Alumni
The inaugural session of the South Texas Youth Congress left me with a sense of pride and self-confidence that I wouldn't trade for anything.
The idea that a small group of teenagers from one of the most under-represented areas in the country could create actual change for their state may have seemed far-fetched at first, but I now believe without a doubt that we will achieve the goals that we worked together to form.
Sharing ideas and strategies with other youth who are just as passionate about social change as I am made me realize that if we work together, we truly can accomplish anything.
July 2014
Yineli Carreon
STYC President
(Nov. 2014-Nov. 2015)
2015 Graduate Mercedes HS.
2019 Graduate Texas A&M University
Current Grad Student, Texas A&M University
College Station, Texax
“I want to show this region that our communities are worthy of praise, and that opportunities can be found here, as well, so that new college graduates don’t find themselves fleeing to larger cities simply to find a suitable job.”
Summer 2016
Those were my words of distress as I aspired to become a member of the South Texas Youth Congress in 2013. Looking back now, I realize that at the moment I did not expect for a group of high school students to accomplish as much as we have in regards to my concerns. Very rapidly, though, my perspective has changed with every meeting and discussion I’ve partaken in.
Beginning with the 1st Regional Meeting in February of 2014, I had the great pleasure of witnessing the gathering of some of the brightest and most driven minds in South Texas.
The issues and ideas that were discussed covered a broad spectrum of public policies, but together we were able to single out those that we saw as important for our region. It was here that I was assured for the first time that, indeed, I was not the only high school student in South Texas believing that change was possible at our hands. Following this meeting was our first annual session, where we had the great pleasure of coming together once more and further discuss our bill proposals to present at our first Dream Forward Dinner. Included in these final three proposals was iSol, which became HB 3467. It is this bill for which we traveled to Austin last April to meet and discuss HB 3467 with legislators including education committee chairs, and a scheduled visit with the First Lady of Texas, Mrs. Cecilia Abbott.
The time spent planning out and presenting our final changes has become an experience unlike any other when compared to the many activities high school organizations provide us with. What sets aside this experience from the rest is the knowledge that our words and ideas make center stage in the real world and have the capability of greatly affecting the lives of those in our communities and our state.
Alyssa Valdez
STYC President, 2017-18.
Weslaco HS Grad. 2018
Submitted July 2018
Now as an alumni of South Texas Youth Congress, my advice to the members are: Voice your concerns, finalize the change 21st century learners need, never doubt yourself, and embrace the ability and power you have as a student. To those STYC members who are new to this experience; embrace every single moment, think before you speak and when you speak make it monumental. You will face many difficult meetings, a lot of brainstorming and brain farts, keen advice from Mr. Villarreal that you’ll soon learn, understand, and find yourself doing.
Though the journey to success is hard, the final product is worth it. Always keep in mind that as a member of STYC you are among the few students from the entire nation to be doing this, You have the power to make change, use it wisely and focus on the good.
The South Texas Youth Congress symbolizes a way for students to create a leadership experience for one another. Learning from each other is the greatest way to find faith in one's community, and I only wish I could be one of these students in the STYC.
- Zoe Alaniz
The feeling I got being in that room at the inaugural Dream Forward Dinner...was inspiring.
I left knowing that I had just had the honor of being among students and people alike who truly care about what happens next in our community.
The intimate style of the dinner allowed for memories to really be made, memories that I continue to think about.
The people that are a part of the South Texas Youth Congress have really made it their own, adding humility, selflessness, and brilliance, to an organization that is only going to thrive. I hope to always be present at the Dream Forward Dinner and be re-inspired again and again.
May 2017
At first I was skeptical. But I began to understand more and started to see that we can make a difference. For me STYC is an experience unlike any available to me. I feel fortunate to be a member of STYC.
Valerie Ramirez
STYC President
2015-16.
Weslaco HS Grad. 2016
Student UTRGV-Edinburg, Texas
Sept. 2015
Jason Guidangen
STYC Member 2015-16
2016 Graduate H.M. King HS
2020 UT-Austin Graduate
Current- Intern at U.S. Department of State Washington, DC.
The South Texas Youth Congress was an amazing experience for me as a high schooler.
As a member, my colleagues and I worked for the benefit of South Texas. The organization provided us the means to engage in civic life in ways we didn’t think possible. As high schoolers, we were engaged in policymaking and advocacy efforts. Not a lot of people can say they've done something like that, and at a young age no less. It was a great experience in which I learned a lot and helped to make a difference in my community.
I’m glad to have been a part of this organization, and I hope future students continue to work for the good of South Texas. Today, I take the lessons learned with STYC and apply them to efforts in college and at work.
Jazmin Hinojosa
STYC Member
2017-19.
Current student
Texas A&M-Kingville.
Jazmin Hinojosa Junior La Grulla HS
STYC essay application submission - December 2017
During all full sixteen years of my life, I have lived in South Texas and I have yet to witness any development in this region. Ever since I was able to comprehend what was going on around me, I knew I wanted it to be different.
Around the age of seven, I would always overhear my parents discussing wanting to move far away because there was no suitable jobs to sustain our family, and it would break my heart. I would never want to leave, knowing that I would have to leave all my friends and family behind in this small city of ours. I would question why we could not say here, but eventually I understood why.
South Texas is lacking many of the resources it needs to prosper both economically and educationally. For decades, this region has lagged behind all others, and I want to be a part of the group that will change that. Being able to give the people of South Texas the option to stay in their home town is something I aspire to achieve. I want to rid of the worry about finding a job. As well as a place that can offer students the top and most efficient technology to help them achieve their goals.
Many students in this region are deprived of the chance to unlocking their full potential or using their minds to the best of their capability because the access to the appropriate resources is not a option here.
I would be a very qualified candidate for the South Texas Youth Congress as I am ambitious, cooperative, diligent, organized and versatile.
Brilliant minds reside in this region and it is such a waste that they do not receive the possibilities that others do all because of mediocre technology and resources. People should not feel the need to leave to larger cities for a better education and opportunities that ought to be here.
STYC is the best thing that could ever happen to anyone who wants to see change. It has given me the opportunity to move forward with making our community better with equally motivated students from places I've never even been to.
It is a uniting and igniting program that opens doors to high schoolers like me to speak up and be the voice of the future that so desperately needs to be heard.
I am proud to be a standing member of the South Texas Youth Congress and be the medium that gets the valley to where it needs to be in order to assure a bright and advanced future to every student that walks the hallways of South Texas.
Karina Alanis
STYC Member 2017-19
2016 Graduate La Grulla HS
Student UT-Austin
Former- Intern, State Representative Ryan Guillen-Dist 31.
