"Love Where We Live" CommUNITY Youth Ambassadors

​Strengthening our community and building a better future for our youth ​by providing transformational and inspiring real-life learning opportunities designed to reconnect, educate, and engage area students with our own community  and the people places, and projects that make our home special  while supporting our next generations in becoming advocates, leaders, and spokespersons. This locally-driven program is designed to connect students with their own communities through experiential real-life learning and service activities while building communications and outreach skills. Facilitated by professional educators, community leaders, and local wisdom-keepers, including our Community Educators, the project introduces students to the people, places and projects that make our home special a​nd supports the next generations of community leaders. Students are prepared to serve as Youth Ambassadors with valuable training in communication, research, presentation, project management, and leadership development.

A Public Health Reminder 
from New Mexico Students and Teachers
​


The video was made by my educator Andy Mason from Turquoise Trail Middle School in Santa Fe and Dusty Deen from Roswell with a group of students from a  film class in Hobbs.  The song was written in Portales and recorded in Clovis, and the song was even nominated in Albuquerque for a New Mexico Music Award!

In the era of video games and television, today's youth may actually have far less access to the wisdom and resources of our own communities than we realize. Getting to know each other and getting to know our community through real-life learning provides a potent opportunity to LEARN where we live and learn to "LOVE where we LIVE."
Jennifer Nevarez, CLN Director
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Love Where We Live invites young people and educators to slow down and shift our focus to who we are, where we are, and what is most important and meaningful in our lives. Through self reflection in the form of projects ranging from photography, journaling, drawing, as well as interviewing and producing videos, students explore their own identities, the people, animals, plants and beings of where they live, and the significant events that have impacted their communities.  We hope that through this exploration, students and educators reconnect with themselves, the place, land, and nature that they live in, and their community.  My students have found freedom, creativity, meaning, and connection through the Love Where We Live activities and curriculum"
Middle School Teacher

"In school, I sometimes feel like all I get to do is take in information and prove or justify that I know it. It felt really nice (and a relief) to create, produce and focus on topics that I am interested in and that I actually care about." Middle School Student
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How It Works

Learn. Explore. Train. Serve. Connect.

Students who successfully complete the program receive a letter of reference AND a certificate of completion
and may be invited to participate as a spokesperson at future regional civic and professional events and activities.

Ambassador Training

You have skills!
Participate in a Youth Ambassador training to improve communication
​and presentation skills.

SkillUp Workshops

Get Media-Savvy!
Participate in Skill-up workshops to learn how to blog, build a website, take photos, make a video, write and publish an article, and more!

Community Research 

Explore, and learn!
Participate in Community Learning projects  which may include online research or offline special projects,  .

Personal Learning Log

Time for Reflection!
Keep a personal learning log to document your experiences, thoughts, feelings, and discoveries.

Community ​Interviews

Be a Youth Reporter!
Conduct interviews with family and community members and share the video, audio, or written summary with the public on our website and/or you-tube channel.

Community Reporting

Tell Us All About It! Pick a local topic, person, place, or project to learn about. Do a bit of research and teach the rest of us all about it!

Civic Leaders, Publication, and Presentations

Wow, we learned a lot! Share your findings with the world! To complete the program,
meet one or more civic leaders or participate in an approved civic project,
publish one thing such as an article, blog post, video, website, etc
and complete a graduation presentation and interview.

See. Hear. Smell. Taste. Feel. Do.

Help at Local Farms
Build with Adobe
Serve Others
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Tour Historic District
Visit Area Attractions

Honoring our first cohort of Youth Ambassadors 
​from Santa Fe!

"I noticed how being a youth ambassador makes an impact on the community."
Student, Tierra Encantada Charter School

Vanessa Avila, Aspen Benavidez, Miquella Baros, Sean C. De Baca, Josselyn Tarango, Cinthia Enrique, Amador Gonzales, Yasmine Griego, Amber Irizarry, Angel Irogoyen, Ashley Lopez, Barbara Marquez, Briana Martinez, Miquella Martinez, Pamela Martinez, Marisol Munoz, Jasmine Romero, Maria Rosales Saraih Santiago-Hun, Caitlin Scott, Jose Torres, Nahomy Trejo, Aaliyah Vasquez, Erin Wood
​Special Thanks
to collaborating individuals and organizations that have graciously participated in
​and supported our Youth Ambassador program including:        
Hestia Foundation
Santa Fe Community Foundation
​Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation
​National Science Foundation
Alicia Benavides, Ali Kirtland, Ariane Gandara, Alexandra Marshall and Free Spirit Press, ​​Kerry Gallagher Photography of Santa Fe, Jennifer and Steven Nevarez, ​A Sound Look ~ IQCOMM, ​​Agua Fria Community Farm, Badass Sandwich Company, BluuHouse Studio LLC,  Capitol Art Collection Foundation and the Roundhouse. City of Santa Fe Office of Economic Development, Cre8ive Momentum, Ditch the Box, Habitat for Humanity, Festival of Learning, IAIA, Jean Cocteau Cinema, LANL Interns, ​Loretto Chapel, Mario Martinez,  Mayor Alan Webber, Mayor Javier Gonzales, ​Our Lady of Guadalupe, Palace of the Governors and NM History Museum, R.E.I., Saint Francis de Assis Cathedral Basilica. San Miguel Mission Church, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe Community Foundation, Santa Fe Farmer's Market, Santa Fe Humane Society and Animal Shelter, Santa Fe Information Centers and Department of Tourism, Santa Fe Mayor & the Mayor's Office, Santa Fe Public Transit, Santa Fe Trails, Simply Santa Fe, Santa Fe Horse Shelter , Starbucks ~ Guadalupe Street Store, Stagecoach Foundation, The Capital Art Foundation, The Festival of Learning, ​The Food Depot, The Governor's Office, The New Mexico History Museum and the Palace of the Governors, The Railyard, The Santa Fe Farmer's Market, ​Tesuque Pueblo Community Farm, Tierra Encantada Charter School, Tomasita's, Turquoise Trail Charter School, ​Tomasita's, ​Violet Crown Cinema, ​Xerb TV, and more...

    Interested in Becoming a Youth Ambassador? Contact Us Now!
Community Learning Network
​"building stronger communities through real-life learning"
[email protected]
CLN © 2014.​All rights reserved.