Latinas In Progress Program Now Accepting Applications From High School Seniors

14Jun
by Lety Gomez

I learned about the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas-Fort Worth chapter (HWNT-FW) shortly after moving to Fort Worth last year. Since it was during the pandemic, all their meetings were being done virtually. When I attended the first meeting, I was impressed with the amazing Latinas who were part of the HWNT-FW. I immediately volunteered on their Education Committee, since I am passionate about education. Being part of the Education Committee and volunteering for their Latinas In Progress program, I learned more about the amazing work that Latinas are doing here in Fort Worth. 

The Latinas In Progress (LIP) program is a program for Latina high school seniors. HWNT-FW members mentor Latina high school seniors throughout their senior year and provide a series of workshops to help them succeed in their personal and professional lives. 

The workshops consist of learning sessions, volunteer opportunities, and mentorship. The workshops are usually hosted at local colleges and universities, once a month (between September and March), but this past year, the workshops were held virtually due to the pandemic. Each workshop has a different topic and is hosted by different colleges. They provide learning experiences to LIP participants, and also provide access to opportunities, information, financial resources, and exposure to the local colleges and universities. 

The program usually ends with a Latinas in Progress Graduation & Scholarship Brunch, but this year the ceremony was held virtually. Students were recognized for completing the LIP program and scholarships were presented from charitable members, donors, and universities. We also held a drive-thru graduation ceremony for the high school seniors to drive by and receive goodie bags from HWNT. My daughter and I volunteered to help put the bags together, and it was amazing to see the young Latinas and their families. The LIP participants were grateful for the opportunity to learn so much. For me, it was exciting to see so many young Latinas heading to college! My daughter was also excited to hand out the bags, I hope she gets inspired to continue to help others in whatever way she can. 

The Latinas in Progress program is now accepting applications for next year’s cohort, through June 26, 2021. If you have or know a Latina who will be a high school senior next school year, have them apply to this amazing program at http://www.lipfw.org/lip-application—class-of-2022.html 

Go to this website for the Class of 2022 schedule: http://www.lipfw.org/class-of-2022.html 

HWNT-FW chapter is truly living up to their beliefs: “We have a responsibility to empower and inspire our community.” 

If you would like to join the HWNT-FW chapter, please go to their website: http://www.hwntfw.org/join-us.html     

Photo Credit: RG Productions

Photo Credit: RG Productions
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Lety Gomez

Lety Gómez was born and raised in East San Jose. She is married with three children. She is proud to be the first in her family to attend college and receive a bachelor’s degree. When she was a teenager, Fr. Mateo Sheedy was the pastor of her parish, Sacred Heart of Jesus. She fondly remembers his passion for social justice, especially justice for the immigrant community in San Jose and ensuring that the parish youth had access to high quality education. Fr. Mateo instilled in her his passion for social justice, but for many years it was kept unlit, deep inside of her. It wasn’t until her youngest daughter was enrolled at Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep in 2014 that her passion for social justice lit up. Thanks to the Rocketship parent organizer at that time, Lety received training and the tools to use her voice for social justice and learned about community organizing. She is proud to be one of the many parents who worked hard to open their school, knowing that the kids needed and deserved a better public school. That struggle is why they named their school Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep. “Fuerza” is the Spanish word for force, strength, or power. Her passion for advocating for equity in education has allowed her to be a voice for other parents in her community who seek high quality education options. In 2014, she chaired the first parent-led Mayoral candidates forum in San Jose, where she realized the power parents have to create change in their communities. She wants to share her story with other parents in an effort to motivate them to get involved so they can advocate together, because united, they can make a change in the educational system and in their communities. In 2020 Lety moved to Texas, where she continues to advocate for equity in public education and school choice across our country.

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