The document discusses empowering marginalized youth through leadership. It describes creating a leadership program at a continuation high school to help underrepresented students develop skills and prepare for college. The program included weekly meetings, interviews, field trips, and family events. Pre- and post-surveys of the 13 participating students showed they initially feared failure but became more inquisitive. Interviews found most feared college costs rather than academics. The program conclusions were that the students were motivated to learn and be included in college preparation. Continuing the program in the summer could reinforce lessons and pursue fundraising for scholarships.

1. Empowering Marginalized
Youth Through
Leadership
Dafne Melgar

2. Your background
First college generation
Non-traditional student/underrepresented student
Marginalized from college information due to low
GPA and social skills.
Being a tutor at a continuation education High
School I connected with the students because
we share a similar background.

3. Why is this important
Underrepresented students have been negatively
profiled according to their GPA
Male go for the military services
Females go for private colleges as the only way out
from poverty
First generation students. Have no specific college
guidance
They are isolated from college preparation
(The Psychology of Teaching and Structures of Information for
Human Learning by Patrick Velasquez)

4. Research question
How can an underrepresented student
change his/her college perspective by
implementing a college preparation
program in their curriculum?
In addition to academics, how important
is it for an underrepresented student to
learn about self-advocacy and self-
empowerment?

5. Host location: Continuing
Education High School
Students that are recommended to Continuing education are those who are
credit deficient, attend irregularly and are habitual truants, are pregnant or
parenting, need flexible school schedules to accommodate a need to work, or
have social and emotional adjustment issues.
(sandi.net)

6. High Risk Students Profile
Feel they do not “belong” at school;
Exhibit disruptive behavior and rebellious attitudes;
Are below expected grade level for their age;
Exhibit language difficulties; Are gifted or talented and perhaps bored with school;
Have poor home–school communications; Are frequently absent or tardy;
Request frequent health referrals; Are invisible dropouts (present in body
but not in mind);
Are parents; or have difficulty relating to authority figures or structured situations.
Have low achievements test scores
Courtesy of Mentoring Partnership of Long Island, The ABC’s of Mentoring, and the HISD Mentoring
Program Mentor Handbook.

7. Literature
Hope Required When Growing Roses in
Concrete, by Jeffrey M.R Duncan Andrade
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, by Saul McLeod
Reconceptualizing Success for Underserved
Students in Higher Education, by Laura I.
Rendón.
Youth in a suspect Society by Henry A. Giroux
The Psychology of Teaching and Structures of
Information for Human Learning, by Patrick
Velasquez

8. The Leadership program
Based on the nature of the educational system,
research, and student information, I created a
leadership program where students can
challenge themselves to develop at their own
rate high academic and social skills.
Weekly group meetings
One on one interviews
Pro active field trips to community college
Event at the park with family, friends and
mentors

9. The program
demographics
13 students: 97% Latinos 2% white 1% Asian
10 males 3 females
98 % First U.S generation
Juniors and Seniors.

10. Pre-survey : What is your biggest fear? What is
your future dream?
Post-survey: same survey but with an additional
question What have you learned?
Field notes to record student’s testimonials:
Interviews one on one: Personal interest, goals and
challenges
Methodology

11. Survey
“Maslow (1943) stated that
people are motivated to achieve
certain needs. When one need is
fulfilled a person seeks to fulfill
the next one, and so on”
(simplypsychology.org)
The Cycle of Socialization -
How our surroundings define
our personalities, and our
“norms” affect our decisions,
actions, and the people we turn
out to

12. Findings
What the students’ survey say: The survey
shows that 98% of the students are afraid to fail
in life, but only 30% have future plans.
In the interviews about 85-90% are afraid of
college expenses rather than academic
challenges.
At the beginning they were shy and quiet . They
have become inquisitive and very active.

13. Conclusions and
Implications
Students are motivated to learn
They want to be included in a college system
preparation
They are confident/ inquisitive
The program might continue during the summer
Reinforce what they have learned and implement
fundraising activities to create a scholarship fund
Any person can motivate a student regardless of the
student’s academic and social skills

14. Guest Speakers

15. Testimonials

16. Testimonials

17. We are Leaders