Last Friday, at the invitation of MEChA Statewide, a non-profit formed by community leaders and teachers to provide programs and support for Oregon’s MEChA high school chapters, I participated at the ’09 MEChA Leadership Institute hosted at Portland Community College at Rock Creek. The MEChA Leadership Institute, a yearly premier training for Oregon high school MEChA officers (president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, public relations and historians), is held annually to develop, mentor and prepare the officers for leadership responsibilities. I first moderated a large discussion group related to MEChA covering educational excellence, school involvement, community involvement and cultural awareness. The second session was on MEChA Officer Development, roles and responsibilities of the Presidents/Vice President.
The Sessions
There were a total of 18 Oregon high schools and 1 middle school represented. I was happy to run into several students from Hillsboro whom I had met earlier at a Washington County fair who were raising money at the time to support a local migrant farm worker camp. I was even more pleased to meet middle school students who were already thinking ahead, thinking about college. The students higher education aspirations ranged from attending Oregon State University Austin Entrepreneurship Program to Georgetown Foreign Policy. The aspiring foreign policy student previously was an D.C. intern for Congressman David Wu where he focused on energy policy matters. We hit it off after he learned about my work at the Oregon Legislature. And, the facilitators experiences ranged from teachers to MBAs, from entrepreneurs to community leaders.
On Presidents/Vice Presidents
In this session I discussed the purpose of the Chapter’s President/Vice President is to motivate the chapter to get from Point A to Point B; to instill ownership and responsibility in the members; to lead by example and drive the group forward; to use social media more. Again, when in charge, be in charge.
The Classical Marketer
While I was trying to dismiss the group at the end of the session to head to lunch, almost spontaneously, the Presidents/Vice Presidents began making announcements and inviting their peers to their schools for a fundraiser or event. The classical marketer is what came to mind. It was beyond my control, but interestingly caught my attention. One chapter was hosting a filming of Papers the Movie.
How MEChA Statewide Keeps Latinos Aspiring
Oregon MEChA Statewide has been around for well over a dozen years. I got to meet some of the original founders, including the late-Ed Maldonado. While his spirit remains with us, the purpose continues: to give young Chicano/Latino students the opportunity to realize their potential. Unfortunately, Latinas and Latinos still represent alarmingly high percentage of the drop-out rate and proportionally high concentration in the criminal justice system. It is only at these kinds of events can you truly appreciate the efforts, commitment and hard work sustained by the board of directors, and advisors in helping Oregon’s largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority to aspire to something bigger than themselves. One Leadership Institute at a time. One MEChistA at a time.
Something truly remarkable. A sight worth investing in. I’ve committed to the board my commitment to sustaining these efforts.
How will you help?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Comments on this entry are closed.