Abigail Lizbeth Gutierrez

All experiences, achievements and things met are all a reflection of having good morals and a good worth ethic. Everything met was because believing in hard work, passion, and being responsible for my actions, words and decisions made me. Simply, it is the desire within to be successful and give the best in every attempt is how everything as of now was accomplished.

• Delivered Brawley Union High Schools 2022 Graduation Commencement Speech.
• Was the first youngest to direct a play at Brawley Union High School as a sophomore.
• Was the recipient of a plaque for unmatched service for the Class of 2022 from Brawley Union High School's Superintendent and Board of Trustees.
• Was the recipient of a plaque for inimitable commitment and dedication to my position as Brawley Union High Schools Board Representative.
• Was given an honorary speech from Brawley Union High School's Superintendent and Board of Trustees for my service and impact to the Class of 2022 at Senior Awards Night.
• Founder of an impactful mental health project called Project Empowerment for the school of BUHS, DVHS and Imperial Valley Community.
• Saved the lives of young adolescents through interpersonal service within Project Empowerment.
• Was featured/praised multiple times in The Desert Review for Project Empowerment.
• Did a talk show with " Let's Talk About It" with Scott Dudley and Maria Wyatt for Project Empowerment.
• Invited as a special guest speaker for the member of Brawley Rotary Club.
• Awarded a certificate of appreciation for my program and service from Brawley Rotary Club.
• Awarded a certificate of a donation made to the Rotary International Polio Plus Campaign to vaccinate children under my program Project Empowerment.
• Distinguished Finalist of the 4-Way Test Speech Contest for Carlsbad Rotary Club Sub-Regional Final on March 11 of 2021.
• First Place Finalist for the 4-Way Test Speech for Rotary Club Coronado on March 23 of 2022.
• Distinguished Finalist for the 4-Way Test Speech for Rotary Club of Chula Vista District Regional Final on April 8 of 2022.
• Queen Bee winner of Westmorland Chamber of Commerce 16th Annual Honey Festival Essay Contest approved by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia.
• Recognized for 3 years of morning announcements for the entire school of Brawley Union High School.
• Recognized for outstanding Chairman of Student Site Council for 2 years.
• Recognized for student service from the Mayor of the City of Brawley.
• Recognized for being an active volunteer promoting mental health through Project Empowerment in the community of Imperial Valley.
• Recognized for transforming mental health and social emotional learning at Desert Valley High and Brawley Union High School.
• Recognized as a major asset for Behavioral Health and County Mental Health consortium.
• Selected Representative for the Imperial Valley Youth Advisory Board for Drug and Overdose Prevention.
• Recognized on "The Que Pasa Calexico" podcast with Jose Alejos for Project Empowerment.
• Recognized as youngest special guest speaker at the 2021 Mental Health Fair at Imperial Valley College.
• Recognized on TV News Anchor " Noticias Univision" for Project Empowerment.
• Brought and embraced Mental Health Awareness to the Imperial Valley Community.
• Achieved and met all my promises to impact the lives of adolescents during dark times.
• Conducted successful research/surveys on my own during the pandemic to reach out to young adolescents.
• Improved the performance and grades of a child with learning disabilities on the verge of failure.
• Created lasting change and awareness for Brawley Union High School's view on Mental Health and Student Achievement.

Overall, the results of my accomplishments and efforts are found in the lives I unknowingly changed through my mental health initiation and desire to impact through my ideas.

• Been recognized by Brawley Rotary, Chula Vista, Carlsbad and Coronado Rotary for my mental health project, Project Empowerment.
• Awarded a certificate of a donation made to the Rotary International Polio Plus Campaign to vaccinate children under my program Project Empowerment.
• Founder of Project/Program Empowerment.
• Fundamentally partner to Behavioral Health and County Health in the Imperial Valley.

Project Empowerment was established in 2020 as a private mission. In late 2020, Project Empowerment was introduced to the students of Brawley Union High School in hopes of embracing vulnerability and breaking the stigma attached to mental health. Project Empowerment is simply a program that creates activity for students to engage physically to open up about there personal manners depending on the activity being hosted by the creator. Activities would look like answering questions about there lives, relationships, emotions or personal circumstances anonymously. This anonymous technique created trust from the student body, allowing the creator to share there answers and publicly display them for others to see and relate. The results of every activity was also used for research purposes in hopes of improving the schools social, emotional and mental services for students who attended Brawley Union High School. This program/project was also used in Desert Valley High School (DVHS). As creator/founder of Project Empowerment, it is unique for the reason that it was designed by an adolescent and proven to have been a fundamental change in the lives of the students who experienced its services and the professionals who worked with the program. Project Empowerment is still existing but has been converted into a multi-media program utilizing social media to reach adolescents from anywhere. It has changed its domain name as well but is known as its original name, Project Empowerment. Thus, Project Empowerment's mission remains the same from the beginning and is still on ongoing work.