Rocío Ortega, doing heroic things

When she was in high school in East Los Angeles, she started a chapter of Girl Up, sponsored by the UN Foundation, supporting girls in developing regions. Which led to working with members of Congress, which led to awards—and award ceremonies, like, say, for the TeenNick HALO (Helping and Leading Others) award, where she said: “Everyone has leadership potential. It’s just a matter of finding your passions, and learning to act upon them. Knowing there are millions of women and girls in this world, waiting to untap their potential, motivates me to empower them.” Recent graduate of Georgetown. Currently a communications strategist and writer for the ACLU SoCal. Class of 2016.