Aldine ISD Hosted its Annual Youth Summit

On March 29, Aldine ISD’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department, in collaboration with the Guidance, Counseling and Student Support Services, held its annual Youth Empowerment Summit for ninth grade students to prepare them for the transition from the ninth grade campuses, to their respective high school campuses.

The event started off with the keynote speaker, Gabe Salazar, who touched on the various hardships he had overcome, and how he used those hardships to shape himself into the person he is today, the owner of his successful motivational speaking business. He spoke on how he struggled to find his identity, struggled to see past his present and struggled to find his meaning. These are struggles that the current Aldine ISD ninth grade students may also be facing now, or once they transition to the high school campus. A point that Salazar wanted to emphasize to the students was that, just like him, they too can turn things around and grow stronger and confident through their experiences.

Along with the keynote speaker, which was sponsored by the East Aldine Management District, the group was joined by current senior students who were able to attest to various points made of their high school experience, and provide feedback to questions the younger students had.

After the keynote, the groups were split up into four different groups and sent to breakout rooms for various interactive activities. All the sessions involved teaching the students different life lessons that they can use to guide them through the new challenges they will face once they transition to the high school campuses, but also skills they can utilize even beyond the classrooms.

“We wanted the students to be engaged,” said Dr. Martha Escalante, Executive Director of Aldine ISD’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department. “We wanted to provide an environment for them to be active in learning about different tools they can utilize to help them, both inside the classroom and out.”

The summit ended with a Chick-Fil-A lunch, provided by Suvida Healthcare, for all the students and a moment for them to relax, eat and assess all that they had learned.

Events such as these are just some of the ways that FACE looks to empower its students, while also providing opportunities for its community partners to assist in those efforts. To stay connected and track the events FACE organizes throughout the year, click here.