More than 100 students from 11 states and Mexico participate in California LDZ

The University of San Diego hosted the California LDZ program from June 21-28, which brought more than 100 students together from 11 different states and from Mexico to discuss and debate issues during the eight-day program in the heart of one of the nation’s most populous Latino regions.

The program also garnered positive attention from KPBS-FM, San Diego’s NPR affiliate. Reporter Jean Guerrero filed a radio and online story that also included a video component, fully capturing the essence of the program. “Mexican and U.S. officials have been calling for increased cross-border collaboration, and in these sessions, it’s happening,” the story noted. “The teenagers discussed problems like high school dropout rates and unemployment among Latinos on either side of the border, trying to get proposals passed in a mock Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court.”

“In order to pass,” the story also noted, “proposals had to focus on leveraging existing assets of Latino communities, such as strong family values, rather than on fixing a problem” — capturing the essence of NHI’s asset-based teaching.

Olivia Travieso, operations director for the program, told KPBS, “We feel that any leader regardless of their race or ethnicity is going to need to have a deep understanding of Latino identity and the issues facing the Latino community if they’re going to be an effective leader.”

Top officers at this LDZ included:

Governor
Alexis Morales
Science Academy of South Texas
McAllen, Texas

Lt. Governor
Lucia Regina Reyes Gonzalez
Tec de Monterrey
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Speaker of the House
Diego Sosa
Warren Township High School
Gurnee, Illinois

Chief Justice
Renata del Riego
High Tech High School
Chula Vista, California