“It is very important for me to continue with La Cima because it revived my roots. It was the first hope I had to be better for myself. I know what it's like to be at the bottom and I know what it's like to step into a new world like La Cima's where if you let it happen, you can actually see magic. The magic of people stepping up and the power of the tears and smiles. I want to inspire and give back to the community.” ~ delegate 2011 and 2012
“I want to motivate and turn someone's life around, just the way La Cima did it for me. I was a lost child, and maybe I would have found a way to help myself at some point if I hadn't attended La Cima. However the difference between the two is that I would have settled for an average life and carry a life my parents hadn't wished for. La Cima helped me see above and beyond and I am working hard, putting in all types of efforts into becoming the person I aspire to be in this world. I was reminded of my goals and hopes and wishes, and it helped me start the hardest part; the beginning of my path. I want to be part of that beauty.” ~ delegate 2012 and 2013
“I have been attending La Cima for the past two years. I would love to be part of it and make a positive impact on others just like it did on me. The last year that I went, we had a big discussion about how we need more teachers that look like us, so I want to be able to work with others because I am starting college and I think I’m interested in becoming a teacher.” ~ delegate 2013 and 2014
“Serving on the La Cima staff is really important to me because when I attended La Cima, it honestly changed my life. It was such an important impact on my life and I really want to be one of the staff members that impacts other students’ lives. Especially when they feel like they’re going nowhere, but giving them hope and a chance to make that huge comeback like I did.” ~ delegate 2013 and 2014
“I believe the Hispanic voice is so powerful but many times it isn't heard. Last year, in my council there were so many great ideas that were being shared and people coming out of their shells because they were finally being listened to. I would be honored to be a part of something that helps not only teenagers find themselves but also helps create and unite an entire community of young men and women who want to make a change in their schools and ultimately the world.” ~ delegate 2014
“It is important for me to serve on the La Cima staff because several years ago when I went, I had never been so moved and inspired by anyone or any group like La Cima. It inspired and motivated me. In particular, Sonia, to this day she has been the biggest mentor and role model for me and if not for La Cima and her work with me I do not think I would be were I am today. I would have probably gave into all the struggles I have experienced and dropped out and God knows what I would be doing if anything. I would like to be able to help and support people the way La Cima has helped me, I would like to impact the lives of those who will being making decisions in our country with me in the future and I want to make a positive change in our Latino/Latina community.” ~ delegate 2012
“My time at La Cima has greatly impacted me as a person. I use to be someone who refused to step out of my comfort zone or couldn't simply speak in front of a classroom or a crowd of people. After attending La Cima, I am now comfortably pushing my comfort zone and I have no problem with public speaking. Those conflicts have always bothered me as a person but one week away from home has changed me and I am forever grateful for that. Returning as a La Cima staff member, I hope to give other students the same experience that I had because it is truly unforgettable.” ~ delegate 2014
“It is important for me to serve on La Cima Staff because La Cima made a huge difference in my life when I attended as a delegate.” ~ delegate 2013
“I have felt like La Cima has given me so much knowledge of leadership and some of the best moments in my life, I feel like it is my time to give back.” ~ delegate 2013 and 2014
“To me, being part of La Cima would mean the world. The first year I went as a student I came back home full of positivity and hope for myself and my community. La Cima has inspired me to be a better me and all the great people I met there are still part of my life. La Cima has been my second family and I want all the students that go there to create their own La Cima family, and I want to be able to share that experience with them. Coming back to La Cima would be like coming back home. I'll be afraid at first, but I'm ready.” ~ delegate 2012
“I would like to serve with La Cima because I had a really good experience with this program and also I would like to give back. I want to teach others what I learned: to keep going on and to try to reach higher goals other then dropping out and taking the first job that they get.” ~ delegate 2013
“I believe in the power of telling my story, ever since I was a delegate at the camp and had a chance to share my story, an opportunity I had never had a chance to do. Telling my story in the way of the council activity has taught me a lot. Also, hearing the stories of others opened my eyes to the fact that everyone has a story to tell. I want to serve as a staff member to be able to inspire students to use their stories in positive ways that will open more doors to success.” ~ delegate 2011
“To serve on the La Cima staff would mean the world to me. I feel so connected with the students that I serve through LEAP, and I wish to continue working with students as a role model and JC at La Cima to help them develop a sense of empowerment and leadership and to help them grow as leaders and citizens. My experience as a delegate was so powerful and inspiring, I wish to bring the same experiences to students all across the state of Washington.” ~ delegate 2013 and 2014
“I would definitely like to give back to future Latino successors with what I have learned form La Cima and from others. If I hadn't have attended La Cima, I don't think I would have pushed myself to finish out community college. La Cima was also a great place for me to learn, grow and learn a lot more about myself and what I am capable of. I would like the opportunity to provided those same things to this years La Cima students.” ~ delegate 2009
“La Cima has honestly been the biggest impact in my life and I want to be apart the people who did that for me and maybe one day be the same person to someone else because I found a home in La Cima. I found endless friendships in just one week that felt like forever and that I honestly never wanted to end. I found my voice at La Cima and I want to help others do the same. I want to make La Cima the best place anyone has been, just like it was for me. La Cima gave me hope and that's what I want to do for others.” ~ delegate 2013 and 2014
“Rewind a few years to my freshman year in high school. I absorbed most of what others saw of me. I wasn't very outgoing, I was shy, socially awkward, somewhat on the weird side to say the least. Fast forward to the current day. I am a proud Edmonds Woodway Warrior. I am an international baccalaureate student. I am bilingual. I am a proud Chicana who someday wants to go to Stanford Law School. I am the first one to speak her mind and a passionate social rights activist. This transformation, this grabbing hold of my identity, happened over the course of a few years, however it wouldn't have been possible without the initial spark I encountered at La Cima. For me, La Cima opened this portal into a world where I couldn't believe there was so much possibility. Specifically, the staff at La Cima made me feel as if anything was possible. Through the workshops, through the activities, each left a new lesson, or a new value or a new idea to take in. Their passion, dedication and pure enthusiasm was contagious as well as inspiring.” ~ delegate 2012