Kansas City-area students heading to Vegas for leadership conference

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Students at Guadalupe Center High School prepare for a very special field trip.

The Kansas City Police Department has teamed up with the Mattie Rhodes Center to take students on a trip – over one thousand miles away. Organizers are excited about the opportunities this experience will bring students.

It’s part of a mentorship class where students at Guadalupe Center High School have learned tools about things like violence prevention all year long during school.

Now, a dozen students will take an educational trip to Las Vegas with their mentors.

Mentors, like KCPD Ofc. Brandon Walker, and representatives with the Mattie Rhodes Center talk to about 15 students who attended a weekly class during the school year.

“We create a space for them to be authentic and really a family,” Community Outreach Coordinator with Mattie Rhodes Center Monique Arellano said.

Arellano said, in a holistic approach, they discuss decision making, conflict resolution and anger management.

“I think there’s so many pieces to the collaborations that are so vital from the mentors to connect with the kids and be a support to them throughout their life or throughout their school years,” Arellano said. “It’s really important.”

“Our hot topic this year had to do a lot with the shooting and violence and the youth violence that we had,” Walker said.

Walker said they take the five pillars of success, like respect, accountability and a positive attitude, to bring self-awareness to students.

They hope these tools, lessons and experiences will help students make good decisions in the community.

This is year three of the collaboration. Arellano said they’ve taken students on one trip to Chicago. This year, the group is traveling to Las Vegas.

Students will have dinner with Las Vegas Law Enforcement officials and attend the Unidos US Leadership Conference.

“We want to make Guadalupe Centers better and with that experience and with our kids, hopefully they can come back and share some of those tools that they get in that leadership conference,” Walker said.

KCPD mentors are also taking students on a campus visit to UNLV and visiting the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon.

Walker said most of his students have never been on a plane and this experience will open doors.

Through open conversation Natalia Rodrguez said these mentors make a difference.

The 18-year-old graduate said they helped her, and other students feel like they weren’t not alone.

She’s excited for the trip.

“I think the best part is escaping from KC, like a lot of things happen over here, a lot of people have tramas over here,” Rodriguez said. “If we have a moment to escape from here, go somewhere else and just forget about everything I think that’s a big thing and we get to like have fun.”

This year, Rodriguez is going as a ‘role model’.

“Enjoy the moment with everybody,” Rodriguez said. “Be off your phone, Escape from reality. Just have fun, be you and explore everything that’s new.”

The group of students also helps with community service projects, Last Friday they picked up trash.

The students raised about $800 for this trip through a fundraiser. They’re also grateful to the donors who made the trip possible.

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