Encouraging young Hispanic students to complete high school with college readiness skills and motivation to attend college is the focus of a free three-day leadership camp at Grayson County College.

The Hispanic Youth Leadership Camp (HYLC), designed for students in grades 7-12, will meet on the GCC Main Campus from 8:30 am-3:00 pm July 7-9. Camp organizer and Hispanic Initiative Coordinator Monica Mudgett said the mission of the camp is to increase the number of first generation Hispanic students who are prepared for college, while removing barriers among the parents and students.

"The Leadership Camp provides students with age appropriate guest speakers, career exploration activities mixed in with fun sessions that expose students to leadership skills, life skills, role models and interactive sessions that work on self confidence, personal skills and life skills," Mudgett explained. "We also want to increase the communication with parents of these students. We will share college awareness information, make them feel welcome and comfortable when the visit the college campus and listen to their questions," Mudgett said. 

The camp is set up so that students are separated by appropriate ages and grades. Each group then rotates through a series of hands-on workshops and guest speaker sessions. Refreshments are provided for a morning and afternoon break, and all students come together for lunch. On the final day of camp, parents and families are encouraged to join the students at a 2:00-4:00 pm Fiesta.                

"We have had a great response from local business and foundations that support this effort," Mudgett said. "Last year, Wal-Mart in Sherman brought all of the students into their store and taught them about the departments and jobs that are needed for the store to operate. They fed them lunch and made it a great learning experience. We also had great support from the Oliver Dewey Mayor Foundation. When we explained the goals and activities of this project, they were glad to support our efforts," Mudgett said.                

HYLC will accept up to 100 students this year. If interested, contact Mudgett at 903-463-8743 or by email at mudgettm@grayson.edu.