Alexis Teixeira is a fan of new ideas and school spirit. It’s why she chose to run for student council president at St. Charles College.
“Not only do I love working behind the scenes and developing new ideas, but I love being in front of crowds and bringing those ideas to life,” Alexis said. “The main reason I dove into school politics is to promote school spirit. I want to see those around me smile, have fun, make memories, inspire others and be inspired by those around them.
“As student council president, I don’t want the student body to view me as the boss or the ‘person in charge’, but rather as someone who they can reach out to at any time about anything, and feel comfortable sharing their knowledge and ideas. I am beyond grateful for my high school experience, and want to reciprocate all of the love and care I have been shown. As long as I’m around, I will always be there for both the students and staff at St. Charles College.”
Not content with her life as a student politician, Alexis volunteers her time for school fundraisers and charity events like the Northern Cancer Foundation and the Sudbury Food Bank.
“I try to help my community in any way that I can. I also volunteer at PetSave regularly, where I take care of cats and help them find homes, and I often volunteer at local craft shows such as Makers North and the Kivi Park Artisan Walk,” she said. “In my opinion, the three main benefits of volunteering are the experience, making new connections, and self-satisfaction.”
The feeling Alexis said she gets from pitching in is rewarding.
“No matter where, I always learn new things and make new memories when volunteering. Making new connections is an additional gain that comes with community service. Through volunteering, I have been presented with job opportunities, new relationships and further opportunities to volunteer in new places. There’s a lot of self-satisfaction there. Nothing compares to the rewarding feeling that comes with seeing the benefit of my good actions. Being able to make a difference, big or small, fills me with an inexplicable exuberance.”
Outside of school and volunteering, Alexis finds time to indulge her creative side with music.
“I’ve loved music for as long as I remember. I could practically sing before I could talk,” she said. “But I only started performing for crowds a little over a year ago, thanks to the encouragement of my teacher, Ms. Patricia Demore. I most often perform solo, but have also sung in a choir.”
Alexis is also a full-time competitive dancer at Spotlight Dance Company, where she has been training for the past 10 years. She competes in a variety of different styles, including tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, jazz-funk and production.
“I absolutely love being on stage and entertaining,” she said. “I have performed at many local events including Sudbury Wolves games, charity events, school concerts, restaurants, and more. I have taught myself to play many instruments over the years — ukulele, piano, xylophone — and I am currently working on guitar. I often perform vocally alongside my ukulele, and it’s my favourite instrument thus far. I am entirely self-taught as both a vocalist and instrumentalist, but music has always come naturally to me.”
When asked what inspires her, Alexis said narrowing it down to just a single thing is difficult.
“I do a lot of different things, all of which are inspired by different sources. However, if I had to pinpoint one thing which inspires me, I would have to say it’s the world around me,” she said. “I love positive environments. I want to see those around me smiling. Knowing that I am capable of creating such positivity motivates me to be involved, help my community, perform, and do anything that I can to make an influence. Another factor which inspires me is karma. I know that what I put into life is what I will get out of life. When I do good things for those around me, the universe will reciprocate — what goes around comes around.”
Asked about the future, Alexis is focused.
“Next year, I will be attending Laurentian University for Concurrent-Education in Arts. I want to be an English teacher at the high-school level, hopefully at my current school, St. Charles College,” she said. “Throughout my high school years, I have been shown a tremendous amount of support by my teachers — they’ve had such a strong influence on the person I am today. I want to be able to make that same impact on younger generations.
“I’m very passionate about literature, which is what made me choose English as my major next year. I love all aspects of English, and reading and writing have gotten me through some of my most difficult times. My high school English teacher really sparked this interest. If I can also inspire students to love literature the way I do, that would be a bonus.”
When given the opportunity, Teixeira is remarkably candid with a message for her peers.
“Be yourself. As simple and as cheesy as it sounds, it’s the best advice anyone could ever be given. Despite what anyone thinks, despite what anyone says, despite the obstacles you are presented with, being yourself is the greatest choice one could make in my opinion,” Alexis said. “Live your life for you, you were not placed upon this earth to please other people or be an act. You were put here for you, and you only get one shot at it. Freeing yourself from the judgment of others is such an incredible feeling. The judgment will always be there, unfortunately, you just have to learn not to care. Again, easier said than done, but most definitely possible.”
Alexis Teixeira’s words of inspiration
“You were only put here for you, and you only get one shot at it.”
James Stewart is a writer in North Bay. Inspire is made possible by our Community Leaders Progra
