At the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year, our Hispanic Federation launched the program CREAR Junioran initiative that is implemented in collaboration with the Royal Bank of Canadao RBCin order to promote the academic, professional and mental preparation of high school students in our community with a view to their university studies and subsequent careers. Months after its inauguration, the program has already given 30 students the tools, confidence and guidance they need to build a better future.
“These initial results fill us with hope and pride,” explains Perla Rodríguez, Senior Director of Education Programs at our Hispanic Federation. “It is exciting to see the first results of the efforts of these young people and their mentors.”
The young people Perla refers to are third and fourth year students of high schoolor high school. That is, between 15 and 17 years old. The program, which has no cost to them, is implemented in the Pan American International High Schoolin Elmhurst, Queens; he Pan American International High School at Monroein the Bronx, and the Urban Assembly Charter School for Computer Sciencealso in the Bronx. Of course, at the Hispanic Federation we are very grateful to those three establishments.
“We also thank the team at RBC Capital Marketssince its members selflessly offered themselves as mentors, and generously shared their time, their knowledge and their experience with our students,” adds Perla Rodríguez.
In its first pilot year, CREAR Junior made it possible for these 30 young people to grow intellectually and professionally by learning to write resumes and prepare presentations, visit and learn about universities, and carry out leadership sessions with the staff of RBC and our federation.
One of the ways in which young people acquire leadership skills is through regular meetings with mentors from the Royal Bank of Canadaand through workshops on finances and related topics. These mentors also share their personal experiences, explaining how they got their jobs and how they progressed in their specialties.
“In addition to these activities in collaboration with RBC”, complete Pearl, “Students attend monthly workshops at the Hispanic Federation offices in Manhattan. Some of those workshops are dedicated to college admissions, from admissions applications to financial aid applications to the essays they have to submit. And others are about the world of work, how to look for and apply for jobs, and similar issues.”
In these sessions, young people acquire eminently practical knowledge, such as how to research the jobs offered online and their advantages and disadvantages, how to prepare a resume, or how to behave and perform in a job interview. Another important aspect of both meetings with mentors and workshops at the federation is help with finding internships.
“And also,” our Senior Director of Education Programs concludes, “students take an exam that tells them what activities and careers they should consider based on their aptitudes and the things they are interested in and like.”
For now, Create Junior It is offered to students at the three schools mentioned, but we are hopeful that in the future we will be able to apply the model in other New York high schools.
People interested in Create Junior or other initiatives can consult the Education Section of our website.
Celebrate with us the 35th anniversary of the Hispanic Federation, and until the next column!
Frankie Miranda is the president of the Hispanic Federation