An insight on Latinos in Action: A class made for the Hispanic community at our school to have a connection with their heritage
By Isabel Huaraca
Timber Creek High School is a place filled with inclusivity and diversity. An example of this is the Latinos in Action program, a class where Latino students can come together and collaborate, celebrate, and appreciate their culture and heritage.
“I’m very proud of my fellow peers for doing the best they can on their fundraising,” said one of the club’s presidents, Martina Neilsen. Nielsen along with Mariangel Velasquez are the two presidents of each class period of Latinos in Action. Nielsen in 6th period and Velasquez in 7th period. Each class has a president, 2-3 secretaries who handle their financing and meeting minutes, 2 historians who handle social media and promotion throughout the school, and vice presidents who reside over their four committees, social, professional, art, and service.
Latinos in Action, or LIA, participates in many events and fundraisers throughout the school year. Like Timber Creek’s Student Government Association or HOSA club, they do fundraising for their events by selling chocolates, candy grams, and bundt cakes. They do this to raise money for transportation for things such as outside of school events.
Some of these events include their resiliency trips, where they go to high schools in the Central Florida area to attend workshops on mental health awareness and bettering the class environment as well as the school as a whole. Middle school trips, where they go to a variety of middle schools within the area and discuss the benefits of taking Latinos in Action to upcoming high schoolers. And most importantly, the annual Latinos in Action conference, where they, along with many other high schools and middle schools within the Orlando area, come together to celebrate their culture, learn more about life after high school and college readiness, as well as compete in competitions for the possibility of winning partial scholarships.
“The conference is my favorite part of the year,” said senior Nicolas Gilchrist, “ I enjoy going there and as a senior now, I am able to have the opportunity to better my college and career readiness.” Latinos in Action, as many have said, is a wonderful opportunity for kids to come together, and to be able to celebrate our cultures together? A luxury that many others do not get the privilege to have.
GET TOGETHER. Latinos in action conference 2022, when Timber Creek’s LIA program had just won the masterminds award and brought home 1st place in writing and art “It was a surreal experience, I’m so glad I got to experience it,” said Junior Uma Fournier. Photo donated