Hundreds of outstanding young
people throughout our county are already making an impact on their communities.
The Youth Impact Awards were designed to shine a light on those at the top of
their game, and all involved are happy to acknowledge those achievements with
pride.
This year’s winners were Ella
Brewer of San Marcos High School, Fatima Cacho of Cabrillo High School, and the
Leaders Establishing Great Ideas 4 Tomorrow Club at Righetti High. Honorable
mention went to Maria Frias of San Marcos High School, Diego Hernandez of Santa
Maria High, and Marcy Montano of the Grizzly Youth Academy Independent Study
Program.
As is often the case, the selection
process this year was extremely challenging because of the remarkable
achievements of so many young people in the county. What an inspiring dilemma.
The awards were announced by the
KIDS Network, a countywide umbrella organization that includes members from
public agencies, the courts, law enforcement, education, community-based
organizations, school-linked programs, and parent groups.
When you look at the
accomplishments of the award winners, you can’t help but believe the future
will be in good hands.
Ella Brewer, a student in the San
Marcos Health Academy, has worked extensively with the Summer2Move teen wellness
program, has tutored at “The Village,” and is a member of the KIDS Helping Kids
program. She also helps with the Seeds of Change program at the Sansum Diabetes
Research Institute, while lettering in varsity soccer and maintaining a 4.33
GPA. She traveled to Nicaragua to work with children living in safe houses and
trash dumps. Her goal is to become a physician.
Fatima Cacho serves on the Lompoc
Youth Commission, attended a Youth Leadership Conference in Bakersfield, and
was instrumental with fellow commissioners in hosting a youth conference in
Lompoc. She took the lead in coordinating the conference for 150 Lompoc teens
who took part in the TOTAL (Teaching Our Teens as Leaders) conference, having
an impact with ripple effects for so many others.
The Leaders Establishing Great
Ideas 4 Tomorrow (LEGIT) Club at Righetti was formed by three students who
wanted to share what they learned at a summer leadership camp for foster
youth. The club allows foster students to
express frustration and find support. It also extends support to the community,
through projects like setting up a “Reading Corner” at the Day of the Farm
Worker, reading books to children, and helping families register and directing
them to services. Members also won a Youth Making Change grant to host
activities for low-income children. They learned about leadership and then
found ways to put that learning to use to help peers and serve the community.
The awards celebration for these
outstanding young people was made possible through a collaboration of the KIDS
Network members, including the Santa Barbara County Probation Department and my
office. Refreshments at the celebration were prepared by students at the
culinary arts program at Los Prietos Boys Camp.
Wards of the camp are selected to work in the kitchen where they learn
about food preparation, presentation, cooking, cleanup, food safety, and
storage — marketable skills when they leave the camp.
Partnerships play a role at every
level of the program, and it is interesting that the award winners are all
involved in partnerships as well. There is strength and synergy in those
partnerships. It’s easy to despair these days over a wide array of negative
developments on the local, national, and global levels. But when we look more
closely at today’s young people, and what they are already accomplishing for
our communities, it’s even easier to find pride and hope for all.
