YOUTH SUMMIT
The City of Santa Rosa Recreation, Parks and Community Services hosted the first ever Santa Rosa Youth Summit on March 5, 2011. Spearheaded by Community Advisory Board member Ivan Chang and Santa Rosa Junior College student Jessica Jones, the Youth Summit invoked participation by 100 local teens and young adults. Hosted at Santa Rosa Junior College's Lawrence A. Bertolini Student Center, the event was widely publicized and supported by the community. The goal of the Youth Summit is to encourage students to volunteer, be engaged, form connections, and realize ideas in their communities.
From over 1,200 surveys distributed and collected, the following session topics were chosen:
Social Media I: Kerry Rego, a professional in the field of organization and efficiency of physical spaces, social media and technology training, and public speaking, will introduce the topic. How can social media be used to accomplish your needs? How are different organizations already using social media? How do you develop your tool set?
Social Media II: DJ Dax and Cameron, Santa Rosa youth, spoke about the do and do nots of social media. Having used their tools in their communities, they were able to tell students from first hand experience what worked and what didn't. Is being a DJ something you've always wanted to do? How about making a video for government agency? Where do you want to go with your skills and interests?
Environmental: Montgomery High School students, Alyssa Alvarez and Charlie Nudie talked about talked about projects their school are involved with, including a student creek restoration project and permaculture garden. Ivan Chang, Santa Rosa Junior College student and Community Advisory Board member, talked about his involvement in a local community garden, LandPath's Bayer Farm. Jessica Jones, Students for Sustainable Communities' co-founder and president, talked about creating sustainable environments.
Personal Resume Building: Lisceth Cruz, Ph.D student from UC Davis, class of 2011, spoke to students on how to write personal statements for both college applications and scholarships. How can you stand out? How can you most effectively communicate all that you have done? Students are more than a GPA.
Community Panel: A panel with an array of diverse individuals spoke including: Jinn Johnson (Bike Monkey), Sophia Rodriquez (Piner High School Volunteer Club), Birhana Habtremariam (Eritrean Youth Organization of Santa Rosa), Elsie Allen’s LoboUnity and others . . . they talked about projects they have done in our community. Where did the project idea come from? What were the obstacles? What were the achievements? This session will serve to inspire youth to do projects they might not have thought of pursuing, from community festivals to starting local non-profits.
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After two hours of sessions and panel discussions, lunch was served and participants were able to visit the community resource fair, where a variety of service organizations, local businesses and service providers, and local resources were available. The fair provided students with ideas and inspiration, as well as connections with organizations and neighborhoods. Students where introduced to volunteer opportunities they might not have been aware of and as a result, organizations will gain valuable volunteers that want to help them serve their communities.
Click here for an article with more information on the Youth Summit in SRCJ's The Oak Leaf.
Student participants of the Youth Summit (and all Santa Rosa youth) are encouraged to develop projects that they are passionate about which could be of public interest and mutual benefit to our community. Students wishing to start their own projects in Santa Rosa are encouraged to participate in the annual Spring Clean Event on May 14th. They may also receive help with funding some of their projects through the City of Santa Rosa Community Advisory Board’s Community Improvement Grants, which may award them up to $1,000 to improve their communities.