Brina Brati is a 16-year-old junior at Glendale High School. She is also a captain of the GHS girl’s varsity water polo team and current president of the Mental Health Awareness Club. She was born in Glendale, but she has an Armenian background. Brina has been part of both the Mental Health Awareness Club and the water polo team since freshman year, and she has continued to spread positive energy throughout our school.  

Since her freshman year, Brina has been involved in the Mental Health Awareness Club actively, and she became the club president when her friends graduated over the past two years. “I enjoyed the meetings [during] my sophomore year,” she said, “As a sophomore, I was [the] social media manager, and then when the cabinet members graduated I became [president].” 

The main purpose of Brina’s club is to spread the importance of mental health since many people aren’t educated on the topic. She tries her best to hold fun, open meetings, because she knows many students at GHS are stressed about school and other issues. 

When it comes to being club president, a student, and a team captain, there are many challenges that Brina has had to overcome. “Sometimes it gets to my head too much,” she admitted. “I feel like I need to be a role model, so I’m always thinking, did I do this wrong? Did I do that wrong? It can be challenging sometimes.” 

At first it was a lot for Brina having to be the one in charge and the one making the decisions. One person who has helped her along is Ms. Palmer. “She’s been such a big help in guiding me through the process of being a club president since I’m fairly new at this,” she admitted. Carrying that much responsibility was difficult, but she’s found ways to balance her activities. 

One thing that Brina is really into is art. This year, she is taking Honors Ceramics, but she has been doing sculpture for a while and has always been interested in the artform. 

Another thing that Brina is passionate about is swimming itself. “When I was six, I started swimming,” she said. “Me and my sister [GHS alum, Demy Brati] did swim, so when she joined water polo, that got me interested.” For eight years, Brina also did dance, so for a while, she was balancing both of these activities, as well as school. 

Eventually, Brina ended up sticking to water polo after being on the team for a while. “I just enjoy the community,” she said. “The girls on the team are so sweet. I love them.” 

Water polo has become a key part of her life, and Brina has always been close with her sister, who was also captain in the past. “She inspired me to join the sport, so when I joined I wanted to play well and hopefully impress her,” she said. Even though she’s faced with all this pressure and responsibility, Brina doesn’t want to disappoint her teammates or coaches. 

After graduating, Brina’s goal is to go to a two-year community college in order to continue competing in water polo. After that, she has the goal of studying architecture at a top UC school.   

If you are interested in joining the Mental Health Awareness Club, check out their Instagram (@mhaclub_ghs) for information about meetings. Anyone is free to join, and it’s a great way to meet new people, as well as a safe place to talk and relax. You can also follow the GHS girls water polo team: @glendale_girlswp.