HARLINGEN — She likes to take the lead in … everything.
“I like to be the one who helps start things and not be along for the ride,” said Abbeny Solis, 17, vice-president of the Student Advisory Board, president of the National Honor Society, secretary of student council at Harlingen High School South.
“I like to really be involved in what I’m doing in every aspect of my life,” said Abbeny, a senior.
And that she is.
“I’m president of Politics Club,” she said. “I co-founded an organization called RGV Cards for Kindness. Basically me and the other co-founders, we create digital and physical cards to show our appreciation for community members in the Rio Grande Valley.”
They’ve already delivered digital cards to teachers at some of the Harlingen school district’s high schools.
“We donated some physical cards to some cafeteria workers at some of these high schools as well,” she said. “We have not finished that project though.”
She’s just getting started on her work with the Harlingen school district’s Student Advisory Board.
“We just had our elections,” she said. “As of now we just met virtually and we just talked about issues. We talked about some of the good things the district has done like adding the new fountains so it’s safer against contracting the coronavirus.”
She explained the new fountains are built for students to refill water bottles rather than for drinking directly.
“Before, Harlingen South only had one of those,” she said. “Now there are a lot more.”
In the midst of all her community outreach, she has still managed to maintain her academics well enough to be in the top 10 of her class at South — while taking all Advanced Placement courses.
“I just really love to learn,” she said. “I love understanding, you know? I can never really get enough of learning. I’m always captivated by new topics.”
So what started her on the road to such success?
“I always just had really great mentors in my life, like some teachers at my elementary school at Ben Milam, and the Boys and Girls Club,” she said. “They all just motivated me and believed in me which made me believe in myself. From there I stopped being shy and I got involved.”
After graduation, she plans to attend college and eventually become a human rights or immigration attorney.
