LUCIANA PEREZ

High School: TASIS School in Dorado

Hometown: Dorado, PR

For Luciana Pérez, who grew up with generosity as a core family value, serving her community has been part of her DNA for as long as she can remember. Her great-grandparents arrived from Mexico in the 60s with little more than determination, but their door was always open to anyone in need of a meal or a place to stay. That commitment to community carried down through generations, shaping Luciana’s own belief that service isn’t just about giving back—it’s about lifting up. From her earliest days in Girl Scouts, where she built cleaning supply buckets for hurricane victims and installed a lending library in an underprivileged Austin neighborhood, to her current community involvement, Luciana has embraced service as both heritage and mission.

At TASIS School Dorado, Puerto Rico, Luciana has led multiple initiatives that blend service with leadership. As founder and leader of the Sending Sunshine Club, she works to brighten the days of senior citizens across borders. What started as a simple idea of crafting handmade greeting cards evolved into a large-scale initiative that has delivered over 1,000 messages of hope and warmth to elderly recipients across Puerto Rico and as far as Canada. Whether through a carefully crafted holiday message or a cheerful drawing, Luciana and her team have brought a little extra joy into the lives of hundreds.

Environmentally aware, she considers one of her proudest achievements to be her work through Project Full Cycle, a year-long initiative focused on sustainability education and recycling at her school. Understanding that true change starts with the younger generation, she and her team worked to implement a program that encouraged students to shift to reusable bottles while strategically placing recycling stations to reduce waste. But it wasn’t just about bins and bottles; it was about instilling a mindset of environmental responsibility. Through workshops and presentations, Luciana helped younger students connect their daily choices to larger global issues. More than just an environmental initiative, Full Cycle became an educational platform where Luciana and her team mentored younger students on the impact of plastic waste and the importance of responsible consumption.

Luciana’s impact at TASIS Dorado doesn’t stop there. As a leader within the Interact Club, she has mobilized fellow students for service projects and organized food drives and fundraising events to support local food banks and assist elderly residents in her community. Simultaneously, she serves as Business Manager of the Bee Club, where she develops strategies to teach students about the importance of beehives while generating funds to expand the local bee population. Through this work, Luciana contributes to rebuilding Puerto Rico’s ecosystems one hive at a time.

Bringing regional expertise to a broader audience, Luciana serves on the FEMA Youth Preparedness Council, collaborating with peers from New Jersey, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. In this role, she facilitates discussions on disaster preparedness and regional challenges, creating an inclusive environment where participants can voice community-specific concerns. The perspectives gathered through these collaborations inform comprehensive solutions to regional environmental challenges. She then brings these insights back to TASIS Dorado, educating younger students about emergency planning and community resilience.

In early 2024, Luciana launched “Party Pal Celebration,” perhaps her most heartwarming initiative yet. Recognizing that celebration is a luxury not everyone has access to, she collected party supplies and coordinated with a corporate partner to purchase birthday gifts for fifteen children with special needs living in a local orphanage. The project brought together students from TASIS Dorado, corporate employees, and community members to create celebration boxes filled with decorations and presents—ensuring that each child could experience the joy of being celebrated on their special day.

Leadership isn’t just something Luciana practices in service—it extends to the classroom as well. Excelling in a demanding curriculum, she maintains a 4.0 unweighted GPA while completing the AP Capstone program and tackling multiple advanced courses. Her academic excellence earned her unanimous acceptance into the Cum Laude Society, membership on the National Honor Society, recognition as an AP Scholar with Distinction, and acknowledgment through the National Hispanic Recognition Program. When she’s not leading service initiatives or studying, Luciana makes time for athletics as a member of her school’s varsity swim team, balancing her intellectual pursuits with physical discipline.

The legacy of generosity that began with her great-grandparents will carry on as Luciana prepares to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study finance with a minor in business administration. Whether through nonprofit initiatives, sustainable business ventures, or financial strategies aimed at economic equity, she is determined to continue uplifting communities and making service not just a personal mission, but a lifelong commitment.

LUCIANA PEREZ

High School: TASIS School in Dorado

Hometown: Dorado, PR

For Luciana Pérez, who grew up with generosity as a core family value, serving her community has been part of her DNA for as long as she can remember. Her great-grandparents arrived from Mexico in the 60s with little more than determination, but their door was always open to anyone in need of a meal or a place to stay. That commitment to community carried down through generations, shaping Luciana’s own belief that service isn’t just about giving back—it’s about lifting up. From her earliest days in Girl Scouts, where she built cleaning supply buckets for hurricane victims and installed a lending library in an underprivileged Austin neighborhood, to her current community involvement, Luciana has embraced service as both heritage and mission.

At TASIS School Dorado, Puerto Rico, Luciana has led multiple initiatives that blend service with leadership. As founder and leader of the Sending Sunshine Club, she works to brighten the days of senior citizens across borders. What started as a simple idea of crafting handmade greeting cards evolved into a large-scale initiative that has delivered over 1,000 messages of hope and warmth to elderly recipients across Puerto Rico and as far as Canada. Whether through a carefully crafted holiday message or a cheerful drawing, Luciana and her team have brought a little extra joy into the lives of hundreds.

Environmentally aware, she considers one of her proudest achievements to be her work through Project Full Cycle, a year-long initiative focused on sustainability education and recycling at her school. Understanding that true change starts with the younger generation, she and her team worked to implement a program that encouraged students to shift to reusable bottles while strategically placing recycling stations to reduce waste. But it wasn’t just about bins and bottles; it was about instilling a mindset of environmental responsibility. Through workshops and presentations, Luciana helped younger students connect their daily choices to larger global issues. More than just an environmental initiative, Full Cycle became an educational platform where Luciana and her team mentored younger students on the impact of plastic waste and the importance of responsible consumption.

Luciana’s impact at TASIS Dorado doesn’t stop there. As a leader within the Interact Club, she has mobilized fellow students for service projects and organized food drives and fundraising events to support local food banks and assist elderly residents in her community. Simultaneously, she serves as Business Manager of the Bee Club, where she develops strategies to teach students about the importance of beehives while generating funds to expand the local bee population. Through this work, Luciana contributes to rebuilding Puerto Rico’s ecosystems one hive at a time.

Bringing regional expertise to a broader audience, Luciana serves on the FEMA Youth Preparedness Council, collaborating with peers from New Jersey, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. In this role, she facilitates discussions on disaster preparedness and regional challenges, creating an inclusive environment where participants can voice community-specific concerns. The perspectives gathered through these collaborations inform comprehensive solutions to regional environmental challenges. She then brings these insights back to TASIS Dorado, educating younger students about emergency planning and community resilience.

In early 2024, Luciana launched “Party Pal Celebration,” perhaps her most heartwarming initiative yet. Recognizing that celebration is a luxury not everyone has access to, she collected party supplies and coordinated with a corporate partner to purchase birthday gifts for fifteen children with special needs living in a local orphanage. The project brought together students from TASIS Dorado, corporate employees, and community members to create celebration boxes filled with decorations and presents—ensuring that each child could experience the joy of being celebrated on their special day.

Leadership isn’t just something Luciana practices in service—it extends to the classroom as well. Excelling in a demanding curriculum, she maintains a 4.0 unweighted GPA while completing the AP Capstone program and tackling multiple advanced courses. Her academic excellence earned her unanimous acceptance into the Cum Laude Society, membership on the National Honor Society, recognition as an AP Scholar with Distinction, and acknowledgment through the National Hispanic Recognition Program. When she’s not leading service initiatives or studying, Luciana makes time for athletics as a member of her school’s varsity swim team, balancing her intellectual pursuits with physical discipline.

The legacy of generosity that began with her great-grandparents will carry on as Luciana prepares to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study finance with a minor in business administration. Whether through nonprofit initiatives, sustainable business ventures, or financial strategies aimed at economic equity, she is determined to continue uplifting communities and making service not just a personal mission, but a lifelong commitment.