Kayla Depina (she/her)

Biography:

Kayla has lived in Boston since 2005. She currently attends Boston Latin School as part of the class of 2023. There she explores her interests including literature, all types of art, and environmental science. She did not always like school but once she learned to accept and express herself unapologetically she began looking forward to it. Her favorite part of the day is when the bell rings at 2:15 and she gets to help put together outfits for a theatre show, paint the set, or connect with clubs focused on topics she is passionate about. She hopes to continue exploring and meeting people with similar interests this year through outside extracurriculars. Kayla may have been born and raised in Boston and has never traveled very far but she doesn’t plan on staying put much longer. She looks forward to graduating high school and pursuing higher education in a different setting. She has been eyeing Spanish-speaking countries specifically as she hopes to one day become fluent and loves experiencing other cultures.

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Why?

I chose community and representation as my Emerson Creative Community Network project topics because I believe they are the most dormant yet pressing issues for minorities. Before joining any clubs at BLS I didn’t enjoy going to school and had nothing to look forward to. Now I can say I will gladly show up to any club event to support my peers and meet new people. As for representation, when asked in a GSA meeting if I could name any tv show or movie examples of a healthy gay relationship I was surprised that I couldn’t. This topic surfaced again in my 10th grade ELA class when we were discussing the importance of representation surrounding the conspiracy that Jay Gatsby was a black man and no one raised the point that without positive representation, is it really useful at all?