Latino Connections spreads culture
The Latino Connections club has been around for almost 30 years and continues to spread awareness of Latino culture. Even during quarantine, the club still meets through Zoom, providing Latino kids with a safe space as well as educating others on Latino culture.
While Latino Connections is specifically at Thousand Oaks High School, Julieta Rodriguez is the advisor for the Latinos Unidos Club at NPHS. Both clubs currently meet together over Zoom and work on projects. At meetings they plan various activities and events. “So far this year, we’ve had guest speakers, cultural presentations and we also had a food drive,” Alondra Padilla, a junior at Thousand Oaks High School and Latino Connections co-president, said.
The main purpose of the guest speakers is to influence the students and encourage them in academics. “We’ve had different guest speakers come in and tell their story for students to inspire them, to motivate them towards higher education or towards giving back and the importance of giving back to our community and becoming leaders in our community,” Rodriguez said.
Another important aspect of the club is the connections made. Sandra Martinez is the adviser for the Latino Connections club at Thousand Oaks High Schools and enjoys supporting the kids in the club. “One of the goals… is to connect to Latino students to the school, so they can feel part of the school and so they can have a place where they feel they belong,” Martinez said. However, the networks formed are not just one-sided. “We have members who are not Latino, they have friends who are Latinos and they’re interested in learning about the culture with their friends,” Martinez said.
Specifically, Latino students can connect to their culture during the meetings. “We do a lot of cultural events… for Hispanic Heritage Month the students did presentations about their heritage, where their families are from,” Martinez said. “For Dia de los Muertos, we set up the altar and had food.”
Padilla enjoys being in the club for many reasons. “The people are like the best part of it. Everyone in the club. When we were in school, even now, they were really funny and it was like a really great environment to be in,” Padilla said. “I made so many new friends in that club, so that’s what really sold me.”
