Lilly Travieso is the Founder of ELLA, a non-profit organization that helps young female athletes of Hispanic/Latino descent to achieve their goal to attend college to help offset costs for families that are economically disadvantaged that includes charitable purposes. The program also helps those to empower leadership and discipline amongst the athletes that would lead to a positive life outcome and help offset costs to attend college athletic interviews.
How did sports shape your life?
Playing sports from a young age has taught me work ethics, discipline, patience, and resilience. Most importantly, it has taught me failure. Dealing and accepting moments of failure is incredibly important to having long-term success in life. Also, being an athlete at a young age provided me with many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. When I was fourteen years old, I traveled to Cuba to play softball against the Cuban Olympic team and participated in a cultural exchange program. I represented Puerto Rico in the Junior Olympic National Team in the Women’s World Cup 19U Division when I was seventeen years old.
What is about competitive softball that created a leader of you?
Engaging in sports at an early age provided me with unlimited opportunities locally and internationally. It prepared me with structure and a solid foundation where I developed leadership skills inside and outside the field.
Playing softball competitively has provided me with a medium to imagine, aspire, dream, explore, engage with other girls with similar passions, develop leadership skills, and be a team player. It has also empowered me to aspire a TRUE, yes you can mentality by experiencing firsthand opportunities that competitive softball has brought to my life.
Tell us about your nonprofit, ELLA.
Empowering Leadership in Latina Athletes (ELLA) is a non-profit corporation organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes. The mission of the ELLA organization is to support young female Latinas to become leaders of tomorrow through sports and academic excellence. The ELLA foundation works on developing leadership in Latina athletes through education, training, mentorship, and advocacy in the sports community. ELLA’s vision is to develop strong Latina Leaders that will positively impact their communities while establishing their own legacy.
In the community, ELLA advocates for women in sports, lobby for equal funding for women in sports, and change rules and regulations to assist women in sports. This will level the playing field for Latina athletes. ELLA advocates for an update on Title IX to provide equal opportunity to female athletes. ELLA also donates athletic equipment and uniforms for teams in underserved Hispanic communities.
What do you see in the Latina Community today?
Cultural norms and practices in our Latina community sometimes holds us back from growing, exploring, aspiring, imagining, specifically for young athletes. As Latinas we are predisposed to uphold certain cultural norms, which are passed on from generation to generation. Being a Latina athlete means embracing your culture but not letting it hold you back!
At the ELLA Sports Foundation we are working to expand relationships with the Latino community by increasing awareness and knowledge in leadership development and higher education through sports. There is a huge misconception among the Latino community about being able to afford private high schools and or top universities. We are working to bridge this gap of knowledge and awareness in order to have more educated Latinas with better outcomes in life.
What does ELLA offer to young people?
My first-hand experience with the many inequalities that exists in the sports community for Latinas inspired me to create a non-profit organization called Empowering Leadership in Latina Athletes (ELLA), which will help level the playing field by creating opportunities for young Latina athletes.
When I started playing competitive softball and began to explore my college options, I realized the many inequalities that exist in the softball community for Latina Athletes. There is also a heavy burden associated with financial expenses for athletes as they play competitively and began to explore college options. This financial burden is tied to travel club fees, uniforms, equipment, coaching, physical conditioning, athletic camps, SAT/ACT prep classes, as well as all the expenses associated with traveling.
Currently financial means depict the opportunities available for athletes. Therefore, we need to level the playing field for Latina athletes in order for Latinas to have the same opportunities despite their financial status.
Testimonials:
Tell us about the leadership development conferences; college preparatory courses.
Leadership development is an important part of ELLA’s mission. We believe that young female athletes need of guidance and training on developing pivotal leadership skills that can be used by athletes inside and outside the classroom. ELLA works on developing these skills in young athletes through workshops, mentorships, and internships where student athletes can gain knowledge on various leadership skills and leadership practices. ELLA helps to connect students to ACT/SAT coaches and resources to ensure student athletes stay tuned on the latest college preparatory courses needed to succeed.
Are scholarships offered?
We know that is important for student athletes to succeed academically to increase their college options and opportunities. Therefore, ELLA is working with partners to offers academic merit scholarships for young Latina athletes and support their academic efforts and accomplishments. This will help carry the vision of ELLA, which is to develop strong Latina leaders that will positively impact their communities while creating their own legacy.
What makes you the proudest during your journey with Ella?
As we continue to bring awareness and support locally, I hope to expand nationally and internationally. I recently established the first ELLA club in a local high school and plan to expand nationally. The goal of this clubs is to carry ELLA’s mission and vision to support young female Latinas to become leaders of tomorrow through sports and academic excellence.
ELLA wants to spread our mission by bringing awareness to high school students. ELLA clubs provide opportunities for students to take part in activities, discussion, funding, etc. Becoming a member of an ELLA club instills academic and athletic excellence while also making it a great extracurricular on any college resume!
What do you want your legacy to be?
I’m the voice of ELLA and I make a difference by sharing my own struggles and accomplishments throughout my recruitment journey. I bring knowledge and awareness that Latinas can have the same opportunities as long as we are educated and feel empowered. I want my legacy to be one of the pioneers to break cultural norms and misconceptions while remaining true to her roots and her heritage!
Do you have any additional thoughts?
I want to share one of the greatest challenges I faced growing up, which was the obvious inequalities in female sports. As a female athlete, I played baseball first due to absence of softball teams within the league until teams were made 2 years later. In little league all-stars, our softball teams received hand-me-downs in comparison to the brand-new uniforms given to the baseball teams. We often competed in make-shift fields, while the boys played in stadiums. It was inequalities like these that made me work harder to achieve my dream of playing at the highest level. It was an obstacle nonetheless, but it didn’t define me!
http://www.ellasportsfoundation.org
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