Victoria Martinez Peñaranda is looking to bring unique perspectives and mental health advocacy to the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Trustees as this year’s student board member.
An Alta Vista Alternative High School Middle College senior, Martinez Peñaranda, 17, wants to bring more awareness to the district’s alternative education programs.
The Alta Vista Middle College program collaborates with Santa Barbara City College. It allows students to complete high school graduation classes through a combination of City College’s dual enrollment courses and the District’s independent study courses.
“For Middle College, the online high school curriculum that we get is really contemporary,” Martinez Peñaranda said. “It’s modern. It’s so engaging, and I feel like I’ve learned so much from it. And you get to do the in-person, hybrid, online classes at City College. That’s huge. You get to dive into whatever subject you want to explore.”
Martinez Peñaranda started the program at the start of her junior year. She previously attended San Marcos High School, but said the school wasn’t the right fit for her.
She was exploring leaving the district before she learned about the Middle College program.
“I’ve seriously never been happier,” Martinez Peñaranda said. “The cool thing with Middle College is that as a student board member, it’s really important to hear all the different perspectives and experiences at all the schools, and at Middle College there’s students from all over the district.”
Even though San Marcos wasn’t where she was meant to be, Martinez Peñaranda said she did enjoy her experience there. In her two years at the school, she took AP classes, played tennis and served as sophomore class president.
The Middle College program allows her to access resources from both Santa Barbara Unified and City College, explore different interests and have a flexible schedule, which allows her to get more involved in the community and local organizations, she said.
Alex Wilson, Alta Vista Alternative High School principal, said she is excited to see Martinez Peñaranda bring more awareness to alternative education programs and student mental health.
Wilson said the school “wasn’t surprised” and was “proud” that Martinez Peñaranda was chosen.
“Hearing that we had a student (who) wanted to throw their hat in the ring to even apply to be the student board representative was really exciting in and of itself,” Wilson said.
Martinez Peñaranda also serves on the YouthWell Youth Advocacy Board. On the board, she collaborates with other students to support youth mental health and helps organize free emotional well-being presentations geared toward local students led by mental health professionals.
As the student board member, Martinez Peñaranda said she wants to continue advocating for student mental health and early intervention services.
“It wasn’t just my experiences that made me want to advocate for others. It was seeing other students go through similar things that I went through that made me want to do that,” Martinez Peñaranda said.
She also wants to help bring awareness to students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and students with learning disabilities to help ensure equitable access to learning tools.
Superintendent Hilda Maldonado said the school board is “incredibly proud” to welcome Martinez Peñaranda.
“Her deep commitment to student well-being and her extensive leadership experience with youth advocacy make her an excellent voice for our student body. Victoria’s dedication to ensuring every student feels supported aligns perfectly with our district’s mission,” Maldonado said.
In her free time, Martinez Peñaranda practices yoga. A certified yoga teacher, she offers free classes to Santa Barbara students.
“That was really helpful for me, practicing yoga, so I wanted to share that passion with other students,” Martinez Peñaranda said.
Looking to her future, Martinez Peñaranda said she is interested in studying public policy or structural engineering.
As a student board member, she succeeds Carlos Vazquez, a San Marcos High School senior who served during the 2025-26 school year. Vazquez is set to attend Yale University this fall.
The student board member role is an advisory position. Martinez Peñaranda won’t be able to vote on certain issues, but she will provide student insight and perspective.
