LBUSD’s student board member embraces his culture as pivotal to his success

As a first-generation student, Axel Aguilar hopes to be the representation he once sought for LBUSD students.

Long before becoming Long Beach Unified School District’s second-ever student board member, Axel Aguilar had a lot on his mind: namely, earthquakes.

The Jordan High School senior has been intrigued by emergencies and how to best prepare for them since he was in eighth grade. It’s what drew him to completing the GoodWill Certified Nurse Assistant Training Program and why he hopes to become a trauma surgeon.

“‘What can I do to help?’ That’s what I want to focus on and really just know how to help others in a way that’s going to save their lives,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar’s passion for helping others manifests in many ways. In the medical field, he wants to help his current and future patients. As the eldest son in a Mexican household, he wants to help his family. And as a student board member, he wants to help students across the district.

“I’m a proud Jordan High School student. I’m proud to be here. I just really like the school and I can see the efforts that the school is making. I wanted to multiply that with my student board member position.”
Axel Aguilar, LBUSD student board member

Chosen out of a pool of 34 students, according to Superintendent Jill Baker, Aguilar was sworn in as student board member for the 2023-2024 school year in September.

He sits beside the board during meetings and can cast a “preferential vote” that while not counting toward the official vote on an item, allows him to provide a student perspective.

Baker said that while he is an accomplished student, the way he encourages others is what made him stand out during the selection process.

“One of the things that he put in his application, I underlined it three times, [was] that he encourages others to be the best that they can be,” Baker told the Signal Tribune. “While that might sound simple, at his age to really be thinking about not just leading others or being in service, but to really think about recognizing who others are trying to be, and helping them become that, I think just speaks a lot about his humanity.”

Aguilar has been in the LBUSD system throughout his academic career, starting at Colin Powell Academy before attending Jordan High School.

One of the main reasons he applied to the position—and why he has been involved in leadership roles including pathway ambassador, Associated Student Body vice president and editor-in-chief of the yearbook—is to shift the perspective on Jordan’s reputation.

Axel Aguilar, LBUSD’s student board member, is a proud Jordan High School student who hopes to work as a trauma surgeon one day. (Briana Mendez-Padilla)

“I’m a proud Jordan High School student. I’m proud to be here,” Aguilar said. “I just really like the school and I can see the efforts that the school is making. I wanted to multiply that with my student board member position.”

Aguilar was also inspired by his predecessor and Jordan alumna, Frania Lopez. He said he wanted to build upon what she started as the first elected student board member.

“Her being Latina really just inspired me like, ‘Oh, we’re up there. We can actually [do things like this],’” Aguilar said. “And now that I’m here, I want to show the students not only at Jordan, but at other schools too, [that] we can be here doing great things for the community and for the world.”

Representation is important for Aguilar. As a first-generation student and a Mexican-American, he’s proud of his family’s heritage. His parents immigrated from Mexico and dropped out of high school at a young age.

A student sits on a bench inside of Jordan High School in North Long Beach on April 14, 2021. (Richard Grant | Signal Tribune)

“I really appreciate their sacrifices, all of the things they’ve done for me, they don’t go unnoticed and I really try to make the most out of their sacrifices, just because it’s able to make them proud … I feel like that’s what we as first-generation students [tend to] want to do,” Aguilar said.

Between his job as a nursing assistant, his role as student board member, his responsibilities on campus and his classes, it seems there is very little time left for him to do much else.

“I don’t really see my parents that often because I’m always in school, but the time I do get to see them and spend time with them, I like to cherish that and really make the most of that,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar joked that his friends might describe him as boring due to his endless responsibilities, but community involvement is paramount to Aguilar’s goal of changing his community, as well as other people’s perspective. He enjoys the school environment, academics and extracurriculars, which he said stems from craving the “full high school experience.”

“I’m the type of person who if I don’t like it, I’m not going to do it,” Aguilar said. “Everything that I’m in, I like. I like the people, I like the connections I’ve made, I like the memories I’ve made with them, and that’s what keeps me excited to keep doing it.”