LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Friday hundreds of Las Vegas high school students, learned not from books, but from trailblazers at Canyon Springs High School. The workshop introduced students to local community members who had achieved success in their field.
“Giving us the opportunity, they didn’t have so the road to where they are at it is easier for us and we can learn from them,” Jayden Hall, Senior at Legacy High School said.
Dr. Wes Hall with the Young Men of Color Leadership Initiative hopes students walk away not afraid to ask the world for what they want.
“They learned networking, they learned how to ask, they learned some of the traits. If you watch, they stood around the talked to the mayor and the mayor was giving real-time advice on things you should do,” Hall said.
The panel was full of many local pioneers including the first African American Mayor of North Las Vegas, the first African American President of UNLV, the Vice President of the Raiders, a County Commissioner, and a representative from Caesars Entertainment.
“Today was a moment for our students that they saw real people in power positions running Las Vegas. Approachable and in proximity to them. That they could believe. That they could reach and touch,” Dr. Hall explained.
The event did inspire students who attended.
“One of them did say if you’re not going to get to the end you have to start. So, like that came up to my mind. You’re not going to keep on saying oh I can’t do this, or I can’t do that. You just have to keep moving forward to get to what you love and love doing,” Saleen Leon, a junior at Canyon Springs High School said.
The event was part of the “Leaders of the Future Empowerment Series” put on in part by UNLV and CCSD.
“I was just expecting some brief questions here and there but nothing of this size and caliber. I got a lot more than I thought I would out of it,” Joshua Moore, a junior at Canyon Springs High School said.
