You see him running errands all over the school. If it’s not for FEA, it could be for the Debate Team, BETA, FBLA, NHS, or the band. He also just became the new Vice President of the Florida Future Educators of America.

School Life

   Junior Ariel Trueba originally planned on going to Coral Gables to attend their IB program. With basically one foot through their door, Ariel was ready to become the next Cavalier.

“I declined them because the famous Sting for a Day event changed my whole perspective on Miami High as a whole,” he said. “I became very excited about the campus, the different programs and the certifications. What really attracted me to come was seeing all the clubs lined up in the gym during the surprise pep-rally.”

He would never recommend any other schools for upcoming freshmen other than Miami High. “You don’t have to be a person that likes school activities to come to Miami High,” he said. “There is always something for everyone to do. We got sports, clubs, activities, highly rigorous courses, and I know we can make a high school experience better than Gables any day.”

One thing that does bug him a lot about the school, though, are the students that do not put effort into their classes. “Some students only come here to make the school worse, they only come to class to be disruptive, and I really don’t like that,” he said.

Ariel has never been one to take easy classes. With his 3.4 GPA, he’s currently taking four honors classes and three AP classes. AP U.S. History is his most difficult class.

“The workload in the course does discourage people from taking the course,” he said. “But our current teacher, Ms. Garcia, is a person that is not only understanding, but she always helps you out and makes sure you understand what’s going on. She also knows how to make her lessons fun with her humor.”

His goal after high school is to obtain a degree, either from a 2-year honors college or a 4-year university with a good business program. If possible, he would love to attend the University of Florida which is his dream school.

“I got inspired by my English teacher last year, Ms. Berrios, because I had her for two years and she always talked about how she attended. She took her sophomore students on a field trip to visit the campus at no cost, and that was an amazing experience and it got me to learn more about it,” he said.

In his last two years at Miami High, Ariel received the 10^th grade Stingaree Ambassador award, he was one of the district winners in Accounting for FBLA, and received the highest honor in FEA which is the Presidential award.

Ariel serving the community at Henry M. Flagler Elementary School. (Photo Credit: Emely Herrera)

Clubs

   Ariel enjoys being a leader at Miami High and seeing people have fun at events. Helping others brings him satisfaction, and he wants to be known for making sure things get done.  Ariel is currently FBLA treasurer and is running for District 25 secretary for FBLA. He is recording secretary for BETA, 2^nd vice president for GSA, Debate Team Manager, Stingarette Sweetheart, and a Student Government Senator. He’s also in the Law and Leadership Society and English Honor Society.

Although FEA has had the biggest impact on his school experience, he still believes that his involvement with his clubs has benefited him personally. “There were times where I had to wait till almost 9 or 10 o’clock everyday to go home,” he said. “Being in these clubs get me more involved and I keep them as a distraction.”

Although clubs do help keep you involved, there are a lot of things that come with that. “Believe it or not, you can become stressed from being involved in extra-curricular activities,” he said. However, Ariel finds a way to keep everything organized and stress-free as much as possible.

“While I was school supply shopping, my FEA advisor Ms. Berrios recommended that I get an agenda since writing things down is more effective than putting them on your phone, and it has proven correct,” he said. “I actually take the time to go through my agenda, write things in and take things out, rather than putting reminders on my phone and forgetting about them. The agenda assists me in making sure I have my priorities straight, and I make sure I complete all of my tasks.”

FEA

While Ariel sat in his English 1 class freshman year, Ms. Berrios continued mentioning the FEA club since she had just been appointed as the advisor. Although Ariel knew the club was not active, he saw potential and became the first member of the club. The secretary at the time, however, was not working as hard as she was supposed to, and he notified Ms. Berrios of his worries.

“I told her how I noticed most of the officers were there just to have the position, and how I felt that I could do a better job as secretary,” he said. After speaking with the president, Ariel then became the new secretary for FEA. He got almost 40 active members to join the club in only a few months, and he feels that showed how much dedication he has for his club. He also assisted in planning and running a successful Teacher Appreciation Week that year with the president, and he was proud to be a part of that process.

He then ran for Vice President his sophomore year, and went beyond what his duties were as an officer. “We went for the first time to a regional conference, which is a big thing, and in all of South Florida we won first place for Best Overall Club as a club that had just become active,” he said. “We also hosted a successful GenxL public speaking program for the third time, and of course Teacher Appreciation Week. It was extensive, but we went all out and we had a successful week.”

As a junior now, Ariel currently serves as FEA’s president. “My biggest achievement this year is that we made it to state conference, which I’m very excited about,” he said. He’s also made sure that FEA has participated in homecoming activities, worked on various community projects, organized club socials, began a book drive for the first time ever, and went to regional conference again and won third place in the district.

He recently also just became the Florida Future Educators of America Vice President. “I’m glad I’ll be able to work closely with the Florida Department of Education in representing Miami Dade County Public Schools along with Miami High,” he said.

His favorite part about being president is being able to make decisions about activities going on in the school and taking charge of how the event will be hosted. However, the hardest part about being president is dealing with people; regardless of how nice or mean the person is, there’s always an issue.

The person that has made the experience with this club memorable is Ms. Berrios. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with an amazing advisor, Ms. Berrios, and she has always been there for me. She’s put up with a lot of things in the club and is very understanding of everything that we do even though we’re a small club,” he said.

His Struggles and Triumphs

Born on May 13^th, 2000, at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Ariel Trueba grew up in Miami. Ariel attended Kensington Park Elementary and was part of the museum magnet program at Shenandoah Middle School. “I was the girls basketball team manager, and I was always in charge of the exhibition night,” he said.

Originally, he lived with his maternal grandmother until she was put into a nursing home due to Alzheimer’s disease. “I faced homelessness with my mother for almost a year and a half,” he said. “Homeless meaning jumping from place to place, some nights sleeping on the streets, and I will never forget that experience.”

When he was 12, he became independent by taking charge of his own bills and income. “I am an adult, I make decisions on my own, and I never really ask my parents for anything because I don’t need anything from them,” he said. Ariel currently is residing with his paternal grandmother until he goes off to college.

Even outside of school, Ariel is always doing something related to his clubs and academics. However, he does enjoy socializing and meeting new people, and he loves taking care of the cats his aunt rescues about once a week.

His best memory is coming out gay to his father and grandmother, knowing they are accepting of it. “Coming out to a parent is really hard, and back in 2014 it wasn’t a stereotypical topic to talk about,” he said. “I’m glad to be reassured that I was accepted and safe in my home.”