West Oso High School students offered glimpse at local government

Though the school year ended more than a week ago, a dozen West Oso High School students walked off the school bus Monday morning at the Nueces County Courthouse ready to learn.

Filing into a jury training room, the students were met by a wall of community leaders — judges, law enforcement officers, along with city and county officials.

"I was surprised, I wasn't expecting this," junior Luis Marquez said during a break in the program.

"Especially when we came in and they were all there," junior Arianna Barron said.

Monday marked the launch of the new Youth Government Academy. The program is a partnership between West Oso ISD, Nueces County, the City of Corpus Christi and the Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers. West Oso ISD students could apply to participate in the free camp. This year, 15 were chosen.

The goal is to give students a glimpse into how local government and the judicial system function, helping them connect with mentors and improving their leadership and public speaking skills.

"We've got to make people aware," CCAFT President Nancy Vera said. "They have to participate in their government. That's the only way the government is going to be able to serve them better and the only way that they're going to listen to their needs is for us to speak up and speak out. That's what we're teaching students here today."

Over the course of the week, the students will tour the courthouse, Nueces County Sheriff's Office and Corpus Christi Police Department.

"I want you to be leaders," 214th District Judge Inna Klein said. "I want you to invest in your community wherever you are."

Klein collaborated with West Oso ISD Superintendent Conrado Garcia and Vera to come up with the idea.

"Here's what I've always dreamed of in our city government — that is that we should always flood city hall, county government with kids from the high schools," Garcia said.

Starting off the camp, Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo explained her role in leading the city as a representative of the public, as well as some of the responsibilities of city government when it comes to infrastructure, parks and recreation and emergency preparedness.

Guajardo said that for young people interested in serving in a position like hers, there is no set path.

"Don't ever think you have to fit a mold to do something," she said. "Because you don't. You make the mold."

Marquez said that he was interested in the program because he'd like to one day be a leader in government.

"I've always been interested in government and all that," Marquez said. "I want to be a representative myself. So when I heard about this program, I was really excited."

Barron said that a teacher recommended the program to her.

"I'm open to learning more about everything I can do for my future," Barron said.

Vera said that she would like to see the program expand to include students from other schools in the future.

"I think it's important that students learn about the judiciary," Vera said. "I think it's important they learn public speaking skills. They do that in schools with their teachers, but now they have real life experiences that they will participate in."

As part of the program, the students will practice public speaking in front of the Nueces County Commissioners Court.

"It's important that our students know that outside of their little cocoon, outside the (school) district, in real life circumstances, they can be leaders and they can succeed," Vera said.

Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times. 

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: West Oso students offered glimpse at Nueces, Corpus Christi government