Perdomo has a lot to handle.

Ailema is a proud member of BETA, and is the President of the Future Educators of America (F.E.A.) club.  She enjoys rewarding teachers for their hard work and making activities for them. Ailema chose to run for F.E.A. president because she felt like she had a lot offer.

F.E.A.

“It all started mid-year of my sophomore year,” she said. Ailema heard English teacher Ms. Suarez talking about FEA and how they did a lot for teachers and she became interested. “There are so many teachers at Miami High that work so hard, that have never been recognized a day in their life,” she said.

As FEA president, she feels like she helped transform the club. “It’s like I made a small painting on a napkin and turned it into a masterpiece.” She added that a lot of people doubted F.E.A. being a successful club and they didn’t think it would be where it is now.

“I couldn’t have done it without the help of my amazing advisor, Ms. Berrios,” she said. “Working with her has been amazing.”  She added that Ms. Berrios is also like a mom to her. Ailema also thanks F.E.A. members like Adalain Sans that has done so much and helped her through good and bad times in F.E.A. Also, Ariel Trueba has believed in her wholeheartedly and told her that she would make a great president.

Her work with F.E.A. helped her gain leadership skills and taught her how to delegate.  “Till this day I still can’t believe I am a part of this organization, but one thing I do believe and know is that F.E.A. holds a very special place in my heart and it’s something I call home,” she said.

F.E.A. does a lot at Miami High and in the community. For one, they host the event “Sting-town Trivia.”  They are also involved in a mentoring program for elementary/middle school kids at Jesse J. McCray Elementary . F.E.A. is an example of what other organizations should be. “We may not have over 100 members, but we do have people that care and love it. I do believe it is more ‘Quality over Quantity,’” said Ailema.

The hardest part of being for president for Ailema is delegating. “I do believe I am a great leader but I don’t like being bossy or telling people what to do,” she said. She also believes that sometimes she gets stuck in a bubble and thinks everyone will get things done and things will be okay, but most of the time, that’s not what happens. “As a president I have learned that delegating is very important in order to run such an important organization,” she said.

“Get involved in a club,” Ailema says. “The advantage is that you get to do service, participate in socials, and meet new people,” she said. The only disadvantage, she finds, is trying to stay active in all the clubs. If someone is in too many clubs, then it’s hard to stay active with all of them. “At least for me it is,” she admitted.

Managing school/work/clubs

Ailema has a lot of responsibilities but has trouble being a planner. “Most of the time I just go with flow,” she said. She comes to school early in the morning, and when the dismissal bell rings, she goes to meetings. Then, she goes to work.

She currently is working at Papa John’s, 4-5 days a week. “I work in the cashier, answer phones, make pizzas, work in the oven, etc. I basically do everything there,” she said. Sometimes she does her homework at work as soon as her shift is over.

Ailema tries to balance things so they don’t get overwhelming for her. “I say this because maintaining a job and going to school isn’t easy, but it’s part of growing up and taking responsibilities,” she said.

Personal Life

Born in Miami on Dec. 3^rd, 1998, Ailema Perdomo is currently 17 years old and a proud Sagittarius. A proud Cuban-American,  Ailema’s whole family were born and raised in Cuba with the exception of her younger brother Yadiel who is currently 6 years old. “I will always carry the American flag on my chest and the Cuban flag on my back,” she said.

In her spare time, she enjoys singing, songwriting and also writing poems. In addition, she likes studying astrology, a topic she says she knows a lot about.

She binge watches the TV show “Pretty Little Liars”. She said, “It’s always on repeat.” She doesn’t have a specific favorite place to hang out with friends; however, on a daily basis she hangs out in the F.E.A. room. When she’s not in school, she likes being in her bedroom. “It’s my happy place,” she said.

School

Miami High was not Ailema’s first choice when picking schools. Her freshman year she was supposed to attend Miami Jackson Senior High, but then decided to attend Miami Northwestern Senior High. She said that she was drawn to Northwestern’s fine arts program. However, Ailema didn’t really enjoy being at the school, so she decided to leave.

She had doubts about coming to Miami High. “I always said I didn’t want to go to Miami High because people said it wasn’t good,” she said.

Surprisingly, she came to really enjoy Stingtown, and she has learned that she shouldn’t believe what people say. She currently holds a GPA of 3.1, and her favorite classes are English and AP Spanish Literature.

Although she is currently a junior, she says that she wants to major in criminal law but also sees herself studying English. Being in F.E.A. has made her want to become a teacher, but she is still very indecisive.