by Haydee Yanez, Development Coordinator
Words Alive is excited to recognize Frida Salazar as our May Intern of the Month!
Frida is an 11th-grade student at High-Tech High, an innovative network of charter schools founded in 2000 by a coalition of San Diego civic leaders and educators. What began as a single public charter school serving approximately 450 students has grown into a network of 16 schools serving more than 6,000 students across four campuses. High-Tech High also includes a Teacher Credentialing Program and Graduate School of Education that supports educators locally and around the world.
Words Alive has proudly partnered with the High-Tech High community on projects such as the Adolescent Book Group and student-created exhibits like Covid Diaries. Through these collaborations, both organizations continue working toward a shared mission of inspiring literacy, creativity, and community connection.
Learn more about the Adolescent Book Group here!
Now, a few words from FRIDA:
How did you first join Words Alive?
“I officially joined Words Alive on May 4, but I first reached out in late April while looking for an internship for school. I wanted to find something that matched my interests, and since I’ve always loved reading, this felt like a really good fit. Someone recommended Words Alive to me because they knew I liked books, and honestly, just looking through the website made me think it seemed super interesting already.”
What kinds of projects have you worked on so far?
“So far, I’ve mostly been helping format classroom guide documents, which are basically step-by-step guides for people reading books with kids. I’ve also worked on smaller projects here and there, like adding watermarks to learning kits and helping when other interns come into the office. I still feel new, but I’m excited to keep doing more!”
Did you have a favorite book growing up?
La peor señora del mundo by Francisco Hinojosa
“One book that REALLY got me into reading was La peor señora del mundo. Something about the scratchy illustrations and the super exaggerated dialogue completely fascinated me as a kid — even if it was a little scary at the time. Every single time we went to the library
in Tijuana, I would ask to read that exact book again. Sometimes I’d pick out another one too, but that was always my main goal.
I think that book also started my love for darker and more unusual stories. I kept reading books with that kind of vibe until around middle school, when I got more into artsy literature. One of my favorite memories is my parents reading La peor señora del mundo out loud and making the main character sound WAY scarier than she was.”
What are you currently reading?
“Right now, I’m on-and-off reading Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. It’s super interesting because it talks about punk culture in the ’60s and ’70s entirely through interviews with musicians and artists. Some of the people mentioned are famous, and some completely caught me off guard — like Andy Warhol showing up way more than I expected.
I’d recommend it if you’re interested in music history or punk culture, but fair warning: it has a lot of colorful language and some intense stories. Honestly, I usually say my favorite book is whatever book I’m currently reading, so I’m always looking for something new and weird to pick up next.”
What do you enjoy outside of Words Alive?
“Outside of Words Alive, I like photography, drawing digitally for fun, and writing little stories for myself whenever I’m bored and can’t find anything else to do.”