For any high schooler, the prospect of exploring life and career pathways after graduation is exciting. For those students who are heritage Spanish speakers at Fort Collins High School, that prospect is even more invigorating due to the community building opportunities provided by the Caminos Program, sponsored by the Colorado State University School of Education.
The Caminos program, started by a team of educators and organizers including Antonette Aragón, associate professor in the School of Education, pioneered the unique and innovative program which leads CSU Latinx/e and Indigenous students into Spanish literacy classrooms at Fort Collins High School to provide mentorship as they plan for their future.
“It feels amazing to know that what we’re doing is having an incredible impact on students,” Aragón said. “Together, Latinx/e and Indigenous CSU student femtors and mentors (fem/mentors) help high school students explore future possibilities. Caminos high schoolers are abound with excellence, brilliance, and community cultural wealth. The high schoolers see those qualities reflected in the CSU fem/mentors, which affirms and encourages them as they embrace their future.”
Setting students up for success
As the Caminos high schoolers work with CSU student fem/mentors, everything from pursuing higher education, joining the military, supporting a family business, or entering the workforce are all options for their futures.
This academic year, CSU students met with 178 FCHS students every other week to help with coursework, build community, and provide mentorship.
In the fall semester, FCHS students explored their identity; their historical and cultural contributions to society, and the social capital within themselves and the Latinx/e and Indigenous community. This work culminated in an end-of-semester Caminos Leadership Conference at CSU where FCHS students shared their work with each other and community members.
After that groundwork had been laid, and those connections built, FCHS students spent the spring semester exploring post-secondary pathways. At the end of the semester, that exploration culminated in a Caminos Business Luncheon, where FCHS students met with dozens of Latinx/e and Indigenous community members to learn about their life and career pathways. Community members shared their success as realtors, firefighters, nurses, teachers, entrepreneurs, bankers, and more.
Some of those community members just happened to be former Caminos high schoolers. “It’s great to see those students returning and giving back to their community,” said Aragón.
Exploring identity and community
At the fall semester event, FCHS students and CSU fem/mentors shared testimonios (testimonies) about their life journeys, and how their identities played into that.
David Garcia, a sophomore at Fort Collins High School, shared a testimonio about how he felt unsure about what to do after high school, but now wants to get a college degree and return to run his family’s local business.
“It was nerve-wracking, but it was great to share my story and what I want to do in the future,” he said. “I got to let out some of my feelings to my friends as well.”
Angel Gomez Mejia, a senior at Fort Collins High School, shared his testimonio about how he has been underestimated – in sports and in life – because of his short stature but has taken that as motivation to be the best athlete he can be.
“It was nice to let other students know that if they have differences, they can learn from each other,” he said. “I hope this helps other people learn that anything is possible.”
Gomez Mejia says he loves to learn more about the Latinx/e and Indigenous community when he spends time with Caminos fem/mentors. “I get to learn about my culture, my community, and where we come from. It’s fun to be able to understand more about where we come from and how we’ve grown together over time,” he said.
Giving back
Bianca Melendrez Valenzuela, a master’s student at CSU studying creative writing and teaching English to speakers of other languages, who has participated in other youth mentorship programs, says this program is unique, and because of that, especially impactful.
“This program is totally different from the other work I’ve done [at other universities],” she said. “It really focuses on forming real relationships with students and building up their confidence in themselves and their ability to strive for a dream or a goal.”
Valenzuela’s presentation at the fall semester event explored her experience as a first-generation college student and the importance of keeping family culture alive amid navigating life in a different country and culture.
“I want these students to see that it’s possible for them to chase higher education and remind them how important family and language are – and how easy you can lose yourself in the midst of a different society and norms,” she shared. “Being an immigrant isn’t a disadvantage, it’s a strength.”
Manuel Marquez-Avalos, a junior CSU international studies student, says he mentors FCHS students as a part of the Caminos program because he sees himself in them.
“I relate to feeling unsure about the future, struggling to fit in as a Latino student in a predominantly white school, and needing a connection with someone who was in a place I could see myself in,” he shared.
Marquez-Avalos’ testimonio at the fall semester event shared struggles in his family, and how he found agency within himself to improve his own life despite a family in turmoil.
“I want students who identified with my story to see that going through challenging family times isn’t their fault, but they have the power to change things for the better,” he said. “As long as they still see hope, they will have the power to do anything.”
Building connections
At the spring semester career luncheon, those same 178 FCHS students came prepared with newfound confidence in themselves and their identities as Latinx/e, Indigenous, and first-generation students.
FCHS students shared their career and life aspirations with the group and learned about career pathways from successful members of the Fort Collins Latinx/e community.
“Many students don’t realize how special it is to be bilingual, and how they can use that skill for future job opportunities,” said Juan De Luna Rojas, a sophomore at FCHS.
Josser Vega, also a sophomore at FCHS, wants to be a chef after graduating, and attributes discovering that desire to Caminos.
“Caminos is an opportunity to be proud of our culture and beliefs. It teaches us to embrace our future goals and understand how to use our second language to navigate our life and our world,” he said.
Seeing themselves at CSU
To close out the academic year, CSU student fem/mentors welcomed Caminos high schoolers to CSU’s campus for a leadership camp. The high schoolers learned about leadership, community organizing, and advocacy.
The leadership camp is designed for the Caminos high schoolers to get to know the CSU student fem/mentors in a more informal setting, and to help envision themselves at an institution of higher education.
Programming at the camp was designed to further augment students’ sense of identities, capitalize on their understandings of the difference between an individualistic and community-oriented mindset, and show them the strength of the Latinx/e and Indigenous communities.
The group made t-shirts with messaging about a passion of theirs, ate at a dining hall, did team-building through a walking maze and further discussed life after high school.
“As Latinx/e and Indigenous people, we value those who connect us both to our roots, and our community at large,” said Aragón. “That is what is so wonderful about seeing our CSU student fem/mentors come together with the high schoolers. They want to give back to their community and foster the next generation of leaders.”
Special thanks to the Bohemian Foundation grant, School of Education, Fort Collins High School, CSU’s El Centro Cultural Center, the Latino-interest fraternity—Gamma Zeta Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Warner College of Natural Resources, CSU SLiCE, Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering, College of Natural Sciences, and the CSU Bookstore for providing support for the 2022-23 Caminos.
The School of Education is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
