Former intern makes an impact in her community…
Five years ago, Cielo Mejia struggled to do her homework because she didn’t have a computer at home and many of her school assignments were only available online. She would go to the library during her lunch break and after school in order to be able to finish her homework. She knew she had to get good grades because she wanted to go to college.
During these rough times, her sister Rosa who is a few years older, started volunteering at Westminster Free Clinic as part of the two year Teen Healthcare Training program. Rosa loved to help the patients at the clinic and she would tell Cielo all about it. Cielo, even at the young age of 13, wanted to get involved as well.
Cielo not only participated in the Teen Healthcare Training program for five years, but also got involved in WFC’s SALUD (Student Advocates Leading Uplifting Decisions) group, where they would help the low-income Latino community gain access to heart healthy foods at local Latino markets. The SALUD group also encourages education equity in the local schools. For example, she spoke to the parents of elementary and middle school students, as well as teachers, and administrators, about the struggles of low-income Latino students, such as not having a computer to do homework or access online assignments, not knowing about college track classes, and the challenge of getting rides to school. Now, the school district is assigning computers to low income students at some schools, with promises of expanding the program. To Cielo, this was a personal win!
Cielo continues to help others when she can. She recently graduated from Westlake High School, and just received her dental assistant certificate. She is now taking classes at Moorpark College and plans on going to dental school, all while working full time to help her family. Cielo has great determination and is an inspiration to others. She has already made a difference and will continue to make a difference for her community. She plans on serving the low-income community with dental services when she becomes a dentist in the future.
