ALL ABOUT ALICIA

Hi! I'm a 17-year-old high school student from Santa Monica, Los Angeles. I’m also the captain of my high school girls’ wrestling team and won the Regional Championships in the LA City CIF Section. But just two years ago, I was a nervous freshman who had never done a school sport before.

My dad, who knows a lot about jiu-jitsu, found out about the wrestling team and basically made me go to practice. At first, I didn’t even know wrestling was a sport! Slowly, I started showing up day after day, and something amazing happened. I began to feel proud of myself, especially knowing I was one of the only five girls at my school who could call themselves a wrestler. As I competed in matches and tournaments, I gained confidence, got stronger, and realized something important: confidence isn’t just for sports. It changes how you see yourself in everything you do. Wrestling showed me that confidence isn’t about being perfect. It’s about showing up, doing your best, and believing in yourself, even when it feels scary.

Before wrestling, in middle school, I went to a private middle school where friendships felt tricky and cliquey. There was a lot of drama over crushes, who could sit with whom at lunch, and who got left out. That experience made me realize how important it is for girls to feel strong and confident in themselves no matter what other people think.

I know what it’s like to feel nervous about being in a new school, or trying something new, and to worry about whether you fit in. That’s why I started Little Sparks: to give girls a safe, fun space where they can feel proud of who they are, grow confidence, and learn that trying and believing in yourself is what really matters.