In honor of Mother’s Day, Jesus Alejandre, ARC’s Central Valley Program Coordinator, interviewed his mom, Leticia, about her experiences with ARC. Jesus graduated from ARC’s month-long Yosemite summer course in 2012. Since 2015 he has worked for ARC in several positions, and he’s been a member of our full-time staff for three years. We’ve transcribed the interview below in Spanish and English. Happy Mother’s Day!
What do you think are the most impactful components of ARC?
Creo que la parte más importante del programa es la desconexión de la tecnología. Creo que el programa hace un gran trabajo al ayudar a los estudiantes a sentirse más cómodos al aire libre. A los niños de hoy en día les dificulta dejar atrás la tecnología y funcionar sin ella. Es genial tener un programa que pueda enseñar a nuestros hijos que está bien salir y divertirse. El programa también ayuda a los estudiantes a ser más independientes y ser mejores líderes.
I think the most impactful part of the program is the disconnection from technology. The program does a great job at helping students feel more comfortable in the outdoors. Kids nowadays struggle to leave their technology behind and function without it. It is great to have a program that can teach our children that it is okay to go outside and have fun. ARC also helps the students to become more independent and be better leaders.
How have you seen your kids change as a result of their participation in ARC?
¡El programa tuvo un impacto significativo en Jesús! Antes del programa, Jesús era un niño tímido. Siempre fue un niño maravilloso, pero le faltaba confianza en sí mismo. El programa lo ayudó a ser menos tímido y más expresivo. Incluso comenzó a compartir sus sentimientos con nosotros. Este programa también ha hecho mucho por nuestra familia. El programa ha apoyado a mis hijos y a nosotros de muchas maneras, y no podría estar más feliz con ARC.
The program had a significant impact on Jesus! Before the program, Jesus was a timid and shy kid. He never took any chances and felt most comfortable at home. He was always a wonderful kid, but he lacked confidence in himself. ARC helped him to be less shy and more expressive. He even started sharing his feelings with us. This program has also done so much for our family. ARC has supported my children and us in many ways, and I could not be any happier with it.
Had you been hiking/camping prior to having your children participate in ARC?
Nuestra familia nunca había acampado antes. Sin embargo, cuando vivíamos en México y Jesús era más joven, pasábamos mucho tiempo al aire libre. Especialmente nos gustaba ir de excursión a nuestro Parque Nacional (Lago de Camécuaro) local, que estaba a pocos kilómetros de distancia, y también nos gustaba tener picnics los fines de semana. Entonces, cuando escuché por primera vez sobre este programa, me alegró saber que el programa tenía una conexión con la naturaleza. Pero, también me preocupaba porque Jesús nunca había estado fuera de casa, ni había pasado la noche lejos de nosotros.
Our family had never camped before. However, when we lived in Mexico, and Jesus was younger, we would spend lots of time outdoors. We especially enjoyed hiking to our local National Park, which was a few miles away, and having picnics on the weekends. So when I first heard about this program, I was happy to hear that the program had a connection to the outdoors. On the other hand, I was also concerned because Jesus had never been away from home, nor had he spent the night away from us.
When you first heard about ARC, what did you think?
Cuando Jesús me habló de este programa por primera vez, no entendí cómo el programa lo beneficiaría. Sin embargo, él realmente quería participar, y dado que el programa estaba conectado con la escuela y la naturaleza, decidí dejarlo participar en un retiro de fin de semana. Fue después del retiro de fin de semana cuando entendí el impacto que el programa tuvo en sus participantes. Jesús habló sobre el retiro del primer fin de semana durante unos días y, a partir de entonces, vi el cambio positivo en su personalidad.
When Jesus told me about ARC for the first time, I didn’t quite understand how the program would benefit him. However, he really wanted to participate, and since ARC was connected to the school and nature, I decided to let him participate in a weekend retreat. It was after the weekend retreat when I understood the impact that the program had on their participants. Jesus talked about that first weekend retreat for days, and from then on, I saw the positive change in his personality.
Would you like to see the program expand to other communities?
¡Sí, me gustaría ver el programa expandirse a otras comunidades! Creo que todos los estudiantes pueden beneficiarse de este programa.
Yes, I would like to see the program expand to other communities! I think all students can benefit from this program.
ARC will be expanding our academic-year programming to a new school in the fall of 2020: Firebaugh High School (Fresno County). With your support we will offer over 500 hours of leadership, literacy, and academic programming to each student in this new program, plus a scholarship upon high school graduation. Thank you to everyone who donated on #GivingTuesdayNow last week. All contributions this month will go toward our expansion to Firebaugh.