REACHING OUT Lending a hand from runway to paddock
BRIANNA GURULE East Mountain High School
When Brianna Gurule sees homeless people asking for money, “my heart goes out to them,” she says. “I almost feel, not selfish, but sad that I’m out having fun and they’re struggling. I feel like I should do something to help.”
And she does. Gurule, 17, has been active with the Pennies for the Homeless High High Tea & Fashion Show since she was 12. The fashion show raises money for local homeless shelters, and Gurule has contributed by selling tables, sending invitations, decorating and helping to dress the runway models.
Last year for the first time, she walked the runway and because of that, she says, she wants to compete in the Miss New Mexico contest.
After the show, younger girls flocked to her, which made her realize she wanted to be an advocate for them. “My mom has taught me to be classy and love myself even if the culture doesn’t exhibit those characteristics, then I want to.”
One confidence-builder for Gurule came out of a school service project last year, when Gurule volunteered at the Happy Hooves Farrier ranch in the East Mountains. There, she bonded with and learned how to train a young rescue horse that spooked easily and was not thriving because it had been separated too soon from its mother. “It taught me to be more confident and patient. It was like working with a child and you try not to get agitated or frustrated.”
Gurule is in the National Honor Society and has competed on her school’s track and basketball teams. She was recently honored as the All Metro Best Defensive Player in her district. She is interested in photojournalism and plans to attend the University of New Mexico.