“I hold my cultural heritage with a lot of high esteem and I have a lot of love for my culture.”

Recently, one of the students here at Wheat Ridge High School was accepted into one of the most inspiring programs. A very intelligent girl, Julles Marquez, has been proudly chosen to be a part of the La Raza Youth Leadership Program. This program’s mission is to help Chicanx and Latinx achieve and gain educational leadership skills with the intention to give back to the Hispanic Community, as well as to “bring more unity in the community for people who are Latinx and Chicanx…it’s really just to unify people, bring them together, and do things involving their passions”.

When Marquez was asked, “What are you planning to accomplish while you’re in this program?” she responded with a very heart touching explanation,  “I’m hoping to form more friendships with new people, I’m just hoping to learn as much as I can… I think I just want to learn and experience different things.” 

So far, this program has been a very exciting and adventurous journey for Marquez. She seems to genuinely find joy and happiness in this program. 

We asked Marquez if she had any advice for others planning on joining any similar programs or clubs, and she gave some truly motivational advice. “I say just go for it because I was really hesitant and apprehensive about applying just because I was like ‘Oh I wont fit in’ …  and I was like ‘You know what?’ I said to hell with it and I applied and I’m really grateful for this opportunity so for anyone who is thinking about applying to any program, they definitely should.” Clearly, Marquez does not regret her decision about applying and being a part of this program. She was confident and brave, you should be too.