We are very excited to have launched a new academic-year program this fall: the ARC Community Leadership Program! Forty students are participating in the program at Truckee, North Tahoe, and Dos Palos High Schools, meeting regularly for in-school leadership workshops and participating in weekend adventures to California state and national parks. Weekend trips this fall have included hiking in Calaveras Big Trees and Malakoff Diggins State Parks, rafting the American River, exploring Carmel Valley, and kayaking on Lake Tahoe.
The Community Leadership Program is designed to overcome barriers to outdoor engagement for youth who are underrepresented in the outdoors. The program starts in 9th grade and is a two-year progression. It is completely free of cost. All gear, supplies, housing, and transportation are provided. Students’ families are actively engaged in the program through school meetings, family holiday dinners, and a final project showcase. Participants start by going on progressively longer weekend excursions and then are invited to participate in our month-long wilderness summer courses. After their summer participation, ARC offers a follow-up year of academic coaching and leadership opportunities. By providing free, family-oriented programming that is embedded in schools, ARC engages youth who have historically lacked access to California’s natural beauty.
Neftali Lopez, who had never visited Yosemite prior to her ARC participation, said that ARC and the Community Leadership Program have had a positive impact on her self-confidence: “Before I was scared in school. I was always in the back of the class. I didn’t talk to anyone. Now that I joined ARC, I speak to more people and it’s easier for me.” Neftali says that she was motivated to join the program because, “I wanted to try something new. I wanted something different – to be out in the wilderness. [With ARC] I see many new things.”
John Ramirez, a Dos Palos High School student, also echoes these sentiments: “I decided to sign up because doing something new was always what I was looking for. I hadn’t rock climbed before…. This group helped me be more comfortable when I’m speaking…. The Leadership Program has taught me to be more open and respectful and not always assume what people are going through.”
In Dos Palos, the Community Leadership Program is co-facilitated by Jesus Alejandre and Alma Alvarado. Both are former ARC participants, fluent Spanish speakers, and graduates of Central Valley high schools. Throughout the first three months of the program, they have developed relationships with students’ parents and families and created a strong sense of community. Alma describes the program in this way: “We want to create a safe space where the students can be themselves. When they’re part of a strong community, the students feel more motivated to do well academically and see themselves as leaders in school and in their families. I see my role here as creating and fostering that safe space, listening to and validating the students’ thoughts, and highlighting their strengths.” Alma says the Rising Community Leaders already see “that being a leader is within them and not something that is in the distant future that they need to train for.” Alma is a PhD student at UC Merced in Interdisciplinary studies, in addition to working as a co-facilitator for ARC.
After the 2019-20 year of Community Leadership programming, students will be invited to participate in the 2020 summer courses. If they complete the summer course and a follow-up year of academic coaching and leadership opportunities they will be granted a $1,000 scholarship. ARC is committed to providing deep and lasting programming to youth who are underrepresented in post-secondary education and our public lands.
The ARC Community Leadership Program is generously funded in Tahoe/Truckee by the Lahontan Community Foundation Fund held at the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation. In Dos Palos, the Community Leadership Program has the generous support of the Fansler Foundation.