Special night with Youth Basketball program from La Jara, Colorado. This is where all begins #Olympics… http://t.co/7w42qq9zlX
— Zoila Gomez (@ZoilaGomez) February 20, 2014
Feb. 19th 2014:
Atendees: 50 Youth 30 Adults
Last month, l was invited to be the guest speaker at the Youth Basketball program celebration night from La Jara Elementary School in La Jara, Colorado.
La Jara is a small town of the San Luis Valley. It is located 10 miles south of Alamosa and is part of the poorest county of USA (Conejos County) Population: 877
When I arrived at the elementary School the very first thing that impressed me the most was the atmosphere. Parents were walking towards the stands at the Gym while kids went to sit down in their respective seats in the middle of the gym. I could tell this was a very special night. Soon after I arrived I was introduce to the school principal, Ms Terry Booth.
We visited for a few minutes and soon after that I was given instructions. After introductions, I had unlimited time to address our youth, then shortly after I was going to have the honor to present them with a certificate of completion.
It was quite an honor to share part of my athletic and civic journey with this kids. They were so attentive to my anecdotes. To my surprise parents were very attentive too.After the talk and presentation of certificates we took pictures. I stayed to visit with kids individually. One thing I notice and I'm always reminded of is: We all have dreams and aspirations. We all want to achieve and be great. We all have someone we want to make proud. Young or Adults we all want someone or something to believe in..
I promise this young stars that next year I would be back to cheer them on. Always greatful for opportunities like this. Reaching out to our kids is awesome!!!
Note: La Jara Elementary has about 200 to 250 students at any given time. There are about 15-20 students in each classroom.