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By Melanie Johnson

Most elementary kids spend their days focused on completing homework, socializing with peers or perhaps joining a sports team or taking music lessons.

When Jade Centeno was in the fourth grade, she joined the Associated Student Body at Redwood Elementary School in Fontana. By sixth grade, she was president. She also founded a nonprofit in sixth grade.

“I think I’ve always had a natural love for talking to people and being social,” Centeno says. “I’ve always seen myself as an open book. Through ASB, I learned how to be independent and get things done.”

While an ASB member, Centeno and her fellow students performed community service projects that included visiting a local senior center to sing Christmas carols, painting murals on campus and picking up trash. But Centeno felt a higher calling.

She founded Little Leaders for a Bigger Tomorrow, a nonprofit that she still oversees, which emphasizes leadership and communication skills and teaches students the importance of higher education and career exploration. Little Leaders also focuses on community service, with students at Redwood Elementary hosting sock, food and toy drives and welcoming students from other elementary campuses to participate in an annual leadership summit.

That drive to serve the community and be a leader might have taken flight in elementary school, but that initiative has stayed its course through her time at Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½.

The seeds of Centeno’s ambitions were sown during her middle school involvement in the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, her stint as class president her freshman year of high school and her reign as Miss Teen Fontana in her senior year.

Centeno, the middle of three daughters, says her big sister, Ashley, who was first princess in the adult pageant that same year Centeno won her division, inspired her to compete for the title. The year-long program involved attending city events, ribbon-cuttings and city council meetings that focused on building leadership skills and promoting personal growth. Centeno didn’t place in the top 10 the first year she ran, but she didn’t give up and finished first in her senior year.

“Because I’ve always had a deep appreciation for community service, the pageant program really interested me,” she says “I got connected to a lot of local leaders. And I got a scholarship for college through the program.”

Centeno, the recipient of a full-ride, renewable Nimmo Spears Scholarship, brought that boundless energy and passion for getting involved with her to Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½.

Around her full load of classes, Centeno competes as part of the Model U.N. team and interns with State Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, a former teacher turned lawmaker who had Centeno as a fourth-grade student at Redwood Elementary.

“Because Miss Rubio was my teacher in elementary school, I’ve always kept tabs on her career,” Centeno says. “She was able to accomplish so much. I am very inspired by her.”

Centeno was searching for legislative internships in the area and applied to join Rubio’s team. She previously interned with the Cal State DC Scholars program, which gives students academic credit while interning in Washington, D.C. Centeno believes that the legislative advocacy experience helped her land her current internship. In Rubio’s West Covina office, Centeno helps constituents with paid leave and other issues related to the Employment Development Department. She also attends district events and city council meetings.

For Rubio, having Centeno in her office brings back memories of a young girl eager to learn and do.

“Oh, my goodness, Jade,” says Rubio, fondly recalling her former student and current intern. “I love her! Jade has always been such a good student. She always raised her hand and always wanted to volunteer and participate. She was always so involved and passionate about her education. It has been a full circle moment to see Jade excelling in my classroom to then as an intern in my district office. I can’t wait to see what is next for Jade.”

Centeno, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Nicaragua, already knows what she wants to do after graduation: Attend law school. She is studying for the LSAT between classes and activities and wants to become an immigration attorney.

Professor Mario Guerrero, chairman of the Department of Political Science, met Centeno at orientation and had her in his internship course last year. Guerrero says Centeno has the aura of a senior even though she is a junior because she is such a go-getter. Centeno, who is expected to graduate a year early, says she has personal goals to accomplish, but she also wants to make a difference beyond herself.

“From the beginning, even as early as orientation, it was clear that Jade has been exceptional and driven,” he says. “She has a really deep commitment to improving society and improving other people’s lives. No doubt she will do great things when she graduates and goes out in the world.”

For Centeno, who volunteers at Iglesia Sinfonia Church in Fontana and teaches Bible stories to children on Sundays, her faith plays a big part in her desire to help others. Centeno also serves as a student grader in the political science department. Centeno credits her organizational skills and time management for her ability to juggle a heavy coursework, co-curricular and extracurricular activities, and volunteer work effectively.

“I am willing and have the time and energy. So, if not now, then when? If not me, then who?” she asks. “I have people in my community who support me, and I have a community on campus as well. I want to take full advantage of my youth, opportunities and all that college has to offer.”