The Next Generation

By Daniela Bueso, Co-Director of the Central America Program

TRIO Students playing and interacting with children from the Cheyenne River Reservation while prepping meals using food from their communal garden.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Youth Development”? At TWP, we think of it first as acknowledging that the next generation will inherit the earth, and they need to be involved in its care today. In Guatemala, for example, we’re awestruck by the incredible success of a youth group in La Bendicion that has gained the respect of their community by re-organzing their group, and engaging more with their community. They also received workshops and trainings on farming methods, working with bamboo to make furniture, and rebuilding their youth center with the hopes of creating a computer lab where they can learn new skills. 

TWP also values cross-cultural exchange, where youth share experiences with other cultures, communities, and organizations, allowing them to learn more about untold histories, challenges, and opportunities across generations. When we’re able to share our with other youth, it is a unique opportunity.

Students weeding and harvesting in the communal garden and sharing arts and crafts with children from the Cheyenne River Reservation

Last summer we had the privilege to take a group of first-generation high school students to South Dakota. Thanks to the ongoing support of Dutch Bros. Coffee, these students from the TRIO Upward Bound Program at Colorado State University were able to visit an Indigenous community for the first time. Through meeting with local organizations at Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Reservations, students saw first hand the challenging realities of Indigenous communities and how they are working non-stop to restore their environment, culture, and identity.

We were humbled to have the chance to bridge younger generations from different backgrounds and find out that we all have more in common than we think. Sean Jaster, Assistant Director of Upward Bound put it perfectly:

“Upward Bound students are all coming from first generation (those in which neither parent has attended college) and limited income homes. A majority of our Upward Bound community at CSU identifies as Mexican-American or Latinx/e, with many parents and guardians having immigrated to the United States from Latin America.  As a program, we try to make decisions to prioritize the development of student self-efficacy, social and cultural capital, and sense of belonging as the institutions of higher education that they will be immersed in were not designed to support students with their identities.  

Our experiences with TWP, the Cheyenne River Youth Project and Red Cloud Renewable, aligned with these priorities and values perfectly.  Students learned through relationships and experience about Indigenous Peoples, and the systemic injustices impacting Native and Indigenous communities.  In their reflections of this learning, they made connections to their own marginalized identities (and privilege in some ways).  It has been powerful to read personal statements of Upward Bound students applying to colleges and universities this fall, sharing the meaningful impact of our week in South Dakota with TWP, and how they have been inspired by the seven days we spent together, to continue learning, expanding their cultural perspective, and working towards a radical, liberatory pursuit of higher education as limited income, first generation students of color.”