Student Voices

"Ever since I have been in the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, I have gotten all A’s in school. Before I was in the program, my grades weren’t so good, and I didn’t think much of school. Once I learned about the program and got in, I thought, I tutor the children because they need my help, and I want them to get good grades. Wouldn’t they want the same for me? Since I thought that I put my effort on my school and homework. Each time I get my report card and see that I got all A’s, I thank the program and the children because I know that in their eyes they see me as a role model."
– Nubia Cid, Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program ninth grade tutor,
San Antonio, Texas; high school second place essay winner

"This program has made me appreciate learning and teaching. It makes me proud to know that I am making a difference in a child’s life. The Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program has given me this opportunity, and I am grateful. It has made me want to become a teacher when I graduate from school."
– Crisol Ortuño, Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program seventh grade tutor,
La Joya, Texas; middle school third place essay winner

"Throughout my life, I have always been taught to believe that I was no good, that I could never do anything right, and that maybe I should have never been born. I felt that my parents and former teachers were always disappointed in me because of my low grades. In truth, I was even disappointed in myself… I have a purpose now because of this program, but most important is that I now know that I have a reason for being alive. Thank you Coca-Cola for caring enough to provide us with such a valuable and life-changing experience. For I truly believe that if it hadn’t been for the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, I wouldn’t have found the real me."
– Jamilleth Hernandez, Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program eighth grade tutor,
La Joya, Texas; middle school first place essay winner

See tutor’s complete winning essays online at
http://www.idra.org/coca-cola-valued-youth-program/

Share