Through the interview, I learned more about what makes Lizzet unique. Not only is she a pageant contestant, but she’s also a captain of the girls’ tennis team and a mentor to younger students through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. She is proudly bilingual and uses her ability to speak both Spanish and English to connect with and help others. She’s not only in the pageant for a title, but because she wants to be a part of something greater at SBHS.

Vivianna Brambila: In your bio, you said that you’re proficient in both English and Spanish in your house. Did you grow up speaking Spanish? And if so, how did that impact you at school?

Lizzet Sotelo: In my household, I did grow up speaking only Spanish because my parents didn’t understand English, or so I thought; my mom doesn’t know English. So I only spoke to her in Spanish. My dad, as I grew older, I grew to see that my dad did understand it, and he did know how to speak English, but it was only Spanish: Spanish TV shows, Spanish movies, Spanish music. 
Everything was in Spanish.  So I’m able to be fluent, proud to be fluent and bilingual in both Spanish and English. And I think it has positively impacted me because now whenever I’m out or whenever I’m in the store, people come up to me and they’re like, “tu sabes Español?” And I’m like, “Oh, si.” And just being able to help them with whatever they need, or being able to have a conversation with someone – not necessarily help them, but just being able to be there for someone and understand what their likes are, their interests. And having someone that they could talk to is just something nice, something every person wants, and being able to have a conversation.

VB: You said your hobbies include helping a community. What was your favorite way you have helped your community?

LS: My favorite way of helping my community is that right now I tutor at a little kids’ school through the program, Big Brothers, Big Sisters. I’ve been doing that since my freshman year. Being able to grow with the little kids themselves is something very special, because I never really had a mentor myself when I was in elementary, and being able to be a mentor for them and being able to be someone that they can look up to, ask questions, and overall be there for them or something. I really like it, and it’s special to me, especially since I’ve had kids who are fifth graders, so I’m able to help them with their transition into middle school and be like, oh, it’s okay, don’t be nervous, you got this. 
And just being able to show them what the right path might be for them.

VB: You also said that your hobbies include playing tennis. How long have you been playing, and what inspired you to play?

I have been playing tennis since my sophomore year, so it’s gonna be my 3rd year now. And what inspired me to play was just my friends. I think being able to start high school, as soon as you start high school, it’s very scary because you’re new; you don’t have anything to look forward to or whatnot.
So, by being able to do sports and activities, you build that community for yourself. You’re able to build friends and friendships, and outside of that sport, when you see them around school, you’re like, Oh, hey, how are you doing? And you just build more friends and more groups, so that inspired me a lot. 
And I think that grew into me, and one of my friends, also a contestant, Saida Carrillo, we’re both captains this year for the girls’ tennis team. And it’s just a very honorable position to be in, because I’m able to call them my girls, you know, it’s my girls’ tennis team, I’m their mentor now, and I’m able to be that person that once I looked up to; now I’m the person they look up to. So it’s very nice to just have a team that’s so special, and they build a bond so fast.
So, I love,  love my girls’ tennis team.

VB: So you mentioned you’re the captain. How’d you feel when they told you you were captain?

LS: I was very surprised, in a way, because we have so many great players and so many great girls, and I was like, oh, my goodness. At first I was very scared, and I even told my sister. I was like, “oh, I don’t know if I’m up for this.” But the more I thought about it, the more I knew, I would rather have myself in that position because I know what I can bring to the team. I know I can be there for my girls. I know that I am someone that they can look up to and they can come to. So I hope I’m doing a good job, and I hope I get to do more with our girls’ tennis team and that I can see them grow into the people that I know they can grow into.

VB: What’s your number one dream college to attend and why? 

LS: I think my number one dream college to attend so far right now is UCLA. And one of the main reasons is because it’s close to home, and I have a very tight-knit family, and we’re very close together, so I don’t think I would be able to go very far. But UCLA has a lot of prestige, and looking into their background and what they stand for, it has the same morals and ideas that I have as well. And I would like to be part of their activism clubs and their protest clubs and just be a part of a school that stands for the same things I stand for.

VB: What are some tips that you can give your peers about balancing both social and academics?

LS: Some tips I can give my peers about balancing social and academics is communication. I think communication is vital to having and being able to balance work and personal life/workload. Because being able to communicate and prioritize some things over the other and be like, okay, I won’t be here today, but I’ll make sure to make time for you in the future. It feels nice not just for yourself, but for the person that you’re acknowledging them and that you’re not just putting them aside.

VB: At the end of the pageant, what do you want people to remember about you?

LS: At the end of the pageant, I hope people remember me as a person who was there and was a part of the Mr. and Miss Cardinal pageant. I want them to know that I tried my best and that I was there for the events, and that I was in it to be a part of something greater, to be a part of something in SBHS.