Congratulations to Colton High School Junior Ernest Mateo Cisneros and Assistant Principal Jorge Alvarez, who have been named Bezos Scholars!
The pair are among a select group of leaders chosen from an extremely competitive applicant pool. Each spring, 17 exceptional high school juniors and a supportive educator from their school are selected as Bezos Scholars from around the U.S. and from the African Leadership Academy.
“It’s such a wonderful program they have,” Mateo said. “It’s such an awesome opportunity for students.”
Mateo and Mr. Alvarez will spend a week at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June, where they will meet and engage with some of the world’s most highly acclaimed scientists, journalists, artists and global leaders. They then will develop a community change project that combines their passion with meeting a defined community need. For Mateo, that need is mental health advocacy and increasing access to mental health services for youth, something he has seen as a need in our community.
Mateo has already been working on this issue throughout his high school career. He is President of his school’s TED Ed Club and recently helped organize the school’s first-ever TEDx Youth conference, which was themed around mental wellness in schools. He also is a member of the Colton Joint Unified School District Health and Wellness Center Advisory Committee, which is establishing the first on-site mental wellness center at Colton High School, bringing mental health services to students and staff.
Mr. Alvarez and Mateo also will be working on a Local Ideas Festival, which will be centered on mental health. The Bezos Foundation is awarding them $500 as seed money to get the idea off the ground.
Mr. Alvarez advises the Colton High Ted Ed Club and was one of only 33 2017 TED Ed Innovative Educators. He suggested that Mateo apply for the Bezos Scholars program. He hopes to continue to help talented young students like Mateo to find their passion and purpose in life by helping them to make connections and inspire them to go after their goals.
“The greatest reward for me would be for a student to say I had an impact on them,” he said.