Lucero Gallegos is a multitalented senior in Miami Senior High with a charming personality who knows what she wants to accomplish.
Experience in the Million-Dollar Band
Lucero is currently the assistant drum major for the Million Dollar Band (MDB). Her inspiration came from 6th grade when the director of her middle school band Mr. E was showing students all the instruments that were available. Lucero chose the first thing she saw, a flute. She picked it up and said, “Something just altered in me,” so she decided to go along with it for the rest of the year.
Mr. E saw potential in her, so he gave her a field trip where she could join the Million-Dollar Band in a football game when she was in 7th grade. This experience led Lucero to want to join the MDB, but her debut did not take place until her sophomore year.
After enjoying her time in the band during her sophomore year, she felt inspired to take on the role of becoming a drum major where she auditioned by showing her leadership skills to the director and current drum major.
Conducting was made for her. She had to understand every person in the band and help them with any problem they were facing. But she doesn’t want to be seen as a mini-Mr. Hernandez, the band director. Instead, she wants people to feel comfortable with her.
There are some challenges such as trying to get to know everyone, so nobody feels left out and trying to connect to them. It is as if she is the bridge that connects Mr. Hernandez to the band members. She believes it has made her a better person.
The band was going to perform at the Magic Kingdom parade in 2023. The preparation process was long because of the hours of practice, but it was then when she realized that it’s a true gift to be part of the Million-Dollar world because of the happiness they transmit to the people. The applause they receive feels extremely rewarding and makes her try even harder.
High-Achieving Student
There are few people that can decipher problems with ease like Lucero. When she took AP Physics, the hardest class, she passed the test. Teachers know who she is because of her outstanding performance in the class. She has gotten honor roll for the past years. However, she chose to not have too many APs as a senior because that would leave her with no free time to do extracurriculars like band.
Lucero gets writer’s block like anyone else when she is given an essay to do, but there are ways she recommends to finish that essay: “Stop, get a paper, and write what is interrupting you from your work.” For example she doodles. Once you are mentally elevated, Lucero says, “Just drunk write,” meaning to write what is on your mind without thinking too much. This method has helped Lucero through her years in writing essays.
Although Lucero puts a lot of challenging work into what she does, she hasn’t gotten any awards. The reason is simply because she is an introvert. As she states, “Introverted people kind of get moved to the side to give more attention to the extroverts that do small acts of kindness.”
She doesn’t have a clear image of what she wants to do for her future but strives to study something that she is good at. She wants to study music, but she knows that isn’t going to get her too far.
Family
Lucero was born and raised in Florida, but her mother is from Nicaragua. Lucero believes the Nica culture is looked down on very much. Therefore, she doesn’t get a chance to celebrate her culture. But Lucero’s mom cooks her favorite Nicaragua food which is gallo pinto and nacatamales.
She has a lot of support from her sister Kassandra, who is 22, and from her mother. Her mother didn’t give much support to her older sister, but alongside Lucero, she is learning how to become a better mother.
Lucero’s father hasn’t been in the picture since she was 5. Although she didn’t have a father figure, she doesn’t let it get to her, but sometimes she feels a little left out. Her favorite memory is when her family was all together one Christmas just hanging out with each other, enjoying each other’s company while there was a movie playing in the background.
Lucero has a cat named Jackson, but Jax is his nickname. “Jax was the best thing that happened to our family,” she said. He helped unite them and break the tension between Kassandra and her mother because they don’t have the best relationship.
Music, Entertainment, Shows & Books
Music is important to Lucero because that’s what made her the person who she is today. She cherishes music because the music transmits an impacting message that makes her happier when she is feeling down. Her interest peaked in 2013 when her sister downloaded music onto an MP3 player. Back in the time CDs introduced many different genres that interested Lucero in exploring the music that was out there. Currently, her favorite song is “Where or When” by Levey.
Reading isn’t usually Lucero’s favorite thing to do, but recently she read a book called “Iron Widow” which is similar to “Avatar The Last Airbender.” Xiran Jay Zhao wrote it with good accuracy on Chinese culture. Lucero gave it a go and loved the book along with its imagery. She watches the show “Avatar the Last Airbender” because she thinks “the fighting elements never were the same.”
She doesn’t play the “usual games everyone plays,” but instead, a lot of Nintendo’s games such as Kirby and the Superstar Ultra, classic Mario, Wii sports, ROBLOX, Phiting , and Sploosh. “It’s all for the memories that each game creates,” she says.
