On Friday, February 9, 2024, the Wellness and Community Outreach Center hosted their second annual Youth Summit, which was attended by 214 middle and high school students. The overall event adopted a theme around “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” written by Dr. Seuss, encouraging students to take charge of writing their own life story and pursuing greater heights. The event took place over a few hours at the Soboba Event Center.
Students took the opportunity to visit booths from 25 different community agencies upon arrival after receiving a continental breakfast. Students were encouraged to interact with different booths and community members to walk away with new resources to benefit them in future education and career endeavors.
Hemet Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Dr. Mary Wendland, provided initial remarks to inspire students to take charge of their own narrative. She was followed by keynote speaker, Kevon Lee. Kevon Lee shared about his life journey and experiences in overcoming adversity in foster care and homelessness and demonstrating resilience through life’s challenges and other sources of opposition, challenging students to “Get Up!”. After a great reception last year, this is Kevon Lee’s second Youth Summit appearance.
The following focus of the summit consisted of students participating in breakout workshops dedicated to critical skills such as managing stress, professional preparedness, and practical life skills.
The event concluded with a concert-style presentation from Rescue a Generation, a student/youth empowerment group. Both students and staff were encouraged and motivated to dance and celebrate together!