Central Coast Student Meets with Local Leaders in Education

Source: PSHH

Local student and People’s Self-Help Housing (PSHH) program participant, Angel Uribe, recently met with local principal, superintendent, and CEO to share the story of his educational journey to inspire the community. 

During Summer 2022, as finalists in the National Summer Learning Association’s (NSLA) Summer Learning Awards, PSHH’s Director of Education, Joanna Dominguez and Camino Scholars student Angel traveled to Washington DC as part of the first National Youth Leadership Institute. At the conference, students participated in leadership training, individualized mentorship, and unprecedented meetings with national legislators and policy makers. 

Returning from the conference to his home on the Central Coast, 12-year old Angel met with Orcutt Junior High School Principal, Joe Schmidt, Orcutt Union School District Superintendent, Holly Edds, PSHH Director of Education, Joanna Dominguez, and PSHH CEO & President, Ken Trigueiro to share his story and speak to the value of educational programs like Camino Scholars.

“We are so grateful for the National Summer Learning Association and our local leaders for taking the time to encourage young leaders and amplify Angel’s message,” said Joanna Dominguez, PSHH Director of Education. “We hope to continue to provide students with once-in-a-lifetime, inspirational opportunities like this to encourage them in their educational dreams.”

Angel received this national recognition and leadership opportunity as a participant in People’s Self-Help Housing’s Camino Scholars Program. Each day, this program provides over 500 students with free, engaging, evidence-based afterschool educational support and summer learning programs. Participants benefit from small learning cohorts, supported by individualized in-person instruction at onsite academic support centers throughout the Central Coast of California. Students have shown marked gains in their reading skills and advancements in math – in some cases, improving by over 60%.

To learn more about People’s Self-Help Housing and Camino Scholars, visit pshhc.org.

About People’s Self-Help Housing (PSHH)
With nearly 1,000 units of new housing in its pipeline and founded in 1970, PSHH is the longest-serving nonprofit affordable housing organization on the Central Coast. Our mission of building homes and providing services to strengthen communities and change lives, sees us serving low-income households, families, farmworkers, seniors, and veterans. We also provide welcoming environments for those living with disabilities, youth transitioning out of foster care, and the formerly homeless. Homeownership opportunities through a self-help, “sweat-equity” program have created over 1,200 homes and with a presence in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Monterey counties, PSHH manages over 2,000 rental units, and employs over 200 members of staff. PSHH acknowledges the indigenous people of the territories that our organization occupies, including the Chumash, Salinan, Yokuts, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam people. To read the full land acknowledgement, visit pshhc.org/IDEA. For more information about the organization, visit pshhc.org, email info@pshhc.org or phone (805) 781-3088.