‘Nada es Imposible’
Hispanic youth brainstorm American-style success
In Devil’s Den, "There was no Toys-R-Us. It was
Toys-R-Me."
Retired Lt. Col. Consuelo Kickbusch
By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer
"From the neck down is minimum wage; from the neck
up, the possibilities are unlimited," the fiery retired Army Lt. Col.
Consuelo Kickbusch told 100 of Idaho’s brightest Hispanic high school
students gathered here last weekend.
Translation: stay in school.
Achieving success in America through education while never
forgetting Hispanic culture was the often-repeated theme at last weekend’s
Hispanic Youth Symposium, the annual gathering in Sun Valley that promotes
drop-out prevention, bilingual communication and Latino pride.
The theme this year for the annual event was "Nada es
Imposible"—nothing is impossible.
Maria Hernandez from Glens Ferry
performs a traditional dance during the Hispanic Youth Symposium’s
talent competition. Express photo by David Seelig
During the three-day event, students danced, displayed all
kinds of skills in art and talent shows, and competed for tens of
thousands of dollars in scholarships during interactive workshops meant to
enhance self-esteem, leadership and problem-solving skills.
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne sprinkled his speech with
Spanish phrases in Friday’s keynote address. He told the 300
participants gathered at the Sun Valley Inn’s Limelight Room that the
state’s Hispanic population has increased by 92 percent in the last
decade to over 100,000 citizens, an indication to him that Hispanics,
especially the young ones gathered in Sun Valley, would play a major role
in the state’s future.
"We may have congressmen who are in here," he
said, "We may have the future governor of Idaho. That wouldn’t
surprise me."
Kempthorne’s words rang true for Kenny Zamora, 18, the
Hispanic student body president of Caldwell’s Vallivue High School,
which, he said, voted him into office even though he’s considered a jock
and the school is less than 10 percent Hispanic.
Kenny Zamora
Zamora was born in Edinburg, a small town near the Mexican
border in the southern tip of Texas. His father was a field worker, and
now runs a farm labor contracting company that negotiates wages, hours and
other working conditions for laborers. Zamora said he does field work in
the summers and has been accepted to Boise State University. He wants to
become an architect.
"You just have to work for whatever you get," he
said. "You can’t be intimidated because you’re a minority."
The symposium, for Zamora, was "a good opportunity to
get scholarships" from the 20 colleges and numerous corporations and
Hispanic awareness groups present and a good opportunity "to get some
background on your culture."
It was also a good opportunity to learn "What
Corporate America wants." That was what Col. Kickbusch called her
hour-long motivational speech, during which she spoke about everything
from how to dress for corporate success to cultivating the personal
qualities like organizational skills and creativity, that corporations
want.
Kickbusch, who grew up in the impoverished Devil’s Den
barrio near Laredo Texas, said Hispanics like herself may have some
circumstances working against them, like economics and education, but
their culture also promotes personal qualities that corporate America
needs.
Where she grew up, she said, "There was no Toys-R-Us.
It was Toys-R-Me."
Poor children have to be inventive, she said, and
"these ideas, if you get them patented, you can become an
inventor."
And Hispanics who grow up in crowded households are
natural team builders, which is another thing that "Latino children
have working for them," she said.
The goal for all Hispanics, she said, should be
educational and financial freedom, but "don’t lose who you are…
In the corporate world, they will try to change you. But I will never be
Connie. I am Consuelo."
Several doors down, in the Issues to Action workshop, a
different group of students was learning something else about corporate
America, this time to use a corporate problem-solving model to brainstorm
solutions to sexual harassment, substance abuse, gang violence and other
problems.
Divided into 10 groups of about a half-dozen people each,
the students brainstormed for 40 minutes, then picked representatives to
speak to the entire room. At stake for the speakers were $500 to $1,500
scholarships. Judges determined which speakers were eligible to compete in
later workshops.
Shannon Bowman, president of the board of Gem State
Diversity Initiatives, the nonprofit foundation that sponsored the
workshop, said judges looked for students who have "overcome
barriers," and who "lead while empowering others."
She said there was an emphasis on business and
corporations at the symposium, because, "that’s where we get the
funding. You are looking at the workforce of the future."
Organizations like Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratories that sponsor the event through the U.S.
Department of Energy are trying to "make a connection" to that
workforce, she said.
Also, she said, the event grew out of a desire to curb the
high school dropout rate for Idaho’s Hispanic teens, which was 60
percent when the symposium was held in 1990. Now the rate is 30 percent.
Over the event’s 12 years, 3,000 students have attended
and won over $1 million in scholarships.
