Group of Women Posing Together, Eliminating Racism, YWCA Boulder County

Latinx Achievement Success, or LAS, is a culturally responsive mentoring program that supports local Latinx high school students in overcoming systemic barriers to success and bridging the opportunity gap. The program encourages students to reach their academic and personal goals, pursue post-secondary education and opportunities and explore different career paths.

Our LAS Advocates are bilingual Latina college students who provide guidance and create weekly programming to help the members of LAS have a space to grow, learn and support one another. Over the past four academic years, 100% of high school seniors in the LAS program have graduated, and 94% had plans to pursue post-secondary education.

The success of this program underscored the need to expand its reach for more young women of color as well as LGBTQ+ youth to come together regularly to build community and a sense of belonging for student populations who, at times, may have felt isolated. Our NEW Young Women+ Achievement program is an inclusive, cultural- and identity-responsive forum for high school youth to connect at their own high school and across Boulder County high schools.

Advocates meet weekly with LAS students for advice and mentoring to build academic, mental health and leadership skills. Participants build trusting relationships with their Advocates and with each other.

Meetings and activities will include topics such as:

Academic support and tutoring
Community involvement and volunteer opportunities
College prep and school visits
Life skills workshops on topics ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to personal finance
Field Trips and bonding activities like campfires and corn mazes, visiting local museums and cultural centers, ice skating, volunteer opportunities and more

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Latinx Achievement and Success Events

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Capital One Job Skills Training Workshop

Nov 15

Nov 15, 2023

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM17:00 – 19:005:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Capital One Job Skills Training Workshop

Nov 15, 2023

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM17:00 – 19:005:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Led by Capital One at YWCA Boulder County. Resume writing and one-on-one interviewing workshop to help prepare high school seniors to have more interviews!

We will start at the Capitol One café and get free café drinks! Then we will walk to the YWCA (a 10-minute walk) for the workshop!

Nov 15, 2023

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM17:00 – 19:005:00 PM – 7:00 PM

“The YWCA provides the students with a source of support that they otherwise wouldn’t have. It’s creating a club that comes to the school specifically for these students and creates a safe space for them. [They can] see representation in higher education with a woman of color.”New List Item

Isabella, CU Boulder senior and LAS Advocate for Centarus HS
 “I’m an immigrant student, so it’s been hard because you don’t know if you have the same opportunities as other students or if I can go to college and get a degree… So, for me, [LAS is] empowering and supportive just because I’ve gotten to know more about college, how to go to college, [and] what college has to offer for us. That’s really changed my life because I’ve been wanting to go to college since I can remember. Thank you a lot, a lot [for] the amazing tours that I’ve gone to, amazing field trips that we’ve gone to. I’ve never gotten to do that because I’ve never really been offered those opportunities.”

Elizabeth Merazgordillo, Member of LAS
“I honestly can’t think of where I would be now without the support that I’ve received. From both my mentors, the LAS program and my peers in the program. It would be really hard to imagine myself in a different place.”

Jenny Ornelas, Member of LAS