Overcoming obstacles
Area youth recognized with state award
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Monday, November 24, 2008 10:16 AM PST
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| Sobeyda Luque shows her Governor’s Minority Youth Award presented to her in Portland last week. |
ONTARIO — An Ontario resident was honored last week as one of five Oregon youth to receive the 2008 Governor’s Minority Youth Award for overcoming obstacles in their lives and making positive decisions toward becoming successful and contributing to their communities.
Sobeyda Luque, 19, an Ontario single mother of one, and who is also one of three children of a single mother, has not let life’s challenges get her down.
She has her high school diploma and has goals to pursue higher education.
Luque received her award from former Gov. John Kitzhaber during the 2008 Governor’s Summit on Eliminating Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile Justice System, held at the Red Lion Hotel at Jantzen Beach in Portland. Luque was also a participant in the conference as a member of a youth panel made up of all the young award winners. The staff of the Ontario Training and Employment Consortium wrote the essay that nominated Luque for the award. According to the Ontario Training and Employment Consortium letter, Luque, a high school dropout, was determined to complete her education and enrolled in the Malheur Education Center in Nyssa, an alternative school. She graduated in May as valedictorian in her class.
While at the alternative school, Luque had the opportunity to participate in the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps program through the Training and Employment Consortium, which performs a variety of projects around the community.
“We did a lot for the fairgrounds,” Luque said, adding they also did a lot of work around the Vale Pioneer Cemetery. “We built a new fence and worked headstones. We worked at a lot of city parks.” “They get school credits,” Elizabeth Brickey, TEC special project coordinator, said.
As a recipient of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Luque was able to participate in a jobs program and was hired in the TEC office.
Through a Workforce Investment Act programs, the Oregon Department of Human Services and a scholarship provided by the OYCC, Luque was enrolled in the certified nursing program at Treasure Valley Community College and completed the course. Now she is waiting to take the state exam.
“I’m working at the Pioneer Nursing Home in Vale,” Luque said. Luque said she plans to continue her education to become a registered nurse.
