Senior Stories: Arely, Fulfilling A Promise

Meet Arely!

Arely graduated from Roosevelt High School, and she will attend UC Berkeley as a legal studies and political science major in the fall. She made a promise to herself as a 6th grader to run the LA Marathon, and that is a promise she is proud to have fulfilled with SRLA. Arely is a recipient of the SRLA Scholarship. Read on to hear about Arely’s experience.

“I promised myself that I would run the LA Marathon one day, and this year I did just that.”

As a 6th grader in middle school, I always dreamt of running the LA Marathon. I found it so fascinating and amazing how people from every age group were willing to put the entire mind and body through that journey. At that young age, little 6th grade me promised myself that I would run and complete the marathon before ever graduating high school. And to this day I did.

Throughout most of high school, I chose to be involved in sports and other academic clubs, but I never forgot the promise I made to myself. In my senior year, I decided to set aside everything I had done before and joined SRLA. It was the best decision I had ever made. I got to meet amazing and motivated athletes and coaches who would not let one another ever give up. There were many times I believed I could not continue.

It was the moments of crossing those finish lines, having those mini dance parties in my head, being able to hold my own medal, and having people be astonished, proud of me, that kept me going.

My experience with SRLA and completing the LA Marathon really inspired me to continue to do so much with my life. As I was able to accomplish a goal I set almost 7 years back, it reminded me how important it is to set huge goals for myself. Through my journey of preparing for the marathon, I also managed to apply to college with the help of many mentors. Similar to running and completing the LA Marathon, I had one dream school in which I wanted to attend. UC Berkeley always seemed so out of my academic range, and I knew how painful it would be to get rejected. Thankfully, a mentor of mine reminded me of how I had set such a huge goal of finishing my first marathon that I chose to see through. That conversation really opened my eyes and reminded me that I could do anything I put my mind to. Finishing a race is all about a positive mentality, I took that mentality and applied to my dream school with no regrets. After accomplishing 6th-grade Arely’s goal on March 8th, 2020 to complete the LA Marathon, a few weeks letter I received my acceptance to my dream school.

“SRLA gave me an opportunity to not only set huge goals for myself, but have fun while doing so.”

Because of my exciting and thrilling journey with SRLA, it has influenced me to always set my mind to do big things whether or not I believe I’m capable at that moment. Since I recently accomplished two of my most valuable goals and aspirations, it’s time to set new ones. With the help of SRLA and the LA Marathon, my new goals are to acquire my law degree at Yale University and be able to come give back to the place that started it all.

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