Upward Bound students learn leadership skills

Five South Texas College Upward Bound Program participants from Roma and Rio Grande City high schools attended the Southwest Association of Student Assistance Programs Student Leadership Conference (SWASAP SLC). The event was held at Sky Ranch in Van, Texas, in late September. 

Jorge Ayala, Esteban Gavina, Cindy Marroquin, Monseratt Ruiz and Larizza Prado traveled to Sky Ranch, and were introduced to the staff and students from Upward Bound Programs across New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas.

Participants took part in several ice breakers and memory games. Two professors from Jarvis Christian College spoke on the meaning of diversity and its importance. And Brenda Faulkner, professor at Tarleton University, presented a workshop on diversity and conducted several activities with the students, helping them get to know each other’s differences and similarities.

A community service project was also part of the conference. The group traveled to the East Texas Food Bank in Tyler, Texas, where they took a tour and were given an overview of the facility and its services. Participants were then divided into groups and put to work preparing items and boxing them up. In the end the group prepared more than 800 boxes.

The student leadership conference concluded with the presentation of six performance scholarships, which were given out based on students overall performance and involvement in the weekend’s events and activities. Students were not aware that they were being judged during the weekend’s activities. Two participants from STC’s Upward Bound Program were selected to receive performance-based scholarship. Jorge Ayala and Larizza Prado were chosen as a result of their behavior, participation and overall enthusiasm and each will receive a $200 scholarship as a reward.