Katherine Leiva, who as a teen joined her own high school Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club as an ally for her best friend, is now advancing her commitment to tolerance among peers by becoming the advisor to the school’s chapter.

GSA is an organization that consists of a series of student-run clubs throughout high schools and middle schools across the nation. The clubs work to bring LGBT and straight students together so that they can support each other. GSA aims to create a safe environment for students and their peers, educate them on the LGBT community and try and overcome homophobia and transphobia.

“I decided to sponsor GSA because I was a part of my GSA when I was in high school, and I was an ally for my best friend. I knew that being an ally for the kids here would mean greater purpose for me and them together,” Leiva said.

This year is Leiva’s first year at the school, and she teaches English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), a sequence of classes offered to non-native students who are beginning to learn English. As for the club, Leiva said she has a lot in store for the year ahead and is excited to take on new challenges.

“I think that a lot of my club members have the potential inside of them to make this club one of the best clubs in the school…my expectation is to rise above my own standards and to exceed anything that anyone anticipates from [the club],” Leiva said.

To Leiva, education comes first. To achieve this standard, she believes that a safe school environment is absolutely necessary.

“In order to have access to an excellent education in this country, a safe environment is pivotal. Without safety in school or even at home, education then becomes second. In order for one to be successful in the U.S. education must come first,” Leiva said.

In attending such a large high school, students walk past hundreds of faces a day, usually not thinking twice about what their peers may be experiencing emotionally. Students who feel they are different in any way may not feel comfortable with themselves, much less their environment, and clubs like GSA were established to help alleviate these doubts.

“I was telling the kids the other day that a lot of people really don’t understand them, and from that misunderstanding comes envy and hatred. High school is that time period in a persons life where they really don’t know who they are. To me, GSA has definitely made the school more accepting whether they realize it or not…just having this club at all makes people feel more comfortable. The idea that there are other kids going through the same thing and are here to help is a reassuring feeling in itself,” Leiva said.