Author: LALA

“Whenever I say that I’ve been through these situations, like domestic violence with my father and him leaving me when I was so young, and watching my friends get shot in the head… people act like it’s a hard thing to talk about. But I actually want to talk about it because people need to…

While many walk away from LALA with new visions, passions, and ideas for social impact, Breno Teixeira walked away from the first-ever LALA Bootcamp, where he was the youngest student, as a new person with a newfound look on life. From speaking to someone at a networking dinner that had just become vegetarian after watching…

The average high school student likely would not bat an eye if their teacher were sleeping; if anything, they might smile, knowing that their school day just got much easier. But Florencia Doval, 16, who goes by Floppy, is no average student, and when she noticed teachers dozing off, she became furious. Rather than taking…

Neither of her parents graduated from college–rather, they both graduated from high school around the age of 22. Their lack of higher education, though, only pushed them harder to provide their children with exceptional educational opportunities. As a result, Laura de Matos Leal not only attends one of the best high schools in Rio de…

Rough hands seemed to run in the family. Her grandfather had them from working in the Brazilian fields since he was a child, and now she had rough hands too, albeit for a different reason: Extensive handwriting–a fitting contrast of the difference education can make in someone’s life. “It’s incredible how this one thing can…

Growing up in the green, mountainous city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, one may be surprised to see other cities utterly devoid of nature. Growing up surrounded by nature and so near adventurous expeditions could also render one increasingly angry as they realize the destruction humans are having on the natural world. Growing up in…

In the digital information and social media age, the barriers to industries have been lowered substantially, even allowing teenagers to become a part of historically professional fields. Pedro Borges stumbled upon a Facebook page about graphic design when he was just 12 years old, and the first domino of his professional life fell. What had…

Energy radiated off Sol Petroni since she was a child – from her desire to constantly be physically active to her expressive face that would let you know exactly how she was feeling. Now 19, Sol continues to give off fiery energy like the Sun that her name denotes, but now she has converted it…

Smiling through even the most difficult of topics, Victor Parra, 19, talked openly about his life in Catia, a barrio (informal urban settlement) in West Caracas, Venezuela, that is home to over 1.5 million people. Speaking openly about your background is one thing. Letting it define you is another. “Where you come from does not…