Las Vegas-Area High School Students Complete the National Hispanic Institute’s 2024 Leadership Development Program with Support from Sands Cares

Culminating its third year of programming in Las Vegas, National Hispanic Institute honored 54 Las Vegas-area high school participants who joined the 2024 NHI leadership development program, underwritten through Sands Cares, in a recognition ceremony at Global Community High School on Saturday, August 17. Additionally, 28 of these students, along with former NHI Las Vegas program participants, were recognized for volunteering with NHI in 2023-2024.

The celebration culminated their journeys in the program’s various levels, which are designed to cultivate future civic and business leaders by developing skills in communication, community advocacy and policy-making, while preparing participants for success in higher education.

Since 1979, NHI has provided youth with innovative curriculum, which includes a series of three immersive and progressive development programs that prepare students with the skillsets and knowledge to successfully engage in community organizations and the legislative process. Each program emphasizes asset-based thinking and trains youth to view themselves as capable of affecting change through their own resources and strengths.

The program for rising sophomores prepares students for the Great Debate, which emphasizes communications skills as a tool for self-advancement and community change. The program for rising juniors prepares students to participate in the Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Session, which exposes students to governance, organizational development and policy design. Finally, rising seniors participate in the Collegiate World Series, which has a dual focus on preparing students for both college admissions and community leadership.

During the celebration, students received certificates of participation and select speakers highlighted their experience and the impact it had on them.

“My biggest takeaway from NHI would be public speaking because that’s something not a lot of kids my age can do since we aren’t usually given the opportunity to do so,” Elizabeth Macaraig, a participant in the Collegiate World Series and senior at Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory School, said.

Quetzally Guerrero, a participant in the LDZ Youth Legislative session and junior at Cristo Rey St. Viator, concurs. “Public speaking was a big takeaway for me, because I had a problem with being really quiet. Especially when someone would ask me a few questions, they would usually receive one-word answers from me. This experience made me open up.”

She added that her progress was apparent to others. “I went to Mexico right after I got back from the summer session, and my entire family said I was very different. They said I was talking more, and they were really excited that I wasn’t giving one-word answers or staying in my room all day.”

Other students noted the interpersonal communication skills they gained as well.

“I learned how to communicate with people and work as a team,” Mateo Solorzano, a participant in the Great Debate session and a rising sophomore at Cristo Rey St. Viator, said. “I usually do a lot of work alone, but I’m getting used to working in a team. I was with two people for the Great Debate. We unfortunately didn’t make it into the finals, but I learned how to work together debating as a team and how we can fix our mistakes.”

Another primary goal of NHI’s leadership development curriculum is critical thinking. Students are given prompts that push them to contemplate and strategize variables in the process of developing long-term, sustainable solutions to issues.

“We learned about asset-based thinking and deficit-based thinking in the first years; then in the Collegiate World Series, we were introduced to inquiry-based learning to respond to very challenging prompts,” Macaraig said. “The process pushes you to think more deeply about an issue and really get to the core of it – not just what’s on the surface. So many times we just want to solve a problem quickly, but sometimes there’s more thinking that’s needed.”

Arianna Riley Monzon Helvie, a Great Debate participant and sophomore at Doral Academy Red Rock, noted the leadership development skillsets she gained. “NHI puts in a position where you don’t really know what to do initially, but then you learn how to be a leader.”

Finally, all students expressed a newfound confidence from their experience in NHI.

“A big benefit is realizing how important your opinion is and that what you say can go miles,” Macaraig said. “A lot of people could be thinking the same thing as you are, but because we’re so afraid to speak up and stand up for ourselves and say what we would like to see in the community, we limit ourselves. It’s really just about getting your opinion and your voice out there.”

Sands helped bring NHI to Las Vegas in 2022 and has supported the leadership development program with annual funding to underwrite expenses and build a volunteer alliance, as well as provide stipends to assist students. Through this underwriting, nearly 140 participants have benefited from NHI’s transformative learning.

“Our partnership with Sands has empowered substantial expansion of our reach and ability to positively impact a new set of high school students by introducing them to our programming,” Nicole Nieto, executive vice president of National Hispanic Institute, said. “Across of all our curriculum, we aim to empower students with tools and skillsets that help them think critically, engage productively in public life and, ultimately, set them on a path of successful leadership.”

Sands’ partnership with the National Hispanic Institute is part of the company’s priority on education to help build a diverse workforce of the future. To learn more about Sands’ commitment to education and advancing opportunities for diverse groups, read the company’s latest ESG report: https://www.sands.com/resources/reports/.