NBC6’s Ari Odzer showcases Emerald Tellez, who is Ivy League bound.
They move in a graceful blur of flowing, colorful skirts. They dance for fun, for their school, and for each other.
“Dance can also be a performance expression of Hispanic culture,” said Yaretzy Martinez, a senior at Young Women’s Preparatory Academy, a 6-12 public magnet school in Miami.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
Yaretzy and her classmate, Emerald Tellez, co-founded the Las Paisanas dance troupe to showcase the classic folk dancing of Central America.
“It feels like, empowering, because we’re creating a sisterhood and we’re also honoring our ancestors and the beautiful things they have passed on to us,” Emerald said.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
Emerald does just about everything at her school. President of the senior class, president of the Science Honor Society, president of Model United Nations, and the list goes on and on.
“I honestly feel like it’s my nature to achieve the best version of myself,” Emerald said.
She wants to study medicine in college. The principal here, Maribel Rivera, says Emerald is the single best student she’s known in her 23 years as an educator.
SWAG on 6
“She’s been here since 6th grade and every year we’ve seen her blossom into the young woman that she is today, we’re just so proud of her, I think what keeps her going is the fact that she believes in herself,” Rivera said.
Emerald co-founded a podcast that focuses on student perspectives at her all-girls school, a place where she’s gone from mentee to mentor.
“Yeah, it is truly a full circle moment,” Emerald said in reflection.
“She’s amazing energy to be around, regardless of what we’re doing, she always has a positive attitude and she’s always working toward becoming better and pushing herself to take on more challenging tasks,” said Nupia Fernandez, one of Emerald’s classmates.
“She’s always there for me, she’s always somebody that I can count on,” Yaretzy said.
So why do her friends call her a role model? Emerald is going from here, Little Havana, to the Ivy League. She won a Questbridge scholarship to Columbia University, and she’s achieved all this success coming from a single-parent, low-income home.
“It does not feel real yet, honestly, like my mom and I are still in shock,” Emerald said.
It’s definitely real. Emerald is inspiring her peers, and twirling all the way from Flagler to Broadway.
