In the 2023-24 school year, the SRHS community welcomed 2016 graduate Lindsey De Leon to the counseling department. Throughout the little time she’s been here, she’s already made changes to the school that have impacted the community as a whole. It’s not what she expected, but she’s a vital element to the school.
From the minute you walk into her office, Ms. De Leon is there to greet you with her warm and welcoming smile. As she’s talking to you, you can’t help but stare at all the pictures she has hung up on her bulletin board. You can tell that these pictures hold a special place in her heart. She has a huge monitor alongside her computer at her desk, ready to “tell it like it is.”
Growing up, De Leon grew up in the Canal alongside her parents. They divorced when she was four years old which marked the beginning of split custody.
Split custody for De Leon was a challenge but it also had some perks. On her 10th birthday party, both her parents decided to throw a birthday party for her at both their apartments. She reported having to go back and forth from her mom’s to her dad’s on an hourly schedule. She didn’t enjoy running it at the time, but she liked the fact that her parents could still be civil with each other, especially when it came to their daughter.
Her mom had De Leon for most days but she got to see her dad at least three days out of the week. That was until she hit fifth grade, when her dad got deported and her life truly changed. “My dad was always a big thing in my life…and then my dad was out of the picture,” says De Leon. She explains that her dad was the “fun parent” who she would go to get spoiled or for advice. It was also hard on De Leon when she had to find out who her extended family was on her dad’s side on her own. “I started meeting more of my cousins but it was weird because I didn’t know them but I was expected to call them cousins,” she says. On top of all of that, her mom gave birth to her little sister which she soon had to help take care of.
Once De Leon started high school, she had more than grades on her plate. She had moved from her hometown of San Rafael all the way to Richmond which meant a longer commute. She eventually got a job to help pay the expenses when she was 16. Because she was raised in a single parent household, she knew her family couldn’t afford the cost of sports, De Leon spent most of her time working. She’s had a total of three jobs throughout high school. She was still involved at SR though, being in Banyan, an academy that no longer exists in the English Department, ASB, and more.
De Leon wasn’t the type of person to associate herself with people in her class, she normally hung out with upperclassmen since her freshman year. “I always hung out with the older kids…so I always felt like a part of the older crowd…because everyone thought I wasn’t a freshie,” says De Leon. This, grouped with other factors, made De Leon mature faster at a young age. She would be told countless times to “not do freshman stuff” which made her act older to please herself and her friends.
Even though she had this view of people in her grade as “immature,” she still communicated with them mainly through Banyan and ASB. Through ASB, she and one of her friends at the time had to reach out to their class about ways to improve the student body. As for Banyan, her teachers always grouped underclassmen and upperclassmen together, leaving her having to communicate with those in her grade and even those below her grade. Communicating with underclassmen and her class wasn’t horrible thanks to her loud personality.
Throughout her time at SR and even to this day, De Leon strived to get the Latino community the representation they deserve. From being the only Latina in ASB to being her Latino friend’s biggest support when winning homecoming king, she didn’t let setbacks get in the way. “When I was in ASB, I was the only Latina there,” she states. She went out of her way, communicating and collaborating with people in her class to increase Latino involvement on campus. This included her Latino friend running and winning homecoming king their senior year. “He was actually the only Hispanic person on that court so it was kinda who we were all rooting for,” says De Leon. This goal of hers is what ultimately drove her back to SR.
After graduating from Sacramento State University with a degree in Child Development, De Leon realized all the flaws SR had while she was a student there. “As an adult I realized like… oh sh*t that was really messed up to do…all the inequities I saw as a student, I didn’t realize that until I went to college,” she says. She didn’t expect to see herself back at SR nor being a counselor, but she knew that Marin County is a bubble and wanted to help give back to a community where the bubble doesn’t budge, especially for newcomers.
De Leon’s studies were mainly focused on newcomers. The big question she focused on was how to create a bridge for newcomers and the mainstream students. The huge gap between mainstream students and the newcomers was one of the things she noticed as messed up later in life and wanted to help fix it.
Not only is De Leon currently a counselor for a number of students, but she also had extra students to look out for as the ASB teachers assistant. The SRHS community in addition welcomed Nazira Kury to the art department and as the new ASB teacher in 2023. As that year was the first time Kury became an ASB teacher ever, the SRHS Principal Joe Dominguez asked De Leon to help her out. “I was so excited to meet her and learned that she had experience with ASB, that was such a treat…I love working with her because of her organization style, her work ethic…right away I knew I would enjoy working with her,” Kury says as she recounts her time working with De Leon.
In the past years, there were no events for Hispanic Heritage month. That was until 3 students from ASB worked with Ms. De Leon to create a new annual event called Noche De Cultura. “It was nice working with her because she was really helpful,” says Yeslany Alvarez, a senior at SR and one of the 3 students that worked with De Leon.
When this opportunity was presented to De Leon, she wasted no time making it a reality, buying materials, contacting dancers, D.Js, and more.
Even though Ms. De Leon is someone who is organized and likes to stick to plans, there are times where things don’t go as planned. However, with her optimistic personality is what gets her through these times. Kury recalls a time when both her and De Leon were running late to last year’s prom. They were stressed about the whole situation but also looked at the bright side. “That unplanned time was a fun opportunity to just chat,” says Kury.
De Leon is a gratifying addition to the counseling department and is appreciated for her contributions so far made to SRHS.
