During my senior year at Ygnacio Valley High school, I was introduced to a wonderful program known as the Diamante Scholar Program through a partnership with Diablo Valley College and MDUSD. Instructors had informed my classmates and I that we could actually start this program during high school. They mentioned that as long as we did well in the program and excelled, we would have a guaranteed internship after graduation which would take place during the summer. That was enough information to convince me to join, plus I was in need of a little challenge so I took the opportunity! Going into this internship I had no idea whatsoever of all the learning opportunities awaiting me, let alone the type of tasks I would be doing. I did know that I was extremely excited to get started and work with Shawn and the LEG team.
I am beyond grateful and happy to have been partnered with LEG as a student intern with MDUSD. Everyday it has been a learning opportunity and has expanded my skills in many categories. What I have enjoyed most would probably be our weekly meetings. These meetings would consist of tons of planning and communicating with other team members, and updates in progress for each individual. I must say I didn’t really understand what “Life Empowerment Skills” meant prior to working with Shawn and his organization, but it did not take long for me to grasp onto the purpose of it all. Life Empowerment Skills to me means developing any type of skill which will forever benefit you in the future, and when I say “any skill” I literally mean that there are no learning opportunities that are too small or too big. They will eventually all play a huge role in your future. A couple of the things I learned throughout the journey were skills on computation, communication skills, planning and organizing my work, and most importantly – many life skills! Words can not describe how hopeful and excited I am to see LEG hit our cities. It will be a new beginning which will be filled with wise people!
A piece of advice to any future students or interns like me, always take advantage of every learning opportunity. The outcome will always work in your favor, and it makes it so much more fun!
– Stephanie Ramos
