2008 Woodie Awards
Issue Date: 10/15/07
Palomar hosts Latino youth event motivating kids to stay in school
- Page 1 of 2 next >
|
Encuentros held its fourth annual conference, "Your Future Begins Now," with more than 600 boys in attendance.
"It was a success," said Encuentros board member Lisa Montes. "People came together to make a difference in the lives of Latino boys."
The Encuentros leadership of North San Diego County is a non profit organization whose primary focus is to encourage education and self respect among Latino boys since its foundation in 2003.
North county boys ranging in age from middle school to high school were invited to attend the Encuentros conference in an effort to encourage them to finish high school and explore career options, Montes said.
Tables were set up to provide students with information on the resources available ranging from financial aid to tutoring.
Montes said the boys really enjoyed the psychology workshop where they were able to feel a displayed real brain.
Another student's favorite was NBC 7/39's Artie Ojeda and Univision's Ricardo Vela's workshops, Montes said. She also said the boys had a chance to work inside Palomar's newsroom.
Montes said she was impressed with the interaction the boys had with the speakers. This was the exact intention of the event, to expand their concepts of career options, she said.
Ricardo Paz a Vista high school senior said that the "Journey to becoming a lawyer" workshop motivated and reassured him about his interest in a law degree.
"I want to take on the world right now." Paz said. "I'd rather do this than anything else on a Saturday."
Montez also emphasized the local concern about 70 percent of boys in the Vista Unified School District don't earn a high school diploma.
"These kids need to know someone cares," Carlos Von Son, foreign languages professor said. "That there are people willing to help them all the way."
Von Son gave the welcoming speech. He spoke about the struggles he endured while trying to obtain an education in Mexico compared to the amalgam of opportunities Latino boys have available to them today.
Be the first to comment on this story