School: Chapel Hill High School
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Roots: México
Community Leadership: Volunteer with UNC Hospital, Mask Brigade; Co-Founder of school's Black and Brown Student Union; Tutor for Honor Spanish society; Student Body Vice President
Monica Peralta Fernandez is an 18-year old student at Chapel Hill High School. She is the daughter of immigrant parents from Mexico and will be the first person in her family to attend college. Monica has dedicated most of her high school career to addressing the issue of the achievement gap in her school district. She has been involved with the Multicultural Student Achievement Network and co-founded the Black and Brown Student Union at her school. She is ambitious and passionate about more Latinx representation at her school, leading her to run for Student Body Vice President and winning. She wants to uplift other Latinx students to strive to achieve their full potential and not be discouraged by the social stereotypes that are created around them. Apart from being active in her school community, Monica has also volunteered at UNC hospital and made masks for her community during the pandemic. She plans on attending college next fall to major in Biology or Neuroscience.