HARLINGEN — Cheerleader, yearbook editor and top academic achiever.
President of the Harlingen High School Student Council, National Honor Society and Student Advisory Board.
Stephanie De La Cruz is enjoying a banner year as a senior at HHS, a sort of golden age of leadership, scholarly success and solid plans for the future. She embarked on the journey to this current place many years ago.
“Ever since I was little, I would tell my mom, ‘I’m not a follower, I’m a leader,’” said Stephanie, 18.
She had that innate desire to be a moving force, and perhaps she subconsciously spent the following years seeking experience and knowledge to acquire those skills of leadership.
And then suddenly…
“For some reason at the end of my junior year I had a strong urge that I could go for the big one,” she said. “I ended up getting the titles and I took off with it, took it strong, and I went with it with everything, all my knowledge and what I’d learned along the way.”
As a student leader, her policy has been one of acknowledging the individual circumstances of all students regardless of social position, academics or financial status.
“Being a good leader is someone who listens to their people, who takes under consideration not only the popular people but people that are in the minority as well,” she said. “A good leader is someone who takes into consideration what those in the minority go through as well. You try to see what you can do to solve it as a whole and not just fix it little by little.”
As president of the Student Council, she’s worked to help students returning to school after the lockdown.
“I tend to focus on how the students here at HHS, now that we’re back in school, how do they feel coming back to school, prioritizing things like mental health,” she said. “It’s been going well. I was able to take that to the Student Advisory Board. One thing we did notice is it’s kind of a known thing now.”
This naturally segues into her work as president of the Student Advisory Board.
“We do a lot of community service,” she said. “Over Christmas break, we went to Valley Haven shelter for the foster kids, and we helped organize their shampoos and things like that.”
Her position on the Student Advisory Board’s top spot has taught her about leadership as an ideal.
“It’s taught me that there are very strong leaders surrounding you no matter where you are,” she said. “It has taught me that even with the many titles that you have, you still learn a lot from other students from other districts and the way they run their clubs. It just allows me to be more open minded.”
She had a blast serving as varsity cheerleader this football season. Again, the achievement of a life-long goal.
“It was a beautiful experience,” she said. “It was always a dream, like a little girl, a dream, being a varsity high school cheerleader, hearing your name announced. It was just a different experience and with the sisterhood that comes with it.”
In all of this, she’s managed to score academically in the top 10 percent of her graduating class. As is often the case with high achievers, she credits time management as a primary tool for her success. After high school, she plans to attend the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston and then open her own business.
