Erika Peoples ‘26 was raised here in Ventura County and was a Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) Dragon from the start. Peoples is a natural leader, and Foothill Tech has given her a prime space to use this skill.
Peoples begins her day at a brisk 5:50 a.m., in preparation to attend her Seminary class for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 6:30-7:45 a.m.. Once on campus, Peoples heads into 12th grade Literature, taught by Brooke Johnson, English instructor and DTech advisor. Eventually, the day takes her into Government and Economics led by Daniel FitzPatrick. After the nutrition break, Peoples attends Math 3 with Rick Villano, math instructor, before heading to the Associated Student Body (ASB) Advised by Stephanie Harper Recine, where she is also in the leadership role of ASB Vice President.
Finally, she ends her day with Art taught by Justin Frazier, yearbook advisor and art teacher, and gets to enjoy an early release time without a 6th period.
As ASB Vice President, duties include: fundraising, planning for all aspects of her events, communicating with vendors, assigning students to work the events, creating backup plans and coordinating with admin, students and staff. Peoples has been responsible for the Twilight Renaissance Rally and the Cars-themed Ren Rally. These two events took immense planning and fundraising due to the lack of funding from the district and all money spent had to be funded independently.
Peoples was drawn to Foothill Tech because of the population, which at some time, included her older cousin Ruby O’Connell.
“She graduated [in] 2023, or 2022 but I really looked up to and admired her. I wanted to be just like her, so I applied,” Peoples said.
In the fall, she plans to attend Ventura College (VC) and major in criminal justice to eventually work towards becoming a lawyer. VC has been deemed the best fit for her due to the two free years of education she would receive as a Southern California resident.
During her time at Foothill Tech, Peoples has had many connections with the staff on campus, including Andres Vierra Torres, Spanish instructor, Melanie Lindsay, who previously taught AP Psychology, AP Literature and was the activities director and Justin Frazier.
These teachers have been infinitely supportive, kind and helpful. Whether it was Frazier allowing her to borrow a camera or Vierra Torres listening to her “gossip and whine”, the staff at Foothill Tech are top of her list when it comes to highlights of the last four years.
Peoples suggest that the upcoming seniors try to refrain from the drop-in motivation referred to as “Senioritis”. “It’s very real,” Peoples said, “but those last few assignments are just as important as the first few.”
As a senior, Peoples wants to share her advice she has learned over the years by telling others to embrace being a teenager. She concluded by saying, “Go to the party, talk to those people, it’s rarely as bad as you think it is, just stay safe,”
