COUNTYWIDE : Conference Aims to Empower Youths

Three years ago, Chantell Madrigal was a junior high school student who was doing poorly in school.

She thought about her gang and not much else.

But a conference designed to empower youth turned her life around, the Oxnard teen-ager said.

On Saturday, the 17-year-old went back to the Youth Leadership Conference, this time as an organizer for about 500 Ventura County students from 55 schools who participated in a daylong series of workshops, cultural performances and a dance at Moorpark College.

“When I first came (to the conference) three years ago, I didn’t really care about anything,” Chantell said.

“But when I listened to some of the speakers, it got me thinking. Doing things like this is important because kids need to know that everyone’s not against them.”

The youths, selected by guidance counselors, teachers and youth outreach workers from across the county, participated in workshops that focused on topics ranging from AIDS and community empowerment to gangs and goal-setting.

“We let students pick the topics of the workshops so that we’re sure we’re addressing the issues that they’re concerned about,” said Maria Campos-Herrera, a youth outreach worker for El Concilio, a social service agency that co-sponsored the event.

“The workshops have been really interesting,” said 13-year-old Manuel Fernandez of Moorpark.

“The whole thing is good because it makes me feel like people care about me.”