Senior Alyssa Angeles, Buena Speaks’ Arts & Entertainment (A&E) section editor, is a girl who does it all. When apart from her heart’s home at the beach, either surfing, tanning or swimming, she spends her time doing truly everything you could imagine. Whether it is crocheting, travelling across the world or practicing one of her many instruments, she excels in the things that make her the happiest. 

Angeles has been a part of Buena’s journalism program for three years and has been an editor for two of those three years. Journalism is a class that has allowed an escape for her exceptional creativity. 

“I do well in school, but I tend to resist against rules sometimes and kind of do my own thing and journalism gives me a lot of freedom to do so,” Angeles said, highlighting her profound individuality that Buena Speaks allows her.

Angeles also gets to express herself greatly through her band, known as Blush, made up of her, senior Lukas Raducanu, and junior Silas Gomes, which got the opportunity to perform at Buena’s 2026 prom night. She is the lead singer and guitarist. 

As Angeles proceeds to exit high school, a bright and inspiring dream awaits her. She plans to attend University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) to major in marine biology for her timeless love of the ocean. 

After moving to Ventura at a young age, her heart instantly found a love of the ocean. It is involved in every aspect of her life, whether the muse of her photography, or in the beach-y style she inhabits in every outfit. 

Since her infatuation with the ocean, she has had a life mission to explore the unknown issues of the world that are found in the deep blue sea. Hence why she wishes to major in marine biology. Angeles’ interest in marine biology also stems from her empathetic nature and a desire to help out and discover the undiscovered.

“I have always wanted to do something in science where I can really explore something, and when I found the ocean, I started surfing and spending all my time at the beach. It is such an important part of the earth and our lives, and it is barely discovered,” Angeles said. “A lot of what we do know is how we are messing it up, and I wanna be a part of a change.” 

Her passion for discovering the unknown for the sake of discovery and hope is just one of the many things that makes Angeles who she is. Angeles’ drive for discovering new things does not go unnoticed by her fellow peers and educators.

“Alyssa is a very creative thinker and has a hard driven passion for the things that make her happy which I think make her stand out…her brain is constantly connecting the things we read to other things we have read or other things in the world,” said Angeles’ Advanced Placement (AP) Literature teacher, Karin Childress.

Angeles’ passion for marine life and the dangers in the environment also shines in her years in Buena’s journalism program. Some of her favorite articles she’s been able to write have been based primarily around the ocean’s many secrets or raising awareness to various environmental changes. 

Angeles brings a great light to Buena that will be missed, but as she enters this new world with a bright future ahead of her, her passion for everything she will continue to do will be what helps her achieve everything she wants out of life. Her love for the world will help her shape it in the right direction, and her being herself will definitely push it along the correct path. 

“I’ve definitely seen her develop and become herself more since freshman year. I always appreciated that she was willing to take huge risks, and those unique things about her have developed in such a nice way throughout her years. I hope she can stay curious about the world but not overthink each moment,” Childress said.