Jimena Mendez

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

School: Los Angeles County High School for the Arts

Jimena Mendez is a first-generation Mexican-American from Los Angeles, California who is inspired to create change. As the first Student Board Member on the Los Angeles County Board of Education, she advocates for youth engagement within positions like school boards, politics, and worldwide issues. As a filmmaker, Jimena is also heavily motivated to speak out about  the lack of Latino representation in the filmmaking industry and the absence of opportunities given to Latinos when going into the art making field. These issues have caused her to understand the insufficient attention to issues within the Latino community in the United States. Jimena hopes to study Political Science, continue her filmmaking, and in the future she wants to work in Congress to continue advocating for the Latino community, particularly with immigration policies, opportunities in the arts, and bring attention to our Latino students in schools.