Whittier High School senior Adria Marin was presented with an “Award of Merit” by the Whittier Union High School District board for her leadership and dedicated work advocating for underrepresented students.

“I am honored to receive this award and call Whittier High my alma mater and grateful that I have found a place among its community,” Marin said, receiving the award at the board meeting on Feb. 14.

“I would like to thank my parents for supporting me through everything, my siblings for encouraging me, my friends for believing in me, my teachers, counselors, principal and the Board of Trustees for their guidance,” she said, “and the Las Fotos Project for supporting my creative endeavors.”

Marin joined Las Fotos Project as a freshman. Las Fotos Project is a nonprofit organization that specializes in elevating the voices of teenage youths of color through photography and mentoring, empowering them to channel their creativity for the benefit of themselves, their community, and future careers.

Through the project, Marin honed her experimental photography and photojournalism skills, contributing photos of Southland pick-up soccer games that were published in the Los Angeles Times Image magazine in 2021.

Marin also served as a national youth leader for the Hope, Healing, and Health Collective. The youth-led policy council researches and prepares a 40-page report on the mental health of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) youths in low-income communities that was shared with federal, state and local leaders across the country.

In summer 2022, Marin participated in the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project’s Statewide Leadership Conference, held at Cal State Sacramento. It centered on enhancing the leadership skills of Latinos from across the state, according to a press release. Marin led discussions and broadened her knowledge regarding Chicano studies and mental health.

Currently at Whittier High, she is a member of the varsity tennis team, serves as Associated Student Body secretary and is a member and former president of the Whittier High chapter of the California Scholarship Federation, and helping bring Cardinal together after the pandemic by organizing community service projects — such as a cleanup day at Penn Park.

Marin, who has a 4.4 GPA, received early acceptance to Barnard College in New York City — one of the prestigious “Seven Sisters” universities — where she plans to study political science and French, with a career focus on international relations.

“Adria is so passionate about what she believes in, it’s what makes her stand out,” Whittier High counselor Diana Salazar said. “Adria has made her own path and done all of her own research.”

“She is poised and confident, sharing her experiences with us and introducing us to new programs,” Salazar said. “We are so proud of what she’s accomplished.