By TR Robertson
The monthly meeting of the Youth Enrichment Services Collaborative heard from this year’s Seniors who were selected as Carlsbad Unified School District Champions from Sage Creek High School and Carlsbad High School. The YES Collaborative’s mission is to create a positive environment and safety net for young people in Carlsbad and the surrounding community to flourish and grow by collaborating with agencies and organizations that help young people thrive and resist negative influences. The Champions program comprises Seniors from the two high schools that are selected from applications submitted by interested Senior students. The Champions are involved in a number of activities, primarily visiting CUSD elementary schools throughout the year speaking and interacting with students. At this month’s YES meeting, held at the Pine Avenue Community Center in Carlsbad, those in attendance listened as the Champions spoke about their future plans, what they liked most about the Champion’s program and what it meant to represent their schools as a Champion. All related a variety of memories about the interactions they had with the younger students and how important programs like this is for both the high school students and the elementary school students. A representative from California State Representative Tasha Boerner’s Office presented each Champion with certificates acknowledging and congratulating them for their work in the community and commitment to working with young people.
The CUSD Champions for 2023-2024
(Colleges they will attend if known)
Carlsbad High School
Ben Redfield – not yet selected
Gabe Bensen – UC Davis
Leela Hunter – Cal Poly SLO
Caroline Jethmal – UCSD
Nate Nicolson – SDSU
Linh Do – UCI
Jackson Campbell – not yet selected
Kethan Cohens – UCLA
Keala Geary – Cal Poly SLO
Tosh Carr – not yet selected
Unable to attend – Jordan Hickerson and Parker Tomlinson
Sage Creek High School
Lucas Smith – Cal Poly SLO
Camila Gomiv – U SB
Brianna Fuller – UCLA
Molly Glass – Cal Poly SLO
Natalie Steele – SDSU
Ariana Ramos – CSULA
Justin Bourdlaies – UCSD
Kaelyn Paparisto – UC Riverside
Ryan Lee – Carnegie Mellon
Camryn Gold – Northern Arizona U.
The next YES meeting will be Thursday May 16th.
