Alexandra Onwuli was about a week and a half shy of her 18th birthday when Americans lined up at the polls for the presidential election on Nov. 5.
She was slightly sad about not being old enough to vote. The high school senior is from Alief, a working-class community in southwest Houston where a fusion of African, Hispanic and Asian cultures thrive, evident in the area’s many festivals, foods and shops. The area is also known for its historically low voter turnout, causing a diverse section of Houston to be underrepresented and economically disenfranchised.
But Onwuli is changing the narrative through her passion for communication and community engagement. She is playing a role in increasing civic participation through AliefVotes, a student-led, non-partisan nonprofit that’s empowering young leaders by providing civic education, leadership training and resources for teen-led community projects. Although the events are mostly teen-led, the whole town is invited to the community engagement workshops that have helped make a brighter future for Alief. Government leaders and anti-gun violence activists huddled up with teens to brainstorm improvements to school safety during a time when active shootings have increased to historic levels. Tree planting events help cool down the streets and sidewalks of Alief, which is an urban heat island. PEN America ranked Texas third in the nation when it comes to book bans during the 2023-2024 school year. But that hasn’t stopped teens from participating in book exchanges and literacy workshops.
Onwuli has seen with her own eyes how teens are inspiring the adults in Alief. When she first started with the nonprofit during her junior year, only a handful of people were attending the meetings. Now the citizens of Alief fill up the room whenever community leaders talk about the new sidewalks and trails that are coming to their area. Folks are even coming together to push for a dog park for their fur family, she said.
“When you have teenagers who are civically engaged, you also have families who are coming out to events more and learning how to support the community more as well,” she said.
Onwuli’s work-ethic and kind spirit guided her up the ranks of AliefVotes, where she started as a fellow and is now the communications director. She uses the organization’s newsletter and social media channels to amplify youth initiatives. Onwuli’s achievements with AliefVotes paved the way for her to be one of the 100 high schoolers accepted by Disney Dreamers Academy to attend their annual four-day, immersive mentorship experience at Walt Disney World. From March 26th through 30th, a village of celebrities, business leaders, aerospace engineers, filmmakers and music producers sought to inspire the next generation of leaders through career development workshops and electrifying speeches. Onwuli’s commitment to community engagement impressed Dreamers Academy so much that National Geographic decided to award her with an immersive experience that will take place in June.
There’s a myth roaming around that teens are apathetic to world issues, researchers state. Onwuli knows that’s not true. She believes some adults view teens as children who don’t know anything. Onwuli stresses that all ages of children are observant towards their environment and they’re bringing those experiences with them whenever they perform their civic duties whether that is speaking in front of a legislative session or participating in a court hearing.
“If we are sitting in that room it’s because we have something to say and it should be heard. Not only should it be heard, it should be acknowledged, it should be processed and it should be thought about,” Onwuli said. “Don’t just hear us, but also think about solutions to what we are saying. We may even be providing solutions that are really helpful because we are doing our research. Sometimes adults want to be like, ‘Oh, you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ We know what we’re talking about. Listen to us and listen to what we have to say.”
Onwuli’s trajectory into the civic engagement space was sparked by a focus on diversity. Her studies in Black feminism and womanism started as early as seventh grade. This decision was influenced by her teacher, who escaped a genocide that ripped through her home country of Sudan. The educator always encouraged Onwuli and her classmates to learn challenging topics, which helped expand their worldview.
Being surrounded by various cultures gave Onwuli the ability to view history through the lens of diversity. She quickly caught on to the segregation that occurred during the women’s suffrage movement and how it left non-white women out.
“I realized when women were marching, Black women were marching way behind the white women,” Onwuli said. “I’m from Houston. So I saw mostly everybody else more than I saw white people growing up. I know they exist because that’s in our history, but I also know these other people exist and I’m wondering, ‘When did they get their rights? Where are they in my curriculum? Where are they in all of these essays?‘”
Learning about the importance of intersectionality in feminism sparked her interests in social justice. That kindling erupted into a wildfire following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Watching the footage was the first time she was exposed to racism in the present day. She felt a calling to write something, do something, say something that would bring about change for her people.
“I dedicated myself to learning more about policy, laws and the history of activism,” Onwuli said. “I was always thinking about how I really wanted to get involved, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know where to start.”
Social justice and civics education are sometimes viewed as kin in the education space. While civics focuses on the processes and structuring of government, the importance of volunteering and citizenship, activism utilizes community organizing skills to make sure all citizens have equal rights and resources, the Southern Poverty Law Center states. Reports show that students want to have more civics education, but with laws restricting what can be taught in schools, some educators are afraid their lesson plans will be labeled “divisive.” On top of this, the focus on civics in schools has been deteriorating since the 1960s, which produced society disconnected from the democratic process. Americans are already having difficulty understanding basic government functionings. A 2024 study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation discovered that only one-in-three Americans can name and explain all three branches of government.
Onwuli said nonprofits like AliefVotes give youth a stepping stone into the civic engagement arena. Last school year, she joined the AliefVotes Fellowship Program which gave her a space to use the social justice energy she had been feeling. During the fall semester of the program, community-oriented teens gain civic and leadership skills. In the spring, fellows use their new talents to organize and budget a community project. AliefVotes co-founder Tommy Wan said the projects are more than just time to clean up the litter in the neighborhood or host a school supply drive. AliefVotes has worked with teens who avoided gang activity or recovered from substance abuse just because they connected with communal care.
“Civic engagement is definitely in need of a revival. That’s how communities are able to come together, learn about each other and thrive together as a neighborhood,” Wan said. “We’re seeing a lack of that, especially in young people. That’s by virtue because we do not have enough opportunities for young people to get involved in the community. So that’s one of the reasons why Alex has really been spearheading a lot of these initiatives.”
Onwuli’s project, an art and essay contest, drew 62 student participants who were given the opportunity to creatively express their love for Alief and what they would like to see improve. Wan said the event was such a hit that the nonprofit held the event again this year. Wan has watched Onwuli take on more of a mentorship role with this year’s class of fellows during her time as a communications director.
“She’s a people connector,” Wan said. “She’s able to talk to anyone and has an incredible confidence in terms of building relationships with the community and ensuring that people are celebrated. Also, her ability to organize effectively with high attention to detail is something that’s so important to community engagement. I would definitely say those are her superpowers.”
Disney Dreamers Academy gave her a chance to flex her powers at a time when she felt powerless. Due to personal matters outside of her control, Onwuli was denied funding opportunities for college. Feeling the sting of the rejection took a toll on her mental health, but getting accepted into the academy alleviated the stress. She gained career development training from lawyers who taught her how to create her own niche within the policy field. Speeches from actor Tyler James Williams, who stars on the ABC hit comedy “Abbott Elementary,” and motivational speaker Lisa Nichols encouraged the teens to follow their purpose and to never let doubt shake them off their path.
While life after high school is still coming together for Onwuli, she was able to take away an important lesson from Dreamers Academy: that her worth isn’t defined by her productivity. She often looks over her past four years in school and wonders if she did enough. When her schedule is booked, she questions whether she is doing enough tasks well. The whirlwind of worry used to keep her up at night. But she has since released that mindset.
“The academy taught me to release myself from not doing enough because I am enough,” she said. “There’s so much pressure on Black women to do so much for other people and not enough for ourselves. So to be able to understand that I am enough and to know that I don’t have to put my foot everywhere just because someone tells me to do something helps me feel better because it makes me feel more validated in my emotions.”