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SALT LAKE CITY — Kimberly Membreno grew up in a home she called "really rough."
Neither of her parents graduated high school, and family problems permeated into her own self-confidence.
After participating in service activities, and with the help of mentors and fellow students in Latinos in Action, the 17-year-old has found the courage to become involved in her community and speak her mind.
"It gave me a lot of confidence," said Membreno, who will be a senior at Bonneville High School this fall. "I have the courage to do it."
Her newfound courage helped her earn a scholarship to Weber State University and a free laptop, which will kickstart her career goals of using her musical talents to inspire others.
Membreno is just one of 250 student leaders for Latinos in Action who attended its leadership training boot camp Monday and Tuesday at Camp Tracy in Millcreek Canyon.
The camp is designed to help Latinos in Action's student leaders elected for the 2016-17 school year take the leadership skills they learn back to their schools and initiate service and community outreach projects.
The camp included activities and trainings to teach students about meeting facilitation, project design and implementation, budgeting, fundraising and marketing.
Latinos in Action is a program embedded into public schools as an elective course for nearly 4,000 students ages 13-17. This year, Latinos in Action courses will be taught in more than 125 schools throughout the nation — including 103 in Utah.
José Enriquez was a teacher at Timpview High in 2000 when he started the program. Enriquez said he noticed a disconnect between Latinos and the rest of the school, as well as high dropout rates amongst Latino students.
Latinos in Action classes encourage students to seek higher education and build confidence in their own abilities. Today, 96 percent of students involved in the program graduate from high school on time, and 85 percent of those graduates enroll in college, he said.
"It's about leadership, it's about service learning, and all under the college prep umbrella," Enriquez said.
Enriquez's first Latinos in Action class started as a Spanish class for native speakers, but as he began to teach his students culture, identity, leadership, professionalism and team-building, the class quickly evolved into what would be the basis of the first Latinos in Action course.
"The strength of the class is in the students and allowing them to flourish," Enriquez said. "We create a stage wherein they can showcase their talents."
Latinos in Action offers leadership positions in three committees: service, professionalism and social activities.
Community service is an integral focus of the program, according to Enriquez. The students spend up to two class periods per week tutoring elementary-aged ESL students. In addition to planned class service activities, the students are required to give 20 hours of individual service outside of class.
"I'm scaffolding the skill set that they need to do more extracurricular (activities), to get more involved," he said.
Enriquez said he wants to build up the students with talents they already have, such as being bilingual and bicultural. He said he sees immediate changes in his students.
Camp counselor Angie Camposano, of West Valley City, recently graduated high school and plans to attend the University of Utah in the fall.
Camposano said Latinos in Action has helped her gain experience, receive scholarships and develop the confidence to attend college.
"There might be obstacles, but don't give up," she said.
Camposano plans to earn degrees in psychology and later become a counselor for ESL children, encouraging them to pursue education.
Vladimir Robles, 17, upcoming vice president for the social committee at Ben Lomond High, said he has learned more about his position as a leader through his attendance at the camp. He has also enjoyed meeting new people and learning to work as a team.
"These people right here, and other people in the classroom, they're all family to me," said Robles, adding that he plans to attend Utah State University and become a teacher or an engineer. Email: ahobbs@deseretnews.com
