HARTFORD, Conn. — Tuesday was a day of inspiration at Weaver High School in Hartford when Latinas and Power Corp. stopped by to connect and speak with students about their bright futures.
It was called Career and Opportunity Day, part of a partnership between Latinas and Power Corp., Hartford Public Schools, and the CHET Dream Big competition.
Representation was center stage at the event and aimed to inspire teens to become more independent and confident.
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Michael King, an International Emmy Award-Winning filmmaker, was one of the speakers on Tuesday at Career Opportunity Day. He said he hopes students can see themselves in him when he shares his story.
"It can inspire, motivate, and give them another story to learn from," King said.
Marilyn Alverio, CEO & Founder of Latinas and Power Corp., agreed.
"Representation is extremely important; having diverse people with different backgrounds, with a different perspective to share information is critical," Alverio said.
It's a component Alverio said she witnessed firsthand in her work.
"When it comes to diversity, diversity of thought, diversity of background, diversity of perspective it is so important that many of us who come from different backgrounds share our ideas and our experiences with others because there's a different level of connectivity that happens there it's almost like magic," Alverio explained.
Students said the impact of representation is real. However, the feeling of witnessing it is almost indescribable.
"It makes me feel so proud of being Latina, Puerto Rican," said 9th grader Nahomys Ramirez. "It makes me feel important, important in this life, in this world, in the United States."
Twelfth Grader Juleisy Ramirez agreed.
"Representation is important to me because when I see someone that is my same race I feel proud of what they've achieved and everything that I can achieve too," said Ramirez. "I'm inspired because I think to myself, if they can do it, I can do it too, even better as well."
Raquel Harrington is the race and culture reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at rharrington@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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