Migrant students present leadership program at national conference

By Editor Ken Harvey

Six migrant students explained and demonstrated to educators at the National Youth Leadership Conference how Washington’s award-winning Student Leadership Program (SLP) is changing lives.

The SLP curriculum -- which emphasizes building relationships; understanding individual potential; making choices; action planning; problem-solving; and communication – has been recognized by federal and state officials as an exemplary educational program.

Over the past 20 years, migrant students who have attended the state Student Leadership Conference, for example, are over 50 percent more likely to graduate from high school than other migrant students.

Migrant students Irma Acosta, Daniela Najera, Leslie Ortiz, Eva Viveros, Gabriela del Angel and Ysenia Quiroz spoke before a standing-room-only crowd at the conference in Albuquerque.

The students described various different models of leadership training employed in the state.

“We had a full turnout – 54 seats were filled and we had people standing outside the door, as well,” says Maria Brambila, a mentor/chaperone from Sunnyside High School who accompanied the students. “The students did fantastic! They had great audience participation and involvement as they talked about the different programs.”

The experience helped the students become a strong team, says Brewster Federal Projects Director Lupe Ledesma, who also accompanied the group. “Being a voice for Washington State was important to each student.”

But that didn’t make the experience any less intimidating to the migrant students.

“I was scared I’d mess up, fall or trip as I walked. Since this experience is a first for me, I felt nervous, but during the presentation I got more comfortable,” says Najera, a Brewster High School sophomore. “This is the first time I have gone to a conference like this -- the first time I’ve been a part of a presentation, so I was nervous yet very excited.”

“I was scared because I didn’t think that people were going to show up or would be interested in what our state offers for migrant students,” adds del Angel, a Sunnyside sophomore.

On the other hand, Quiroz, another Sunnyside sophomore, says she got scared as she saw the room fill up with participants.

“I’m the kind of shy person who doesn’t talk a lot and especially in front of a huge group,” she says.

Preparing, practicing and interacting with the other students ahead of time helped them feel confident despite the large crowd and challenging circumstances, says Viveros, an Oroville senior.

As the anxiety subsided, the excitement began.

“I felt like someone!” says Najera. “I’m glad I had this chance to produce a presentation like ours! I really enjoy hearing other people present things that inspire Hispanics, so I felt proud to talk about my accomplishments.”

“Wow!” adds Acosta, a Brewster senior. “Oh my goodness I felt so lucky, and I really enjoyed it. I loved being there with such a great audience. The people here were just so nice, and I felt really energetic. My adrenaline was really rushing.”

The students explained how the leadership program has helped them, particularly how the conferences “inspire us to get an education after high school,” Quiroz explains. They also demonstrated some of the fun learning activities employed by the curriculum developed by the Secondary Education for Migrant Youth (SEMY) program over the past 20 years.

“By involving the audience in leadership activities, the students were able to demonstrate their skills,” explains Brambila. “This allowed the audience to see how these activities build leadership skills for younger students -- especially after they were asked to reflect on the activities.”

The students were impassioned about their message.

“I told them migrant students are able to go to college and able to achieve their goals and dreams,” Quiroz says.

The response by participants was particularly exciting to the students.

“It was awesome,” says Ortiz. “I loved talking to such a variety of people. They all expressed their feelings and treated us like adults, not students.”

“They all said, ‘Great job,’ and this lady was telling me about how hard it is for her being a single mother, because I mentioned how hard it was for my mother raising three children,” says del Angel.

The chaperones agree the presentation was very effective.

“The participants were very pleased with the presentation. They had lots of questions and wanted more information on how the programs were implemented in Washington,” says Brambila. “Some people got up and spoke about how much they appreciated what the girls and Washington State are doing for migrant youth. Others wanted to get involved further with the programs.”

The adults in the audience were “very responsive in taking an active role” and made “very positive comments, such as ‘I commend you for having the courage to do this presentation,’ and ‘I was once in your shoes and am grateful someone believed in me,’” says Ledesma.

Participants expressed a desire to learn more about the leadership program and how they personally might get involved. Some expressed greater appreciation for the challenges migrant students face and why such programs are needed to help such students.

“I never was really aware of this and feel like it is something that needs to be made known,” wrote one participant after the workshop.

The Student Leadership Program (SLP) was well represented, says SEMY Director Linda Roberts.

“We are delighted to feature SLP-trained students at the National Youth Leadership Conference,” says Roberts.  “As we motivate students to develop an educational plan that takes them beyond high school, students build leadership skills in goal setting, problem solving, action planning, team building and communication.”

“SLP training helps students take steps toward realizing their potential, and to learn how to not only pursue their goals, but to help others. Presenting at this national event is a giant leap forward that will help the presenters move confidently toward accomplishing even more!” she says.

Roberts says she appreciates the students and staff who represented our state and enhanced the public image of our youth.  She expressed support of Dr. Alfonso Anaya, state director of the Migrant Education Program, specifically in helping provide funds for the students to travel to the national conference.

She noted that Patricia Eastwood’s leadership in spearheading SLP student training as a SEMY program facilitator was the impetus for realizing this terrific opportunity to migrant students.