Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Las Vegas Sol:

250 high school students gather for Hispanic Youth Leadership Summit

Commissioner Lawrence Weekly has organized the workshops for 11 years

Hispanic Youth Leadership Summit 2014

Tovin Lapan

A member of Latino fraternity Sigma Delta Alpha addresses high school students at the 11th Annual Hispanic Youth Leadership Summit held at West Las Vegas Library Oct. 3, 2014. The students were asked to raise their hands if they plan to attend college. Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly organizes the summit every year to promote community involvement and leadership skills among area Hispanics.

Hispanic students from nine area schools got lessons on setting goals, taking responsibility for their actions and overcoming obstacles Friday morning at the Hispanic Youth Leadership Summit, an annual workshop organized by Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly.

More than 250 high school students were selected to participate at West Las Vegas Library, where they heard from law enforcement, politicians, college students and community leaders.

Every participant attended three workshops, Leadership and Social Responsibility, Goal Setting and Looking to the Future, and Teen Health – Body and Mind.

Weekly, who started the summit eleven years ago, invited the National Latino Police Officer’s Association to participate two years ago.

“We try to communicate to them that it’s their choice to demonstrate leadership and responsibility, and they can make a conscious decision to step up,” Metro Lt. Andrew Peralta and the NLPOA’s national president said. “This is also another way for us to be out in the community and contribute to better relationships with minority communities. … I see us as the tip of the spear when it comes to community policing.”

Officer Marco Alvarado told the students that he had his first daughter when he was 16 years old. He told the audience it was mistake, but that he made the decision in that moment to care for and support his new child.

“Leadership is a frame of mind,” Alvarado said. “I made the wrong decision, but I had to step up.”

Western High School junior Manuel Hernandez, 16, said the talk resonated with him because he wants to join the Air Force or Army and become a military policeman.

“I feel really honored and privileged to be here, and that my teacher recommended me for this,” he said. “It’s been really cool to get to meet with these community leaders and seeing the diversity of people in different positions in our community.”

Hernandez then walked into a workshop run by a Hispanic-focused fraternity and sorority with a focus on the benefits of a college education. Current college students talked about the wage gains for workers with higher levels of education and their objectives when entering college.

Reuben D’Silva who attended the summit as a high school student and now recommends his own students as a world history teacher at Rancho High School, says the summit helps instill a sense of community and responsibility in the students.

“For me it really helped solidify this idea of engaging in broader society, and doing something that betters your community,” D’Silva said. “My students come back talking about the connections they made and the chance to pick the brains of Hispanics like them who have grown into leadership roles.”

Last year one of D’Silva’s students who was on the fence about higher education returned from the summit committed to going to college, and she is currently enrolled at College of Southern Nevada, the teacher said.

Weekly also puts on an African American Youth Leadership Summit every year in February.

“High school can be a challenging time for many students,” Commissioner Weekly said in a statement. “This summit and the workshops they will attend are intended to give them insights into issues and opportunities coming their way during the next few years of their lives.”

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