It’s been a while since we’ve posted on our blog. Can you tell we’ve been busy?! 

Earlier this month, we hosted our end-of-year Highlands University ENLACE Celebration for our partner schools at the main campus in Las Vegas. Our theme, “Recognizing Our Daily Commitments as Poetry in Action,” aimed to highlight how students in our ENLACE program are serving their communities in creative, thoughtful ways. 

We were honored that Hakim Bellamy, Inaugural Poet Laureate of Albuquerque, agreed to facilitate a poetry workshop as part of the event, sharing with students some of his academic and professional background as well as his poetic brilliance. For many of the young people present, the experience allowed them to understand poetry in a different light. Several students were inspired to read the poetry they wrote that morning aloud to their peers!

Students then gave formal presentations on the leadership and career & college readiness activities they undertook this year. From campus clean ups and food drives to spending time with elders and raising awareness about the importance of mental health, students spoke to their capacity for building stronger communities within and outside of their school sites. 

Highlands University faculty member Dr. Eric Romero, who was among the audience, praised the students’ efforts.  

“Every day I wake to bad news,” Romero said, “but today—this was good news.”