For one transformative week in July, thirty high school students from across the state engaged in the second annual Aquetza: Youth Leadership, Education and Community Empowerment summer program. “Aquetza” roughly translates as “lift your chin up” in Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica/Aztec indigenous people of central and northern México.
The program, co-founded and directed by Master’s student Jasón Romero, Jr. and PhD Candidate Mike Domínguez, was intended to revive a summer bridge program that CU’s United Mexican-American Students Association (UMAS) had led in the 1970s to bring Latin@ youth to the campus. Specifically, the program aims to “empower youth with strong ties to Latin@ and Chican@ communities across Colorado to develop powerful connections between academics and community development, begin to include a trajectory of higher education in their life plans, and see themselves as scholars and civic leaders.”
Together, Jasón and Mike created a weeklong program that includes transdisciplinary and collaborative learning, experiences of campus life and of meaningful sites of activism (such as UMAS and Teatro del Oprimido), and evening “Encuentros” presentations. At the same time, Aquetza offers teacher development through rich critical pedagogy for students from UMAS and the School of Education. Teacher education students Chelsea Hernandez, Kaela Lind, Greg Payne, and Hannah Tegt participated this year.
As an example, students participated in a “Photo Voice” activity, in which they brought photos of positive and negative aspects of their own communities with them to Aquetza. After learning about history, political systems, and systemic issues, students were able to reexamine problems in their own communities and reimagine ways to contribute to social change.
Said Domínguez, "It was inspiring to see CU students and youth engaged together in culturally sustaining pedagogy in a way that builds community and validates identity, while showcasing the amazing knowledge, abilities, perspectives, and vision these youth have to offer."
