CONFERENCE URGES KIDS TO ACHIEVE.Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer MOORPARK - Ana Gonzalez is determined to build upon the sacrifices of her immigrant parents while following her own dreams. The 16-year-old high school junior from Oxnard was one of 900 Ventura County students who came Saturday to Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. to learn about career and educational opportunities at the second annual Youth Leadership Conference. With the theme ``Dare to Dream: Life is More than Just Surviving,'' the conference was organized by the California League The California League is a minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth of United Latin American Citizens. Ana has seen how her father, a farmworker, and her mother, a shipping clerk, have struggled to raise five children. ``I don't want to work as hard as my parents do,'' she said. ``And I want to make more money.'' Nearly 30 workshops introduced students to career possibilities in mathematics, science, computers, criminal justice, architecture and a host of other fields. The conference was organized to give local students a glimpse at the many job opportunities available to them, and to encourage them to stay in school, said Dave Rodriguez, district director of LULAC LULAC League of United Latin American Citizens . ``We've got to get away from the message that the only career is in agriculture or at McDonald's,'' Rodriguez said. ``The cost of living is so high in Ventura County that you can't afford to do things for your family unless you have a good career.'' Organizers hope the students will buck statistics that show Latinos lagging Lagging Strategy used by a firm to stall payments, normally in response to exchange rate projections. behind their counterparts in education. Fewer than 52 percent of adult Latinos in California have completed high school, compared with nearly 80 percent of the general population, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. U.S. Census figures. Just over 8 percent of California Latinos have completed a four-year college degree, compared with nearly 25 percent of the population at large. At Saturday's event, keynote keynote /key·note/ (ke´not) in homeopathy, the characteristic property of a drug that indicates its use in treating a similar symptom of disease. speaker Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, told the students in English and Spanish that the only way to pursue their dreams is through education and determination. ``I am the daughter of an immigrant,'' she said. ``I come from the barrio bar·ri·o n. pl. bar·ri·os 1. An urban district or quarter in a Spanish-speaking country. 2. A chiefly Spanish-speaking community or neighborhood in a U.S. city. . I know what it's like to put cardboard Cardboard is a generic non-specific term for a heavy duty paper based product. Paperboard
Paperboard is a paper based material. It is often used for folding cartons, set-up boxes, carded packaging, etc. in my shoes. If you want something more in life, invest in your mind. ``Society may not want the best for you,'' Kickbusch said. ``You've got to want the best for yourself.'' Andrea Cavanaugh, (805) 583-7604 andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Artist Christa Reyes-Gonzalez talks at the California League of United Latin American Citizens Youth Leadership Conference on Saturday at Moorpark College. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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