Student Spotlight: Isabel T. (XL), Gun Control Advocate

We interview Isabel for Prep for Prep’s Annual Report on Transformative Leadership. 

I love my school! I’m so glad Prep led me to RCDS. I had to give up acting and dancing classes during Prep’s Preparatory Component, but now I get to do musical theater at RCDS. It’s a whole new world: the workshops, teachers, and choreography were all so amazing and next-level compared to what I was doing before. In seventh grade, I earned a starring role as Mayzie the Bird in Seussical, Jr. and I had a lot of fun becoming a character so different from my own personality.

Through Rye’s Middle School Service Learning Group, I also raised money for the Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund, which is named for a teacher killed in the Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. I then started a club #NeverAgainNRA because gun control is important to me and a lot of my peers.

Why is gun control such an important issue for you?

After Parkland, I wanted to do something to support the families. I started by raising funds through a bake sale and selling #NeverAgainNRA bracelets and t-shirts online. Then I met Emma Gonzalez and other March for Our Lives activists and realized I can do more. I became the youngest member of New York State Senator Shelley B. Mayer’s Youth Advisory Council, even though it was originally for high school and college students. We meet regularly with district representatives to advocate for gun safety and climate change laws. I was able to watch a live legislative session from the gallery, which was pretty cool! It was meaningful to learn that Nicholas’ Law was passed by New York State this year, which makes unsafe storage of loaded guns in the home illegal.

How did Prep for Prep impact your approach to leadership?

Because of Prep, I can better understand many more points of view and relate to people from very different backgrounds. PIMAS — Problems and Issues in Modern American Society — with Ms. Daniels helped me become more aware of important issues happening in the world. And Research Skills with Mr. Thoren was my favorite class! My public speaking skills improved and I became more confident persuading others to see my side of an issue. I’m starting a middle school debate club at Rye so I can help my classmates practice before we join the debate team at the upper school level next year. I’m thankful for Prep because now I get to do what I love and go to one of the best schools in the State. It will open up new opportunities over the next five years and the hard work is so worth it.