It was a weekend filled with adventure, camaraderie and mentoring as a group of Edcouch-Elsa High School students participated in the Llano Grande Center’s annual Leadership Camp.
A group of eight seniors made the trip this year to Garner State Park in central Texas with Llano staff members Juan Ozuna and Marcos Silva, along with LG interns Lucero Martinez and Norma Perez. During the trip, the group engaged in several activities that help to promote Llano Grande’s principles of community, respect, resiliency, gracious space and storytelling. The young leaders also had the opportunity to speak with the staff and interns about their higher education experiences as they look forward to going to college next year.
“We’ve done this for several years now as a way to get students out of the classroom and give ourselves an open space to speak freely, and reflect about what we’ve done, as well as where we’re going,” said Ozuna. “The students really get a chance to be themselves without the pressures of school around them, they open up more to each other, and really learn a lot about themselves.”
The camp lasted for three days and two nights as the group slept in tents, helped each other with chores, hiked around the park, and swam in the Rio Frio at Garner. Another reason the Llano Grande Center has made this trip is to help broaden the horizons of students – for many in the group, this was the first time going camping.
“We really want students to get out here and appreciate nature,” said Ozuna. “We also want them to see that they really are leaders who are capable of working with adults to achieve something.”
This year’s Leadership Camp was sponsored by a grant from TG (www.tgslc.org), who have supported Llano Grande’s college prep and leadership development programs since 2011.
For more pictures of this year’s camping trip, visit our Facebook photo album here: