Hugo Chavez, a current ARC Community Leadership Program participant, lives a quarter mile from his closest neighbor in rural Merced County. His family’s home is surrounded by agricultural fields. When the almond trees blossom in late winter, his neighborhood is like a forest where the only things you can see are white flowers. During soccer season, to train, he runs miles through the rows of trees, tunneling his way through this maze of beauty. Hugo says “It’s very quiet here, especially at night. There’s no noise.” He finds it easy to focus on his school work because he can read and study in the peace and quiet that surrounds his home.
Hugo expresses gratitude for living in such a remote area and the sense of calm it brings, but he acknowledges that it comes with its challenges. He lives far away from his classmates at school. He says, “My friends who live close to the center of town—I know that they’re getting together and going for ice cream after school and I’m not able to join them.” Once done with classes at Dos Palos High School, if he goes home, it’s rare that he would make the trip back to town.
ARC’s Community Leadership Program has helped Hugo overcome a feeling of being distant and apart from his classmates. He says, “ARC has been a huge part of my life. Before I was isolated almost all the time and at home every day after school. ARC has opened doors for me.”
Hugo started his participation in the program as a freshman in 2019 and has been actively involved ever since, engaging in weekly leadership workshops after school and going on monthly weekend outdoor trips. The program has introduced him to a new community of friends and strengthened his sense of belonging in the school environment. He says “The culture of ARC is excellent. In the group, we care about everyone as individuals and, [as a result], people open up.” After his freshman year, Hugo decided to join the soccer and mock trial teams—two activities that he doesn’t think he would have participated in if it weren’t for ARC’s support. His mother, Veronica, says, “The program has helped him learn more about himself and realize that he’s capable of doing whatever he wants.”
When Hugo is asked about the Community Leadership Program and its impact, he immediately starts talking about the programs’ facilitators. He says he initially wanted to participate because “Jesus and Alma were such nice people and welcomed everyone into the group.” Alma Alvarado was an ARC Co-Facilitator from 2019 to 2021 and is currently finishing her Masters’ degree at UC Merced. Jesus Alejandre has been a full-time ARC staff member since 2017. Hugo says, “Jesus is a role model. I look up to him. He was a student once as well [at Dos Palos High School]. He did everything with ARC and now he is an instructor.”
In addition to expanding his community in Dos Palos, Hugo is also grateful for how ARC has allowed him to visit many new places in California and go on outdoor adventures. He says “[Before ARC], I had never been to a State Park.” Now, he has gone to Calaveras State Park to marvel at the giant sequoia groves in the snow. He has hiked multiple times at Pacheco State Park, which is less than an hour from his home. He has kayaked at Sycamore Island with the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust and rock climbed in the Sierra National Forest. His mother adds, “One of the best parts of ARC is that he has gotten to experience new places and do things that he wouldn’t have done without the program.” Hugo has applied to participate in the ARC summer course this year and is excited to continue his adventures with a full month in Yosemite.
Hugo’s dream is to attend an Ivy League college and study either pre-law or engineering. ARC has had several recent graduates from Dos Palos attend elite colleges and universities, and Hugo can now see that, for him, it is also a real possibility. From once feeling isolated as a ninth grader living in a beautiful, but remote, part of the Central Valley, today Hugo can imagine building a community away from home and pursuing his academic dreams.