When you were in high school, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Did you think you knew what you wanted to be when you grew up? How about now—wherever you ended up, whatever career you’re currently pursuing, have you ever thought about how differently things might have been had you set off on a different path as a teenager?
Celina Caprio is a person who thinks about that often. As a teenager she knew she wanted to become an attorney when she grew up, and she did just that. But not all young people have such a clear picture of where they’d like to go in life, and even those who do, don’t always have the resources to get there.
Celina wants to change that. As she imagined while still in high school, she has a fulltime “day job” as an attorney. But in the evenings and on the weekends, she has an entirely different job. A job that she is far more passionate about than her childhood dream of practicing law. A job that requires going above and beyond and giving of oneself with no expectation of return. A job that pays absolutely nothing.
Celina volunteers with the Hermanitas® Program, a youth mentoring program that specifically serves young Latina girls, ages 12-18, in her city—San Diego, California. Hermanitas, which means “little sister” in Spanish, is a part of MANA de San Diego—a chapter of a non-profit national women’s organization whose mission is to assist Latina girls and women by providing them with the skills, tools, and support they need to succeed. MANA de San Diego is completely volunteer-run, and is immensely successful.
Celina has worked with the girls in the program for the past nine years, including four years as the program’s director. The young women in Hermanitas are bright students with good grades and lots of potential, but come from challenging circumstances and are considered “at risk.” Despite their academic success, they are at a high risk of teen pregnancy, gang activity, dropping out of school, or not pursuing higher education—this mostly due to the fact that the majority of these girls are the first generation in their family to attend high school or even consider attending college.
Celina and the other volunteers with Hermanitas serve as one-on-one mentors to these girls, and Celina says it’s life-changing—and not just for the girls. Asked what the most impactful thing is that she’s learned while working with these young ladies, Celina responded, “There is power in knowledge.” She went on to explain that she tells the girls, “In the end, you’re going to do what you want to do and what you are passionate about, as long as it’s an educated and informed decision. If you have all of the information, you will make the right choice on what’s best for you.”
When she was in high school herself and working on a school project, Celina had the opportunity to visit a youth detention center and speak with the young men and women detained there about what led them to make the decisions that ultimately landed them in the center. She quickly discovered that for many of them, they had never had anyone ask them those kinds of questions or encourage them to consider better decisions.
“I remember thinking, some of the answers were not educated answers. I remember at that age wondering, ‘Why didn’t you think about just doing something else, or telling your mom and dad that your friends were pressuring you into doing this?’ Their reaction was like, ‘I’ve never thought about that.’ I remember two boys that I spoke to who were … I think I was seventeen at the time and they were fifteen, that told me that nobody had said to them what I told them in five minutes. From that moment, I knew that when you speak and when you speak with your heart and you have the right intentions, you can reach somebody without even knowing it.”
That experience has stayed with Celina all these years, and helps spur on her passion to reach out and invest in these young women. She is making sure—one girl at a time—that they know they have different options. While they may be “at risk,” they are not doomed or destined to end up living a life less than their potential. Celina firmly believes if they have the knowledge, if they are given all the information about what they can do, and are encouraged to dream about who they could become, they will make the right choice about what’s best for them.
You, and every person who reads this article, have knowledge. Unique and powerful knowledge acquired through years of study, observation, failures, successes, and life experiences. Are you most effectively applying and sharing your unique and powerful knowledge for the maximum benefit of all concerned, including yourself? Celina Caprio’s life provides a superb and inspiring example. There really is power in knowledge!
To learn more about MANA de San Diego and the Hermanitas® program, please click here.
