ALIVE AURORA
Free Drop-in Hours:
Mondays & Wednesdays 3:00 – 6:00 PM
Fridays 3:00 – 7:00 PM
78 S Lasalle St. Aurora, IL
ALIVE is Aurora’s New Teen Center!
We’ve partnered with Community Christian Church to bring the ALIVE Center for Teens to Aurora! Our center is Teen-Led Teen-Driven™ (TLTD). We offer free after-school drop-in hours, tutoring, mentoring, workshops, and teen programs in various practices that support physical and emotional well-being and inspire personal growth and purpose. Topics include leadership, nutrition, and healthy eating, stress management, community service projects, healing arts through music, art and dance, meditation, creative writing, mindfulness, and more!
ALIVE AURORA’S TEEN ADVISORY BOARD
Aniesa Acevedo
Teen Advisory Board Member
Learn More About Aniesa
Aniesa Acevedo is a freshman at West Aurora.
Major band kid, trumpet player.
Her dream is to travel the world. She’s the eldest of five siblings. She’s quiet until you get to know her and she is super excited for her SFX program to grow.
Alexa Rodriguez
Teen Advisory Board Member
Learn More About Alexa
Alexa Rodriguez is seventeen and a senior at East Aurora High School. They are planing to lead a club in the spring, this is their first year on TAB. Alexa went to nail school this past summer and now she’s a nail tech at a local salon. Besides nails she love’s painting, drawing, shopping, and anything that includes beauty or fashion. She also loves going to concerts and listening to any genre of music. After high school she plans on going to college for her bachelors degree.
Gabriel Bradford
Teen Advisory Board Member
Learn More About Gabriel
Gabriel Bradford is a junior in homeschool. He is a choir kid and plays piano. Gabriel enjoys being involved in the community and actively participates in community events and forums. In his free time, Gabriel likes to hang out with friends, play piano, watch musicals, sing, network, and learn new things! His favorite pastime is volunteering because it allows him to meet amazing people who he learns so much from. He has a passion for business and marketing and his dream is to open a business in Aurora. This is his first year as a member of TAB and his first ever position on a Teen Advisory Board! He can’t wait to make great things happen with his fellow TAB members.
Sam Serrano
Teen Advisory Board Member
Learn More About Sam
Sam is 17 years old. Sam is a senior at West Aurora High School. At school, Sam is a member of National Honor Society. Sam’s favorite subjects are math and psychology. Outside of school, Sam enjoys listening to music, creating art, baking, reading, watching movies, trying new things, and shopping. Alive, Sam co-leads Dare to be Rare: A Girl Empowerment Club. This is Sam’s second year as a TAB member.
Diana Rivera
Teen Advisory Board Member
Learn More About Diana
Diana is in her senior year at West Aurora High School. She loves going to the Barnes & Noble in Downtown Naperville and her favorite interests include reading literary fiction and watching her favorite anime, Tokyo Ghoul. She hopes to help bridge women empowerment and culture and diversity through programs at Alive.
Grace Platt
Teen Advisory Board Member
Learn More About Grace
Grace is an 18-year old Senior at West Aurora High School. She is involved in both English and Art National Honors Society and was Captain of West Aurora’s Color Guard Team her Senior year. Grace’s favorite subjects are art and psychology. In fact, she plans to study psychology at a four-year university, and pursue her Master’s Degree. She aspires to become a Family and Child Social Worker. Additionally, she enjoys painting, baking, and being with her friends and family. Grace Co-leads Free Your Mind Club: An art-focused club. This is Grace’s first year as a member of TAB!
Cara Jacob
Teen Advisory Board Member
Learn More About Cara
Cara is 16 years old. Cara is a junior at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). At school, Cara is the Vice President of the clubs: “Save the Children Network (SCAN)” and “Girls Learn International (GLI)” and serves as a board member for the Students Promoting Awareness, Resiliency, and Knowledge for mental wellness (SPARK) club. Cara’s favorite subjects are Biology and Chemistry. Outside of school, Cara enjoys playing tennis and represents IMSA’s varsity tennis team, watching movies, and shopping.
Apply to Alive Aurora's Teen Advisory Board
TAB is a working board and leadership program; they organize into committees to see programs and events through from conception to fruition. The staff at Alive supports the TAB in their work with mentoring and guidance, but the teens are doing the majority of the work to see that their passions and ideas are realized. Our TAB makes a real impact on the organization and on the community through their work and its members obtain real life leadership skills.
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Ady Rubio
Alive Aurora Manager
A long-time resident of Aurora, Ady Rubio is a young Latina woman who has a passion for working with youth. In 2016 she received her undergraduate degree in Psychology, 2019 a Master’s in Social work from Aurora University, and in 2020 became a licensed social worker. Ady was one of the first university students to intern at the Alive Center for teens in 2017. A non-profit that serves teens 5-12th grade and helps them find a sense of belonging, resiliency, discovery, and leadership. Alive was the internship she was hoping for, and it solidified her love of making meaningful connections with today’s youth. Seeing the impact a teen center such as Alive had on teens launched her dream of having an Alive Center in her city of Aurora one day. Today, Ady is continuing her journey with Alive, and she has joined the team as the drop-in Manager for Alive’s new downtown Aurora location. She inspires teens to take on leadership roles, be creative, and find a place of belonging.