Community Service

Meet our 2019 Ambassadors: Lily on Costa Rica La Pura Vida

June 21, 2019

Lily Zello lives in Phoenix, Arizona and is currently half way through her sophomore year at Sunnyslope High School. Lily takes all Honors and AP classes and still manages to stay in the top 1% of her class rank. Additionally, Lily volunteers with her school’s Spanish Honors Society. She enjoys the volunteering opportunities the club provides, such as organizing a yard sale to raise funds for underprivileged students or translating for Spanish-speakers at her school’s Future Freshman Night. She also takes advantage of the many opportunities to speak Spanish with native speakers both through the club and everyday life in Phoenix. Lily loves travelling and experiencing new cultures, so she is eager for the summer trip to Costa Rica. One of Lily’s favorite classes is her Cabinetmaking class. She took it both her freshman and sophomore year, and she made a clock, a chest, a cutting board, a candlebox, and a bookshelf. Lily is a proficient worker and helpful peer; in fact, she received the Cabinetmaking
Student of the Year Award. She loves the hands-on work that comes with woodworking, and it is a nice break from her rigorous course load.

When Lily’s not in school, she plays sports. Lily plays both volleyball and basketball and looks forward to two more exciting years of high school sports. On her volleyball team, she played middle hitter where she spiked the ball through an undefeated season. She also played on her school’s Varsity basketball team and was awarded Most Improved at the end of the season. Classmates, teachers, and coaches alike recognize Lily as a leader and a positive role model. She leads by example and shows how to be a teamplayer, hard worker, and devoted student. In her downtime, Lily likes to cook and spend time with her family. Lily recently started baking, and she loves making cookies with her friends and feeding them to her two younger siblings, Lana and Luca. Lily and her family also enjoy eating the delicious Mexican food that’s in Phoenix. Phoenix has a vibrant, Spanish-speaking culture and is full of Mexican influence in food, art, music, and more. Lily looks forward to traveling with Global Works and learning about a different Latin American culture and cuisine.

Whether it be because of the Pura Vida lifestyle or the white sandy beaches, Costa Rica has been on Lily’s bucket list for as long as she can remember. Lily benefits from being a Global Works Ambassador because not only will it allow her to cross another thing off her bucket list, but it will also provide her with an experience unlike any other.In addition, the Ambassadorship will give Lily a proper foundation for the trip, and she is very excited to develop the skills she learned in photography class to capture the beautiful Costa Rican landscape and share her unique trip with her friends and family.