Commentary: Colorado Springs high school senior sheds light on

Colorado Springs Business Journal, Mar 18, 2005 by Jennifer Knight

Alex Braha admires Barack Obama's vitality and his views.

Braha is a student in the International Baccalaureate program at Palmer High School.

Obama is the charismatic U.S. senator from Illinois who gained national attention for his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention.

The address, delivered when Obama was a state senator representing Chicago's South Side, was oft-quoted in the media for months: We worship an awesome God in the Blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red states. We coach Little League in the Blue states and have gay friends in the Red states.

Braha said she admires how Obama stands up to his adversaries.

It's not only his story and who he is as a person, Braha said. He's strong-minded and he's not just going to fold on this issue. He's not going to falter because of the other pressures around him.

Braha herself is quite the community organizer.

Perhaps following in her hero's footsteps-Obama was a civil rights attorney, professor and community activist before entering politics-she is, of late, up in arms about the Rev. Fred Phelps.

Palmer High incurred the wrath of Phelps when students tried to create a Gay-Straight Alliance. Because of opposition from the administration and District 11, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit.

Phelps, the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church and creator of the infamous Godhatesfags.com Web site, organized a group from Wyoming to picket at the high school March 11.

We organized a counter-protest across the street. We had Kindness Week at Palmer, and tied ribbons for tolerance, Braha said. Mary Friedrich kind of started it, and I jumped right in, and got the Palmer student body going.

There is a fiery tone to Braha's words. Her indignation at injustice and passion for humanitarian causes is why she doubts she will ever be a politician.

I can definitely see myself working in a political office or on a campaign, but I'm very vocal about what I believe, Braha said. I don't see me being able to check myself on that kind of stuff. I'd probably be doing all the behind-the-scenes work.

To that end, the freethinking senior has applied to Brown University, George Washington University, the University of Denver and Haverford College. Braha hopes for Brown, and a bachelor's degree in history or political science.

They're both passions of mine. I love history; I love the study of anything that involves people. I am very involved in politics, she said. I'm a very strong liberal. I'm pro-environment, pro- choice. Women's rights are a huge thing for me. Then there's public education &

Braha has faired well in the public school system-she carries a 4.79 GPA and the likelihood she will enter the university of her choice as a sophomore-but is set apart by her devotion to the education of others, specifically in the cause of children's literacy.

Braha is a member of the Children's Literacy Center's Youth Council, and her role involves recruiting tutors, organizing book drives and making people aware of the center's work.

I love to read, and it opens up so many doors, she said. Having the ability to read is such an important thing to me, especially in today's society. We want to make sure other people have those same opportunities.

Braha's father, Gregg, is an English and literacy resource teacher at Liberty High School. Her mother, Gina, is the literacy coordinator at the Children's Literacy Center. Braha has two younger sisters, Kia, 15, and Maddie, 11.

Energy radiates from Braha, whose joie de vivre is evidenced in her plans, if one can call them that, for the future.

In five years, I will either still be in school-knowing me I could easily take a year off to travel the world, so I could still be in school because I haven't quite finished yet-or maybe I'll have a job, but not a career, Braha said. My family's Italian, so Italy's always been a huge interest. Maybe the Middle East or Asia, some place that wouldn't be a major tourist spot with a lot of Americans, where I could really immerse myself in their culture and see what they're all about.

In 10 years, I'll probably be in one career and thinking about switching, Braha said. I get bored rather quickly. I get really excited about something for so long, but then I want something different.

Yet one could fairly say it's her curiosity, rather than her boredom, that keeps the fire burning in Braha, moving her constantly toward new thoughts and in new directions.