MHS Class of 2026 Grad and Rita M. Downey Award Recipient Ell Gimenez Reflects on Student Action Board Experience

Established in 1998 to enable student input into MAAV’s prevention programs, the Student Action Board (SAB) has grown significantly over the past decades. Today, 27 Melrose High School students in grades 10 - 12 serve as SAB peer mentors. Each spring, SAB recruits new members from the 9th grade class, via a competitive application process, to serve SAB starting in their 10th grade year. 

Throughout the school year, SAB delivers healthy relationship education, teen dating violence and sexual assault prevention to 9th-grade MHS students, leading interactive discussions on topics such as alcohol and consent, boundaries, sexual harassment, and more. When their schedules allow, SAB members deliver programming to Melrose elementary and middle school students.

Additionally, the SAB supports community awareness events, planning and leading the Voices Against Violence community coffeehouse, and representing SAB at the annual MAAV Walk & Candlelight Vigil. 

As the school year comes to a close and the class of 2026 prepares to graduate, MAAV is readying to say goodbye to 9 senior SAB members: Zoe Blumenthal, Naomi Breay, Sammy McQuaid, Mae Donohue, Aliah Elbaz, Rehan Kalra, Violeta Rechea, Sidney Trzepacz, and Ell Gimenez.

Graduating senior SAB member Ell Gimenez was awarded the Rita M. Downey Award for Social Justice on May 21, 2026. This award, created in honor of one of MAAV’s founders who passed away in 2009, is given to a graduating Student Action Board member who demonstrates qualities of dedication, compassion and leading by example that Rita embodied. Rita was a passionate advocate for victims of domestic violence and worked tirelessly to promote social justice throughout her life.

Thank you to Ell for writing this blog and capturing her perspectives of her time as a Student Action Board Member, how she became involved, and what the experience meant to her.

My name is Ell Gimenez, I am a graduating senior at Melrose High School, and I have been a part of the Student Action Board for MAAV the past 3 years.

I had decided to interview for the SAB because I had multiple friends who were already a part of it, and they had only amazing things to say about it, and because of the presentations I took part in throughout my freshman year. The things that kept me coming back to participate in this important group included taking part in the annual coffeehouse, fall and spring presentations for underclassmen, as well as creating a logo for the group as a parting act. The inspiration behind the logo is how the Student Action Board impacts the younger classes in our presentations, as well as how educating and spreading awareness is so powerful and uniting for the SAB and community members alike. This is shown through the flowing color going in one side and out the other. 

Melrose Alliance Against Violence has imparted great wisdom and perspective to me over the years. The work that this organization does for victims is incredible, but what has really had an impact on me is how much awareness MAAV brings to community members and student leaders alike. Before I joined the Student Action Board, I was completely oblivious to the patterns of abuse, the number of victims who lose their lives each year to domestic violence, as well as how it all can also happen to young people like myself. I realized the magnitude of these unfortunate facts, as well as how important these topics were when I was a freshman being presented to by former Student Action Board members, and I am glad to say that because of MAAV and its outreach, I now not only know these things, but understand their implications. And that creates a passion within me to continue spreading awareness and educating those just like I was, even after I graduate. I will hopefully continue to be involved with MAAV, by continuing to attend events, but I would love to join any possible advocacy groups when I start college next fall. 

Furthermore, being on the Student Action Board has also had a huge positive impact on me as a person! I am now much more confident in my public speaking skills, as well as my knowledge and capability to educate others, and without such, I would not be as content as I am today. 

I am extremely grateful every day that I was able to participate in the Student Action Board, to help MAAV in educating younger generations on the importance of consent, knowing the patterns of abuse, and ensuring the support of healthy relationships. Without the former Student Action Board members who inspired me to join, who knows where I would be today? Their education really impacted me as a younger student. I hope for all the best for the future of the Student Action Board, I can only expect great things from this amazing group! I sincerely hope that I will be able to continue participating in any ways I can in the future, and I’m confident that I will be. Thank you MAAV!