What experiences defined your time in high school? Did you have a key moment that you still remember today as an adult?

By Laura Delgado
Parent Engagement Coordinator

In June, I had the honor and pleasure of working with five local high school students in Conexión Américas’ first Summer Internship and Leadership Program. All rising seniors or recent graduates, these first-generation Nashville Latino students participated in a variety of leadership and professional development activities.

What the interns did

In their month at Conexión Américas, the interns:

• Were paired with a staff member and worked on a project for several hours a week.
• Practiced public speaking.
• Pretended to work for a local non-profit and learned to give an elevator speech about their job and the non-profit’s mission.
• Participated in mock interviews with Conexión Américas staff, and an entrepreneurship challenge led by Finance Director Jose Gonzalez, who is an Instructor of Entrepreneurship and Management at Belmont University.
• Met Latino professionals from all walks of life, ranging from real estate developers, Mary Kay directors, business owners, restaurant owners, graduate students, college professors, corporate financial managers and Conexión Américas Board Member Gini Pupo-Walker.
• Heard a variety of life experiences and motivational messages, which ranged from “trust the process; have faith” to “set small achievable goals” to “you set your own limitations in your mind” to “being bicultural is being unique.”

On the creative side, the interns also left a lasting artistic mark on Conexión Américas and Casa Azafran: They worked with Colombian artist Jairo Prado to create a brightly colored dragon sculpture, measuring 6-foot by 3-foot, which graces the walls of Casa Azafran. This “alebrije” is a folk art tradition originating from Oaxaca, Mexico. (Prado is the artist who designed “Migration,” the mosaic mural that crowns Casa Azafran.)

The inspiration

The original inspiration for our Summer Internship and Leadership Program began in the Fall of 2012 as Conexión Américas responded to the need to help young people prepare their Deferred Action applications for protection from deportation. One of the requirements is proof of presence in the United States during the month the Deferred Action announcement was made by President Obama – which happened to be June 2012, when students were not in school.

Overwhelmingly, the staff at Conexión Américas found teens and young adults who were not involved in activities during the summer. It opened our eyes to the needs of the youth of our community.

My goal in developing the program was to recreate the single most impactful experience of my teenage years: A week-long camp with the National Hispanic Institute. This camp created a space where students could talk about roots, being bicultural, facing racism, speaking or not speaking Spanish, and what being Latino meant to each one of us and how we wanted to help our community as adults. These are not conversations that are easily or often had, but they fomented a sense of pride and identity in me, a Cuban-American, that I believe to this day lead to me to my work at Conexión Américas. I wanted to give these five teens a similar experience.

The month of June was a whirlwind for both the interns and for me. But I truly believe that each one of them has left a lasting mark on my life, and that I have helped them erase their doubts and shape their hopes and path for the near future. We have planted a seed in these young people, and we are confident that they will be our leaders of tomorrow. They inspire us with their drive and vitality, and we hope that we too have inspired them to feel confident in their abilities as bilingual, bicultural future college graduates and professionals.

What the interns say

Jacky

“This summer I learned how to communicate and collaborate in a team. This internship helped me to be more responsible and to manage my time… and I still need to work on this! The biggest message I will take away is “seguir luchando para lo que te apasiona aunque vaya a ver muchos problemas, mucha gente que a lo mejor te dicen “no lo puedes hacer”, y también tener fe, aunque no puedes ver algo, si una puerta está cerrada, Dios siempre va a abrir otra puerta.”

Yessy

“This summer taught me that it’s okay to follow my own dreams and not feel like I have to do what my parents want me to do. The biggest message has been “que hagamos lo que queremos” – en mi casa mis padres siempre quieren que yo haga ciertas cosas, que cumpla ciertas metas. And now I know that I have to do what’s right for me.”

Miriam

“We learned. We worked. We had fun. We had amazing adventures. It was more than just work: We made family, we made friends, and we made adventures too. The lesson I learned is that being different isn’t a bad thing; it has its positive sides. I don’t need to hide myself, I don’t have to try and be like everyone else. I am who I am and I can be proud of being Mexican-American. And now when I’m with all these other students, I’m going to stand out, I’m going to succeed, and I won’t hide behind anyone ever again.”

Cesar

“The quote that stuck with me from this summer is from Horace Mann: “Be ashamed to die until you have achieved some victory for humanity.” That has always been a big thing for me – I’ve wanted to make a change for my community. I’m a big person when it comes to unity and race. I want Latinos to be looked at as leaders and not a minority. This summer taught me about my strengths and weaknesses. The advice from the mock interview was really helpful – last night I had a job interview, and I think I got it because of the practice I had with the mock interview.”

Gustavo

“I really appreciated the message “It’s okay to be who you are” and to embrace both of our cultures, Mexican and American. It was good to learn about personality types, but also to focus on our strengths, because normally we focus on our weaknesses.”

Want to be an intern at Conexión Américas?

To learn more about the next Latino Leadership Internship program for high school juniors and seniors, which will be held during Intercession in October, please contact Laura Delgado.