SALT LAKE CITY — Diana Mayorga is one of many students who live on the west side of Salt Lake City but are East High Leopards.
"I'm personally from the west side; I make the commute up to East High," Mayorga said. "I know that there can be difficulties but by working and doing new and innovative ideas, we can do something that's really strong and unbreakable."
One of the ideas she and other student leaders came up with is to host the school's Fall Dance on the west side of the city.
"The reason behind changing the location of our dance is for everyone to feel united and for there to be something on the west side so that everyone knows that it's inclusive and it brings awareness to all," Mayorga said.
"In looking for ideas to reach out to the west side, the smartest thing I've done is hand it over to kids because they always have the best ideas," said East High Principal Ryan Oaks.
One of Oaks' goals in his first year as the principal is to make all students and families feel part of the East High community. He says he and other school administrators are actively trying to go to the west side to build relationships with families.
"We have a very unique boundary. We stretch from Hogle Zoo all the way out through Glendale that brings a very unique set of challenges, but I always say every challenge brings opportunity," he said.
East High is doing things like having parent-teacher conference nights at Glendale Middle School to make the commute easier for parents and students on the west side — something that was requested by families. The school administration also physically attends more meetings on the west side to learn their concerns and see what's working. East High also has The Dance Krew — a primarily hip-hop-based dance group focused on diversity and teamwork.
"East High is attempting to do something that's really challenging, really rewarding, and really cool," said Principal Oaks. "The name might be East High, but it belongs to all of these students on the east side, on the west side, and everywhere in between."
Saturday's dance is one of many student-led initiatives, but the work doesn't stop on the dance floor.
"Hopefully the first to come of many," Mayorga said.
